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Evaluating
Do you recall the last time a skill
was demonstrated at a troop meeting? How did it go? Who did it?
Do you think you could do as well? Better? Quite a bit better?
There you go ‑evaluating. And it's all based on your personal
values.
"Boy, I wish I was as good a patrol
leader as Pete."
"Look at those Foxes. The Owls can
do a lot better than that."
"We made a few mistakes this time,
but watch out for us at the next camp!'' The easiest evaluation
for a leader is to trust his own judgment. That's also the
worst. What the leader thinks and what the group thinks are
often far apart. Years ago a survey was made of Scout camps.
Camp leaders were asked how they thought the Scouts liked
various camp activities. The Scouts were asked how they liked
the same ones. The results showed that the camp leaders weren't
very good at guessing what the Scouts liked. For example,
leaders rated religious services in camp as very low in
popularity. Scouts rated them very high. Camp leaders rated big,
mass activities as most popular among Scouts. But the Scouts
said the things they liked best were the ones they did in small
groups. Everything your patrols and troop do should be
evaluated. But not by you alone; let the Scouts who take part in
them share their thoughts with you. But you have to be sure you
understand what they're telling you. Here are some pointers that
will help you understand the answers you get from the Scouts.
•
People's personal values show.
Each person sees
things in his own way. The boy who loves water sports may not
think much of camping on the desert. That doesn't mean he's
wrong. It just helps you to understand how he evaluates 3 days
on very dry land.
• When
you ask for facts you need simple answers.
This
means that you will have to ask
questions that will get simple answers. This type of question
will get a simple answer:
How many patrol meetings should
there be every month?
On the other hand, this question
will not get a simple answer:
Why do you think your patrol should
meet once a week?
A person seldom tells how he really
feels with short answers. If
you want to know how many or how
much, short answers are fine. If you want to know how people
really feel, you have to give them freedom to answer.
Which of the following questions
leaves the person the greatest freedom to tell how he feels?
a. Did you enjoy the last camp?
b. Would you rather fish, play
basketball or stay at home?
c. How do you think we could improve
our camping program?
(The first two questions above allow
only one possible answer each, and they don't tell us why. You
can say anything you want to answer the third.)
Some situations prevent honest answers.
When a per‑son
feels threatened, he will not evaluate honestly. The newest
Scout in your troop probably will not answer questions frankly
until he feels that he belongs. A newly appointed quartermaster
is not going to evaluate the senior patrol leader's (SRL)
recommendation too critically until they have worked together
for a time and he has become better acquainted with the job.
You may want to try some group
evaluation in your patrol the next time you have an activity.
Were all members present?
If not, why?
What did the patrol get done?
Did they enjoy doing it? Will they
do it again?
How could the activity have been
improved?
To check your ability in this skill,
you must decide just how you are using evaluation to help you
lead better.
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