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Has anyone conducted the new Troop Leader Training (34306A) in their unit? How did it go? This new training program for youth leaders in a troop consists of three one hour modules: 1-Introduction to Leadership, 2-How to Do Your Job, 3-What is Expected of You. It replaces the Scoutmasters Junior Leader Training Kit. I recently conducted this training with my SPL and seven scouts, two of which were patrol leaders. It took about four hours due to taking breaks in between the modules. During some of the breaks, we played some of the games from the old training course. I thoug

Lisabob's story of the boy who is forced to wear a wet uniform and nearly quitting because of it is a case in point. You can achieve 100% uniform compliance, but you pay a price for it. The leader who forced that boy to wear a wet uniform is not fit to be called a Scouter. I wore a uniform while working at a Burger King back in the late 70's - it had about the same fit.

I agree with evmori. If you choose to wear the uniform, it should be done properly. The very meaning of the word "uniform" implies sameness. Every scout should be aware of what a "full" uniform is and where to put all the patches. Wearing says, "I'm a boy scout". I believe in positive reinforcement when it comes to encouraging the boys to wear their uniforms. This gets about 80% compliance on average. How these other troops get 100%, I have no idea. Should boys with no or improper uniforming be sent home? Do they call up their moms and have them bring the missing pieces?

Ashamed to be a scout? The're ashamed to wear something 25 years out of date! Apart from the change in the shorts, the uniform hasn't changed since Oscar de la Renta redesigned it in 1981. Would you wear a business suit to an important meeting that you bought in 1981? The boys hate the thing. Anyone caught wearing shorts hemmed above the knee is considered gay according to them. They only wear it because we insist. If they only bothered to read the Scoutmaster's Handbook, they would find the page that says it's not needed to be a scout. And, if push came to shove, there is no troop

MollieDuke - you say that your boys don't have any leadership skills. How do you know this??? I can't believe there isn't a single boy in your unit that doesn't have any natural leadership talent. It's easy to tell if boy has no knot or lashing skills - you ask him to tie a certain knot and he can't. But, how do you know your boys have no leadership skills? Have you ever asked them to lead? And, if so, what did you do when they failed? Did you give them advice and council or did you take over for them then and there? What can they learn by this? And, why is it YOU who

You can never spend too much time on leadership. Especially those units that have no patrols, who's adults have taken over the cooking and bark out orders to their scouts. I see them at camporees with their large carports full of troop cooking gear. I hear them at summer camp, constantly telling their boys what to do. These adults have given up on letting their boys lead: it's too hard; the food stinks; things don't go as smoothly. These leaders have taken the easy way. And the first step down this easy path is saying to yourself, "this leadership thing is not as important as these ot

LongHaul, I'm not saying don't teach the "scouty" stuff. How can you not teach it? They are skills needed to advance. But nowhere does the BSA say that a boy cannot be elected patrol leader because he's bad cook or he's spacially challenged. Boys are elected because they are popular, friendly, well liked, etc. I have no control over this. I certianly can't cycle them through in order for all of them to get their POR. What kind of troop does that? Each boy has their own strengths and weaknesses. As a leader, it's my job to focus on the positive and bring out the best in e

The classroom is no place for a boy. Studies have shown that boys who are active - keeping their hands busy during lessons, are more attentive and retain more. Scouting's classroom is the outdoors. There, he meets challenges not found at home or school and learns what works and what doesn't. He learns how to cook for himself and read a map. These are important skills every scout should know, no doubt. What happends when the boys burn the pancakes or lose direction on a hike? Do we stop everything right there and review the skill until they get it right? Do we deem the campou

I would rather have a Patrol Leader who knows what his job is than one who is a good cook and an excellent map reader. I would want him to represent all the scouts in his patrol at a PLC. When the SPL makes a decision, I would like each PL to follow though with it down to the scout level. Doing the things that the majority of the boys want to do is essential to a good program and scout retention. If the SPL's decisions are not passed down to the boys, he is not really leading the troop. Program sucess, retention and developing good leaders are much more important than having a

Let's look at a policy that's often ignored - the one that says a boy does not need a uniform to be a boy scout. I have heard many leaders says that they do not let a boy attend a Scoutmaster's conference or Board of Review unless they are in full uniform. This is clearly against BSA policy. But, most leaders I know would think it is OK - even though you may be delaying a boy's advancement because of it. What makes this policy OK to ignore? Is it because we place more importance on the uniform at SMC's and BOR's? What leader would send a boy home from a regular meeting who is no

I know that due to attrition, teaching the patrol method to scouts is like painting a moving bus. But, as a Scouter, you must continue to provide the boys with leadership opportunities and stress the basics at every turn. I have heard of other units forming a "Grumps" patrol as Orennoah mentioned. The problem is you get adults acting like boys, which goes against one of the methods of the program (you lose this method with adult-fee camping also). And, you may not want or get a patrol size number of adults at each campout. Separating the patrol's cooking and camping areas at

