Leading a Reflection

Lay the ground rules for discussion. Have Scouts sit so they can see one another and ask them to agree not to interrupt or make fun of one another., Let them know they are free to keep silent if they wish.

Facilitate the discussion. As a leader, avoid the temptation to talk about your own experiences. Reserve judgment about what the Scouts say to avoid criticizing them. Once you've gotten the discussion off to a good start, let the Scouts take over with limited guidance from you. Avoid the temptation to jump in with both feet. Often we are so excited about the insight we've developed that we can't stop ourselves from sharing our wisdom. Give the group the opportunity to come up with it. Often a well-placed question can crack a deadlock and get the juices flowing better than any enlightened monologue would have. Remember that the Scouts think of you as an expert. If you step in, they don't have to think. If you describe what you saw, be sure that your comments don't stop the boys from adding their own thoughts. Above all, be positive. Have fun with the activity and the reflection.

Discuss what happened. Direct open-ended questions toward specific incidents. For example, you might ask, "Who took leadership?" "What did they do that made them a leader?" "How did decisions get made?"

Make a judgment. Ask the group to decide if what happened was good or bad. Try to focus on the good things first. Direct the group's attention toward specific skills. For example, you could ask, "what was good about the way decisions were made?" Then you could ask, "what didn't work so well about the way you made the decision?"

Generalize the experience. We want to try to get Scouts to see the connections between the game and regular troop experiences. You could ask, "How could we use the ideas we learned today in our troop?" Or you can be more specific: "How can we use what we learned about decision making on our campouts?"

Set goals. Begin with the positive. Ask Scouts what skills they used today that they would like to keep using. Then ask what things they need to change in order to work together better.