The Patrol Method
Lessons and questions of Scout leadership and operating troop program
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LATEST POSTS
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By AwakeEnergyScouter · Posted
I have to apologize, I didn't want to type the whole phrase "family packs, linked troops, and coed troops" every time and made the assumption that readers would know that cub scouts has family packs (coed), but that there is a range of coed-ness among troops, depending on whether they're in the pilot or not and how closely linked troops operate. Some operate completely independently, others have meetings and outings at the same time. To supplement the troop information above, coed packs have been around since 2022. I was surprised it was so recent when I looked it up, but I suppose that's because we joined a pack in the pilot in 2022 and I didn't realize it was new. I was so relieved to find my normal I didn't think about it further. https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2023/06/22/cub-scout-family-dens-what-they-are-and-how-they-could-work-for-your-pack/ The relative newness is perhaps also why so many people seem to not have thought about the choices AOLs have to make about troops and friendships. It's been obvious to me from the start, and I've wondered why I keep running into people who seem blindsided or surprised by that if AOL friends choose to stick together, then that rules out a single-gender troop that operates independently. But it may be because most US scouters truly haven't thought it through from the perspective of AOLs crossing over from coed packs because it's so new to them. At a troop fair last year, I was a little surprised that several single-gender units schmoozed me up without announcing that they were single-gender or checking to see what gender my cub was. I assumed that if they didn't take half the cubs they'd say that up front so parents and cubs would know the limitation before wasting time. But now I realize that this may literally be the first years of cubs from coed packs that have been together from Lions on up together crossing over. -
By HashTagScouts · Posted
NAM 2024 they announced pilot for mixed gender troops. My former linked units merged to single mixed gender unit for 2025 re-charter. NAM 2025 briefly mentioned it- no immediate plans to fully incorporate it as a full-fledged program option yet, but as I understand it, the plan is to expand the pilot in additional councils in 2025. https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/NAM/2025/0 - Opening General Session.pdf -
What doesn't sound like Scouts? I know a lot of troops who have a junior/new Scout patrol. We just have 18 junior Scouts, so it would be necessary to divide them into separate teams or patrols. The learning has to start somewhere. When you don't have older Scouts going on campouts due to work, sports, or something else, there are no experts available. A 10 y/o patrol leader isn't exactly experienced enough to dig into the handbook and put together a training class on his own. The ASM needs to guide him. Even the 14 y/o SPL lacks the maturity to get things done. The normal campouts focus more on a merit badge and less on basic skills. We just came off a week of merit badge factory summer camp. Other than the morning sessions dedicated to doing some of Tenderfoot through 1st Class, no basic skills were trained. -
This doesn't much sound like Scouts. Why not put the skills into practice in their current patrols on the normal upcoming campouts? -
When did BSA policy change to include "Co-ed units"? Just trying to keep up here.
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