I have seen some veteran scouters quit because of their frustration with Council. These are volunteers that have donated a lot of material and hundreds of hours of their time. These people were not valued because donated material or time does not show up on the executive's performance rating. When people feel that what they do is not being seen as any value, they quit. Council can't seem to get this. They run themselves like a business - by the numbers. The executive that can't produce more scouts, more units and more money is seen as a poor performer. We are lucky because ou

They have had enough. You have to have an appetite for Scouting. A hunger to contribute something to it. Some people can't stand what's being served (Kudu's 86 reasons) and lose their appetite. Others get their full and leave (a son in the program). People leave for many reasons, personnal and otherwise. But, there are some who can never get enough, no matter what is being served, no matter how the menu changes. They still feel they have something to contribute and they care about the program.

We are trying to teach these boys about leadership. And, when you are pushing a scout, you are doing the leading, not them. Not all boys in the troop are going to be good leaders. Some are not mature enough and others just don't have the drive. If you push an immature boy before he is ready, you are probably doing more harm than good. If this boy is your son, you should be able to recognize this immaturity better than any one else. If the boy is not driven to advance, try pushing him a little to see if he moves forward. If he won't budge, youv'e done all you can. I

With new scouts, it's all about encouragment. They are full of enthusiasm and spirit. With most of them, it does not take much to get them to advance. With older scouts, I try a combination of pushing with some encouragement. I guess the pushing is more like prodding. I'll say, "Hey, how's that eagle project coming along?" or "What do you still need, Envi Sci or Family Life? The older boys know where I'm coming from. They have to want to make eagle. No one else can want it for them.

Look at the camping merit badge and what do you see? A tent! Not a cabin, not a cave, not a adarondak and not a Holiday Inn. You cannot read more into a requirement then what's actually there. Nowhere in the requirement does it mention: "cabin" or "adarondak" or any other of these things. It says sleeping outdoors with no shelter counts (under the stars) or sleeping outdoors in a tent you have pitched counts. It says nights of summer (long-term) camp also count in an outdoor tent. And, since the tents in a summer camp are already pitched when you get there, they are excluded from

When it comes time to work on a Merit Badge, most boys remember doing a certain activity, but sometimes they can't recall the details or the date. There are computer programs out there, like TroopMaster, that allow you to keep records of such things. We make it a habit of recording the dates and other data, like miles hiked, for each activity. That way the information is available for the boys when they need it. I don't think it's a good idea having the troop manage the blue cards for the boys. It's the boys job to fill out the initial information on the card, get approval to start

A good way to learn splicing is to wrap each end of the strand with tape. Color the tape on end of each strand with the different color marker. That way you can keep track of what goes where. This also helps the strands from fraying. If you are thinking of teaching splicing, it is important that you know it backwards and forwards. (Most knots I would say do it blindfolded before you teach it, but splicing is different). Often times the boys mess up the splice and you will have to know how to fix it and get them back on track. Books and web sites are good, but it's best to learn a

I use them as a pedometer. Last time we were at Gettysburg, I used one to get accurate milage for the two trails, Billy Yank and Johnny Reb. This information goes into the boys records for miles hiked. (BTW, the milage on the Billy Yank trail is a few more miles than what the book says) I also use them on backpacking trips. I get the endpoint coordinates off of the topomap web site and program it in. That way, I know how far we have gone and how much more we have to go.

No doubt that what the org chart says is true. And that training is key for everyone with a position in that chart. But never forget that we are dealing with PEOPLE here. I am friends with and have known our Committee Chair for years. I have been camping with him many times and have spend a lot of hours around a campfire BSing. I would know when something is bothering him even before he speaks. A troop runs a lot smoother when everyone knows each other and cares about each other thoughts and feelings. Try to avoid getting into a situation with a bunch of strangers. It's not

As a Scoutmaster, I agree with having a special recruitment night when the Webelos visit. Why take a chance with a regular meeting that may or may not go so well? Once in a while a regular meeting bombs. Webelos and their parents would not understand this. Is this being dishonest or deceptive? I don't think so. It's just putting your best face forward. Also, we separate the parents away from the boys at this meeting and give them sales pitch. What scouting can do for your son ... why join our troop as opposed to another ... Have your Webelos and parent that can't make the sp

It depends on how they word the new requirement. If it says, "While a Firt Class Scout, do the following...", then it won't count if they did it as a Scout or Tenderfoot. I hope that's not the case because I also have some boys who have met the requirement during our fall recruitment drive.

I have been lurking around this forum for years and have finally decided to pipe up. You are asking for examples of what constitutes delivering the socuting program. And, you don't want quotes from BSA publications... Well, each of us has our own point of view. And, each of us would probably come up with a different set of standards, depending on our experiences and training. Reading the replies so far, there seems to be a common thread running through it all: boy led, patrol method, outdoor program, etc. -- get enough experienced scouters together and they will eventuall