The use of phones in troops can lead to a lot of discussion. How our troop handles if and when scouts can use or carry their phones in Boy Scouts.
Show Notes:
- Bryan on Scouting: Scouts and Phones
- Bobwhite Blather: Q&A on Phones for summer camp
- ScoutmasterCG: Scouts and Cell Phones
Transcript:
Smartphones have become a ubiquitous part of life. If given a choice between cutting off an arm, or leaving a cell phone home, most scouts would need to thing long and hard about the choice.
Be that as it may, as most troops, we have rules for the use and even the carrying of phones during the scouting program.
For phones themselves, we have a general overarching rule that scouts can’t carry phones until they have reached first class. Prior to first class, they are allowed to bring them to meetings but not take them out. On trips, we allow them to use phones in the car, but they get turned off and left in the car during the activity or camping.
There are a number of reasons we have held to this. Firstly it gives scouts another reason to get through Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class and First class. It projects a milestone in our unit, that we are trusting you to behave properly with the phone once you are first class.
From a practical standpoint, we began the phone rule with the youngest scouts in mind. Without the lifeline of being able to call mom or dad at any time, scouts are more apt to tough it out on trips, or when things don’t go their way. It helps build their self-reliance, and responsibility.
We also have general rules in our troop about phones, no matter the age or rank.
They remain out of sight during meetings when they are supposed to be interacting with the other boys, and on camping trips we do allow first class and above to use their phones at night in their tents prior to going to bed. It’s never however an excuse for real interaction with the other boys, adult leaders out in nature.
We all spend so much time looking at the little screen that once you’re outdoors we want you to experience the simple pleasures of a campfire or running around in the dark playing manhunter. Lets face it, 20 minutes from now you might not remember that game of candy crush or the instagram stream, but you might think back fondly in 20 years to the time you consumed that triple layer smores. But this is what works for us.
Take what you like and leave the rest, and as we say in Woodbadge, feedback is a gift, leave yours below in the comments, with the hope we can all learn together.
I’m Scoutmaster Dave, and this was scouts and phones.
