The Patrol Method
Lessons and questions of Scout leadership and operating troop program
837 topics in this forum
-
- 9 replies
- 2k views
-
- 17 replies
- 3.6k views
-
- 7 replies
- 2.2k views
-
- 27 replies
- 5k views
-
- 39 replies
- 6.9k views
-
- 14 replies
- 4k views
-
- 57 replies
- 10.6k views
-
- 12 replies
- 2.4k views
-
- 4 replies
- 2.2k views
-
- 4 replies
- 2k views
-
- 6 replies
- 2.1k views
-
- 8 replies
- 2.4k views
-
- 67 replies
- 12.1k views
-
- 27 replies
- 5.5k views
-
- 15 replies
- 4.1k views
-
LATEST POSTS
-
At least a buck. Then it can stop there. -
I'll jump on that OA pet peeve; how about : Everything in the OA being done by adults? I literally just saw a post by councils lodge about a great turnout for an OA event and there was only 1 freaking youth in the picture. -
I can tell you all the following based on my knowledge of my district and council. Our linked troop plan was ok, but not optimal to bring females into the program due to the 5 girl minimum that has been enforced (my DE will not allow 3 female 3x3 units). My pack has crossed female scouts into the void for 7 years now. The females that did cross in my area were forced to cross to units that were not convenient to get to (long drives, bad meeting nights, etc ...) it seemed that all of the not so great units got linked troops first and then the district and council protected their first to the table status. Membership is going to tick up due to female retention, and to some degree brother of sister scout retention, simple rational logic; we're going from a system where female scouts had no path or a poor path to the troop level program to a literal buffet of troop choices. We're going to have better female retention and better female recruitment. My primary unit has become the strongest troop in the district and they were basically barred from having a female linked troop. We have run the numbers, we've talked with the families, and now that the unit charter won't get yanked the second someone ages out or moves we'll recharter in December as a Family Troop starting with 5 female scouts. In March we're picking up at least 2 crossovers. The 3 linked troops in my district have about half of their female membership commuting in from my town, we expect to get half of those scouts transferring in to our new Family Troop in 2026. The critical mass that this will create is already spreading through our local scouting community and we think before the end of 2027 we'll have somewhere between 12 and 20 female scouts in our troop. The downside is that we'll experience a considerable amount of cannibalization in 2026 as female associated scout families reset into their home communities. We are going to see some troops collapse and not recharter in 2027. Some troops that thought they had a good program because they were pulling in female scout families will have to face the fact that their program sucks but they were the only option for people. I spoke with a family this last week, they were ALL going to drop from the program due to their female scout struggling in the only option unit. They are going to stick it out for the Family Troop option. That's 4 registration that we were going to lose on Jan 1st that we're going to retain at least for 1 more year.
-
Good analysis. Also, there has been the alignment with scouting as a reflection of this nation and the recent growing pains of the nation. Scouting got too caught up into too many current political debates. Dancing a fragile line between some faith emphasis / churches support and a secular government / outdoors focus. Scouting has had to survive all the changes ... and it's been painful. IMHO, the "family focus" is a good way to avoid saying "coed"; but it sounds like it's the same thing. I wish I was more active now to see the changes. I trust in 20 years, scouting will be better off. -
By Eagle94-A1 · Posted
IMHO, the membership was inflated for a long time. When I was a DE in the 1990s, I can tell you phantom units and Scouts existed. Anyone remember Ronnie Holmes and the Greater Alabama Council? https://www.heraldnet.com/news/ghost-unit-scams-haunt-boy-scout-operations/. And don't think it was just Alabama. It was all over. If you tried to clean up the mess, your performance reviews were poor because you took a loss in membership and units. Also LDS units registered all eligible youth, regardless if they wanted to be a Scout or not. Heck one LDS pack was completely in name only, and the Scouts were meeting only to play basketball. Those two factors are why I think we are seeing a "rightsizing" of Scouting America today.
-
-
Who's Online (See full list)