Explorer behaviour problems

[alecsayshi]

In our explorer post we have about seven, but only three really take this seriously; and only four want a career in the fire and EMS field. They have no respect for the departments authority and they only show up when they want. I would really appreciate feedback from explorers who are serious about their post. I would really appreciate it.

[19echo95]

I say that you set guidelines that say if they do not show up on time (to a certain extent, say 20 minutes late for "x" amount of times) they get put on a type of probation or suspension until they can learn to show up on time. Now, if they have a good reason for being late than it can be excused, possibly require a note from parents saying why they are late. I'm a Junior and we don't really have this problem so I'm not sure how to deal with it, so I gave an idea I thought might help.

[FWDbuff]

In our explorer post we have about seven, but only three really take this seriously; and only four want a career in the fire and EMS field. They have no respect for the departments authority and they only show up when they want. I would really appreciate feedback from explorers who are serious about their post. I would really appreciate it.

Have you discussed this with your adult advisor/leader? Are you a BSA-Sanctioned Post? What are their requirements for attendance? If you are sanctioned by the BSA, you are bound to follow their requirements.

One thing in the adult world that you need to think about- Remember that everyone has lives outside of the explorer post. Not everyone may be gung-ho about it as you. Understand that I am not condoning their behavior, however you need to understand their needs and prioroties before you allow your own to get in the way of your thinking. At my VFD, whenever anyone proposes "mandatory attendance" I always say the same exact thing: "When the VFD pays my mortgage and puts food on the table, and pays the car payments and utility bills, then they may enact mandatory attendance regulations."

Just some food for thought.

[alecsayshi]

I understand there may be reasons for not being in attendance but we except excuses. However most of them don't even give excuses and say they just didn't want to show up. We can't have them leave the post because then we will lose the post.

[popknot]

At my VFD, whenever anyone proposes "mandatory attendance" I always say the same exact thing: "When the VFD pays my mortgage and puts food on the table, and pays the car payments and utility bills, then they may enact mandatory attendance regulations."

Just some food for thought.

And at our VFD that turned out to be the excuse of every member that said "I'll be there for the big one" and never made training.

So when we rewrote the rules we got creative and came up with the numbers "members must make 50% of all training and 20% of all calls".

This was easy. Memebers were allowed to do make up training. Even if they came in when they were avaialable to wash or check trucks, thats what they did. If they missed a drill they made it up.

We still have mandatory dept training and that can be difficult but it must be done. The "i'll be there for the big one" BS is a tragedy waiting to happen.

[kjacket]

In our post, a "no call, no show" (failure to show up without informing the Advisor) results in demerits and eventually, termination. In my experience, this system is too cumbersome and slow to work effectively, and I've never actually seen anyone get canned as a result of it. From what I've seen, the most effective thing you can do is wait for them to drop out. If they don't want to be there, eventually they'll leave.

When I joined my post last September, I was one of 7 new members; of those, 4 have since dropped out. One guy, who I suspect has some form of high functioning Autism, stayed up until a month ago. He had a rotten attitude the entire time he was with us and he had admitted that the only reason he was in Explorers was so that his mom wouldn't have to hire a babysitter for him. Eventually. after he refused to sign up for any extra activities, (our department works medical for various marathons and other events across the state) and said "I don't know" when asked why he was even here, my Advisor had enough and had a talk with his mom. He was gone the next week.

I guess what I'm trying to get across is that hopefully the guys who don't belong in your post will weed themselves out, and if they don't, you should probably share your concerns with your Advisor, even though he/she is probably already aware of the problem. Keep in mind though, that unless the Explorer in question has committed a major infraction, your Advisor probably won't be able to do much. Even though it's affiliated with the Fire Service, Exploring is first and foremost a youth organization, and that means anyone who wants to participate has a right to, even if it's clearly not a good fit for them. I know it sucks to see people who are apathetic in the same uniform that you wear with pride, but that's just the way it goes.

[sismaili31]

I am an explorer at one post in my area and a junior firefighter at another department that doesn't have a BSA explorer program and I take my responsibilities very seriously. That being said, there must be expectations for explorers/juniors:

1.) Explorers/Juniors must clearly make an effort to show up as much as possible when it is possible and they must be punctual. Explorers must show up on a regular basis. It is okay however if explorers sometimes have other commitments such as sports, school related activities, etc. If they are not going to show, they must make sure that the department is made aware.
2.) Explorers must show respect to members, equipment and the dept. as a whole. They must represent the department/post in a respectful way.
3.) Explorers must be able to maintain grades and obey laws and rules away from the post...case and point.
4.) They must show that they care and work hard to make sure that they do not hold back other members. They are not expected to be exceptional, perfect, or know everything...they just must work hard and not be afraid to ask questions.

These are just my basic expectations for my peers. If someone is not following these guidelines, I call them out. For the record, I do have aspirations to make a living in the fire service and I take it very seriously. I hope I helped.

[kenyon]

In our explorer post we have about seven, but only three really take this seriously; and only four want a career in the fire and EMS field. They have no respect for the departments authority and they only show up when they want. I would really appreciate feedback from explorers who are serious about their post. I would really appreciate it.

we have this same problume in are post at the officers discrsion for not showing up for class and slacking off we ask for all turn out gear and uniform ... to be returend with in 2 weeks after that we file a stolen proprty report with the deptments arsen investion divsion they willl take it from there and will file charges if needed that way the ones that do take it seriolsy can learn more.

[JakeT59]

Almost every department has a few "goofs", it's just part of the department. Just ignore their antics and do your best.