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LATEST POSTS
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@Armymutt, I certainly tried to get patrols to do their own thing. We had 60 some scouts (6 to 8 patrols) and I pushed for meetings on their own, service projects on their own and activities on campouts by patrol. If there was a hike then the patrols could hike on their own, if they could prove to me they were prepared. I refused to mix and match patrols unless there were less than 4 scouts in a patrol and that's what they wanted (they usually didn't). The scouts understood the point of all of this. The adults were the problem. They constantly said it was more efficient to have everyone do the same thing. The only thing they didn't fight was to let the patrols do on their own was cooking. Within a year after I stepped down cooking was the only thing they did on their own. They started mixing patrols for each campout. By now there is only one patrol on a campout anyway and on some campouts the adults and scouts cook together. If I were a better leader I could have convinced the adults that efficiency doesn't teach leadership. Rather, dealing with problems teaches leadership. But I was never very good at teaching the adults. I tried. -
Yes, focus should be on patrol activities. As far as adults, transportation etc... the numbers still work. 2 cars to transport a patrol is 2 adults. I firmly believe the slow methodical demise of the patrol method is the demise of scouting to truly achieve its aims. It is within the patrol, as a functional member where the lessons which develop the scouts character are born, bred and raised. -
Until we fix the legal system in the United States, as if that is even likely, much of what made Scouting so beneficial to youth growth into citizenship and focused lives has become basically impossible. The swarms of black birds continue to circle overhead, not just over Scouting, but over anything that could lead to public outrage and legal settlements that make the lawyers rich, and incrementally destroy the positive elements of society. -
By RememberSchiff · Posted
Depends on the SM and availability of trained adult leaders. Our senior patrol still plans and execute 1 or 2 outdoor patrol activities a year. Back in my day, patrols hiked locally without adults provided their SM approved. I would say even then, councils did not recognize patrols. Council events and camps required troop registration even the patrol competition Klondike Derby required troop registration. IMHO, skilled, experienced patrols should be allowed to trek Philmont without adults. As an alternative to an Eagle service project, I favor allowing Eagle Scout candidates to plan and lead a patrol trek without adults in attendance or a "project handbook". We once trained scouts to reach a level (First Class) of outdoor competency such that they could "scout run" themselves without adults present. My $0.02, -
I've been reading the 1941 Handbook for Scoutmasters and it reminded me of something I read as a kid in my first Boy Scout Handbook, 9th edition. To make sure I wasn't misremembering, I pulled it off the shelf and on page 17, it discusses Patrol Hikes and Camps. It says "Good patrols go overnight camping by themselves." The 10th edition dilutes the encouragement and makes it more of a possibility. By the 12th edition, the notion of a Patrol doing something without the rest of the troop isn't even an idea. Just to make sure it wasn't a Green Bar Bill anomaly, I went back to the 7th edition and found a similar idea as the 9th. Even as a youth, I always thought it would be fun to have a patrol campout, but we were pretty limited due to transportation. Even the SA website says, "Patrol Activities - A Scout patrol may camp or hike with other patrols in the unit." This sounds suspiciously like "Only troop camping is allowed", which is a bit like Cub Scouts, with the exception of the Webelos and AOL dens. Even the G2SS has eliminated any mention of patrol outings. If a troop is supposed to be made up of patrols and not split into patrols, then shouldn't the focus be on patrol-level activities?
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