Re: ADC needs advice
(no name) ((no email))
Sun, 14 Mar 1999 11:54:17 -0600
Beth Reiller <reiller@EMAIL.MSN.COM> wrote for her Assistant
District Commissioner (ADC):
>After all the awards were given out, they had a short business
>meeting where it was announced that May 11 would be their last
>meeting and they would not be meeting in the summer, nor did they
>have enough adults to take them to summer camp this year.
This is an excuse for the unit's leaders not to worry about Scouts
during the summer months; the Scouts in this Troop can still go to
summer camp as individuals or as part of another Troop going to
camp. The Commissioner for this unit should have known this.
>And when they returned in September they would only be meeting
>once a month. As I looked around the room all the parents just
>sat there saying nothing.
That's because they didn't know WHAT to say about the decision,
which was obiously made beforehand and without the parents' input!
>Now my question. The ADC wishes to step in and provide some
>counseling and suggest training here. Is there anything that says
>that they can not only meet once a month?
No; but all of the BSA's literature supports the weekly meeting of
the Troop and it's patrols. The stuff I've still got here unboxed
says that the Troop meets weekly, but it doesn't stated explicitly
that the Troop MUST meet once a week.
>Is there anything that says that they can have no meetings during
>the summer?
Again, nothing that specifically states this; many Troops go on
what is called a "summer schedule" whereby they will meet once or
twice a month and do some sort of outdoor activity (summer camp, an
extended weekend camp, or a day hike) once a month during the
summer months....
....but the main Scouting literature does state that Scouting is a
year-round activity.
>The ADC says that if they go through with this plan that they will
>lose the boys quickly but, the other problem is that there is not
>another troop very close that the boys could transfer to.
Well, yeah, they'll lose the boys quickly NOT because of the
schedule, but because instead of the attitudes of the two adults
that are serving as Scoutmasters...if they feel that "we can't do
this every week" then those boys will feel the same thing and
they'll find something else to do on those Scout nights. When the
Troop get back to their "regular schedule", Beth, there won't be
any Scouts left to start out again with.
The Troop needs to be reorganized, and the Unit Commissioner needs
to be replaced or at least coached as to her part in the overall
program. It seems that everyone has basically held their hands up
high and stated that "we give".
So, the Troop needs to be reorganized, and parents oriented that
that Scouting is a year-round program that perhaps shouldn't meet
so often during the summer months, but it does continue with
outdoor activities and planning for upcoming activities.
As a former Scoutmaster of a military community-based Troop (one of
two in that community), we had a "summer schedule" which started at
the end of the annual InterCamp international jamboree in early May
and which coincided with the start of school. Since many of my
Scouts went back to the States during that time, either with their
families as part of their rotation back Stateside at the end of the
tour...or to visit relatives and friends, the weekly meeting format
didn't work for them or for me and my Assistants. So we met every
other week during the summer months, and had two outdoor events
going on during each month to encourage those "still around" to do
something with the Troop and to pick up transferred boys from the
States or from other areas in Europe making their way to
Pattonville.
The "other week" that we didn't have Troop meetings, the two
Patrols were encouraged to do their own "get together" and I was
frequently asked to come along and bring my young daughter...it was
like "pizza at the parlor" or "movies at the theater" or "pinball
at the youth center" or "bowling at the lanes" or a "trip to
Stuttgart to just hang out at the shopping center". Very little
Scouting...just a bunch of boys deciding on their own to do
something together and to include a couple of adults (to mooch
money from, my guess *grinning*). This kind of impromptu "thing"
with a reminder about what we're doing in Scouts tended to keep the
boys together during the summer months and to make the Scouting
thing more like "something you did with friends."
(and as boys will find out, girls like boys that spend times with
babies....which is why both patrols LOVED to have Amanda to come
with them, especially when it was "trips to Stuttgart to the
shopping center"!!)
The Troop needs to be reorganized, Beth...I can't stress that
enough. The parents need to be informed as to what their options
are. The Scouts need to be informed as to their options as far as
summer camp is concerned (the cost to go "provisional" is only $20
more than the regular cost at most camps....and I haven't met very
few Scoutmasters that won't take on one or two additional Scouts to
"round out" his or her Troop during summer camp...those that do
object usually aren't running a good or decent-quality Scouting
program anyways!).
And the Unit's Commissioner needs to be informed and involved in
getting the coaching and training SHE needs to assist the
leadership of the Troop, instead of "just raising her hands too and
saying "we give".
Settummanque!
> The ADC wants to be well armed with information before he
> meets with
>this group. Any help will be appreciated.
>
>Beth Reiller
>Advancement Chair
(c) 1999 Mike Walton ("no such thing as strong coffee,...") blkeagle@mninter.net
http://www.mninter.net/~blkeagle Burnsville, MN 55306-7130 (612) 435-3068
privately at kyblkeagle@aol.com or waltonmi@usarc-emh2.army.mil
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