astrospartian

One of the things that I've noticed about my troop's patrols, are that they're not very strong and only really function as a patrol for a short period of time(patrol competitions, fall in, etc.). To give you better insight, the patrols don't act as patrols and the scouts usually wander away from their patrols and talk. How do you deal with this? So far, my ideas are below:

1. Leadership-Get good PLs and an SPL that knows the patrol method and keeps their patrol as a patrol(in the past PLs have been too weak in leadership and don't really care what patrol members do and can't control them).

2. Separation-Have patrols meet in separate places during patrol breakouts at meetings and have them camp a reasonable distance apart(maybe a border line to separate camp sites. Also, one patrol upstairs and the other downstairs at meetings)? One problem with patrol breakouts is that the boys get bored and wander off to talk with friends. Maybe having the patrol leaders come up with a monthly agenda of what they're going to do during patrol breakouts could help. They would present this to the PLC every month. Finally, maybe having the whole "permission to enter campsite" rule could help to.

3. Activities-Make patrols have at least 5-6 activities per year(hikes, camp-outs, community service, etc.).

So, what do you think there and is there anything else that anyone could suggest? Finally, could good patrols lead to better activities and better scout leadership?

My old troop is celebrating more than 85 years of being chartered as a boy scout troop.

We meet during the month of June. During the first half it's just the normal, everyday meeting but during the second half, we begin planning and preparing for summer camp(my troop usually picks a date in early July for camp). After summer camp, we might have another meeting, but usually it's no more meetings until school starts. The reason for the no meetings in July rule is because a lot of scouts and scouters from the troop usually plan their vacations in late July.

Usually once or twice a year, and that if it's a fall camporee or if we're doing our annual service project for the camp(we do it each year at summer camp or during normal troop camping).

Here's the thing with Geronimo or any other council camp. You like for a 1 or 2 weeks and then wish you don't have to come back because of boredom.

Moosetracker,

I was by no means writing a description about everything that made this camp one of my favorites(yes, I exaggerated when I said favorite, but still it was pretty good camp). All I was doing, was taking what the OP said and comparing that with the experience I had at the same camp. Did I go to Hale the same year as he did? No, so it's likely that they run it differently.

Are you kidding? Hale Scout Reservation was my first and still is my favorite summer camp. Let's start with each point you mentioned:

1. Yes, the tents had a huge amount of daddy long legs. Mine was covered, and almost every new scout in the troop came to visit once or twice during the week just to seem them. As for the black widows, I didn't see them, but that might have been because of the daddy long legs.

2. The staff seemed to teach very well. I wished I had paid more attention, but I learned some interesting stuff. I never really heard them swear; however they could had a little more enthusiasm with their job. The only staff member that people found distracting was one at scout craft. He liked talking to the first aid instructor all day, especially when she tried to teach. He also wore a name tag, titled "the Halo 3 master".

Finally, camp food is camp food. I remember feeling sick once or twice after dinner, so I see what you mean...

All in all, scout camp is well that, scout camp. There will be bugs, not so great food, and instructors that aren't the best, but hey the lake was pretty fun and they had a good opening campfire(from what I remember). Just remember camp has its ups and downs.

Zscout,

I agree, this would have been a fun badge, especially for those(such as myself and a few others) that have earned canoeing and small boat sailing.

Of course, it's always made me wonder why they just made this a merit badge now.

Here's the story: When I was a first year scout, I took the Small Boat Sailing MB at summer camp. It was probably the best MB I've taken, especially with the size of the lake and just how amazing it was to take the boats out during free time with a buddy(the lake at camp is still the biggest I've seen at any scout camp).

The problem is that now that I look back, I remember how much I've forgotten from the class. Now I only know how to handle a rudder and tell the difference between port and starboard. So instead of annoying the the MB teacher during free time, could I retake the class?

Wait, I'm confused here. So were originally the PL of patrol that you bridged in with(boys your age), then you became the PL of a new scout patrol? I though that the NSP was supposed to have their own PL, but have a TG to help them?

Anyways, to answer your question, no he can't. The SPL nor any other scout may revoke your PL status by themselves. Only an adult can do that, and usually he has to have a good reason. For my troop the process goes like this: 1. SPL and PLs must vote to even consider it(if SPL, then troop votes) 2. If approved with 75% or more, Scoutmaster and the Troop Committee(along with the SPL) talk about why they want to remove the scout. 3. Troop Committee(if they find the claim reasonable) then sits down with the scout and has a discussion about it. 4. TC along with SM and SPL make a decision with the scout in question. Of course this is only my troop, and your may be different.

Finally, remind him(SPL) that these are new scouts. They probably haven't even started middle school yet. You can't expect them to sit through boring announcements without talking. Also, try to encourage them to be quiet(use positive reinforcement, no punishments). If your wondering, I'm a Troop Guide, so I've had these problems before.

It starts from before the scout in mind even becomes SPL. The scouts have to know the responsibilities and seriousness that comes with the job. If they do beforehand, they will have a better chance of being a strong leader. It also helps to have them take NYLT and sit down with some previous SPLs or really good strong leaders who may have not got the role, but who you believe did a fairly good job in leadership for whatever their PoR was. Finally, some scouts don't have the qualities of a good SPL, or they simply don't care about what it entitles. To avoid these candidates, before the election, make sure that a scout(previous SPL) explains the job to the scouts and a vital role in the troop. Ask questions to the candidates, and pick off the bad ones.

To answer your question directly. If you have an SPL that's currently in office, you're going to have to let him learn from his mistakes. It's very rare to have a natural at the position, and I can guarantee you that the best SPLs are the ones who can see the mistake they made and apply a quick fix to it. If he really doesn't know what to do or doesn't want to be at the meeting(only doing the job for Eagle), then sit him down and talk about what can be fixed. Remember, DON'T DO HIS JOB FOR HIM.

It can be hard, and doesn't happen overnight. It really begins years before the scout is elected.

-A

Every 6 months my troop does their SPL elections. It seems like a normal thing that every troop would do. However the reason that the SPL is elected gets more absurd each year.First off, usually the scouts who have the most friends or are the most well known in the troop is elected. It's like the scouts voting already know their decision before the candidates come up to speak. One can easily tell this just by the way that these scouts act during the speeches. For the "popular" candidates, those scouts sit quietly and listen with the up most respect. Then afterwards they cheer for a long time(once even a minute). Now you have the less "popular" candidates. During the election, those same scouts sitting in the audience will talk nonstop, not caring about anything the person has to say. Afterwards they try to get the candidate off topic or derailed. Worst of all, it doesn't matter how well or how much effort someones speech has.

Next you have the more absurd ways someone gets elected. For example, the most recent election we had, the SPL won because he began throwing paper plates into the crowd. No speech. No presentation. No nothing. Another instance is were the candidate won with the words:"Don't vote for me".

As a result of this chaos, the quality of the Senior Patrol Leaders in the troop has drastically decreased over the past couple of years. To make matters worse, whenever a scout who has the potential to whip things back into shape comes along, he is usually pushed aside for the more favorite candidate.

So, how do you fix something like this. I know that adults can't influence the vote, but things are only going to get worse.

Please help!