mdutch

Thanks for your replies. We have been useing an unofficial one up until now, so I will suggest to my scoutmaster that he picks up the Scoutmaster Junior Leader Training Kit. That seems to be what I want.

Where do you get your sylabius for running a troop JLT program? I have been "trained" with the same one for 4 years now, and practicly know the thing be heart. Where could I go to find a new one?

Until now I, honostly, had never heard of a troop only using the NSP for part of the year, so I have not had much time to concider how it would effect the troop. However, the way I see it, there are a few good reasons to keep them as a NSP for a year (or until they reach first class, which is for us around the same time).

1. When they stay as a NSP for a year each new scout gets the opurtunity to see how the leadeship aspect of the troop works, each one of them getting an opurtunity to try leading, while having the Troop Guide there to help them.

2. While working towards first class they will have an experienced scout there to guide them along the way, learning basic scout skills.

As I type this I am begning to realize that keeping them as a NSP most likely works better for troops who will keep these same scouts together, and may not work so well for troops that merge the new scouts into a new patrol. (that debate can be saved for another thread)

Dug,

Thanks for the great response. To clarify your answer to my key question (how do you get them to take the position), you are suggesting that we convince them that being Quartermaster is very powerful, and then they will want to take it? (sounds like it might work)

OGE,

As we are fortunate enough to have a trailer (so we can take all of our gear with us) the SPL (or, in his absence the ASPL) has acted as an ad-hoc Quartermaster for each trip.

What do you do if nobody in your troop is interested in being quartermaster? Do you run the troop without one? Do you force a scout to take the position? We didn't have one this past year, and things have not gone as smoothly as they have in the past. I think this may be, at least in part, at cause.

Thanks,

Eric

Give them a call a few days before to remind them. When we don't we usually get 5 people (of 10). when we do, it is around 8.

What I have read is a little bit different from that.

On an outing you only need one leader and one parent. Camping is treated the same way. In a car (or any other situation), you can have just a leader and their own son.

Let me start by saying that the New Scout Patrol (NSP)meathod is done differently by different troops. what I discuss below is how my troop does it, which is similar to how many other troops use the New Scout Patrol. However, these questions might better be answered by your SM.

The New Scout Patrol is comprised of scouts who have just joined the troop. There is a troop guide (an older scout) and an ASM who is assigned to work with the patrol. The patrol will stay together for a year or until they reach first class.

There exists a Patrol Leaders Handbook, however that is written mainly for leaders of "regular" patrols. I, personally, do not think it will be very usefull to the NSP PL to read it. The Troop Guide should be the giving on the job training to the PL. He will help the PL run the Patrol Meetings, and will go with him to the PLC meetings. The Troop Guide should be the main resource for when they need help

In general, scouts in a NSP serve for one month as APL, followed by one month as PL.

Problem is that with the religous emblem, silver on silver, it is next to impossible to tell which way is "up"

Hops,

What have you put in the list that isn't in the handbook?

I believe the OAs new policy is that tapping should be done with the scout sign. It will break the tappers hand before it hurts the person being tapped (would that be tapee?)

an tips on how to figure out which way is up on the religous square knots?

All scouts who are not yet first class are told to bring there books to all campouts and meetings. Campouts so that they can get stuff signed off. Meetings so that the advancment chair can record what they got signed off (be suprised how many scouts don't realize what to do once all they have left is SM Conference/BOR).

As a 5th year scout, I sometime stake it with me, sometimes don't (more of if I think of it, than a real decision). I will usually bring a MB Book or two (first aid almost all the time, orienteering if we plan on doing orienteering, pioneering if we plan on building a tower ect.) I can usually borrow a scout book from a younger scout if I need one.

I still use the handbook as a packing list to pack my backpack.

I recently got the Emergancy Prep merit badge book and started working on the requirments. The book is dated 2003, but it seems to have the new requirments in it.

Any ideas on why this may be?

I too am/was in the a similar situation as 510SPL. Fourtaunatly, I had the full support of the adult leadership. Right now I am ASPL, although should I be elected SPL, one of my main goals will be to increase patrol identity.

2 years ago, the only purpuse to patrols, in our troop, was to elect patrol leaders. I have a good feeling that most people did not know what patrol they were in.

We implimented two different things to try and solve this.

1. Patrol competition. Whenever you do games, break up by patrols. Create a "Patrol Points System" where they compete by doing things (high attendence, planning a trip, wearing the uniform). At the end of the month (or year) the one with the highest score wins.

2. Use in camping trips. Cook by Patrol, shop by patrol, sleep by patrol. Do all activities by patrol.

3. Force all patrols to have one Patrol Campout (didn't work for us, only one patrol actually planned one).

Eric

There is no minumum time required for the project. As it was explained to me, it needs to be long enough to prove that you are a leader and it needs to do some real good for the communitty.

Eric

Life Scout

Sorry for the long post, but please bear with my as I try to explain the situation.

First, a little background on my troop. We are about to celebrate our 85th aneversery as a unit next month. We have seen our ups and our downs in membership over the years, and right now we are definitly in an up. However, we are lacking in older scouts. 4 years ago, we failed to get any new scouts, so this year we have no 9th graders. We do, however, have about 12 8th graders, and 20 6th grades. We are expecting to get about another 20 new scouts this coming year. (we also have 3 10th graders, one of them me; and 3 11th graders who are inactive). So, right now we have about 40 scouts, and next year it will probably be around 60.

Next year, there is a good chance I will be SPL. My question is, does anyone have experience using the patrol method with large groups of scouts? This year we have 1 SPL 2 ASPL's and 6 TGs (2 per patrol, 3 patrols). I found that having 2 TG's per patrol did not work very well, as there was no one point of contact. However, if we only have one, we wont have them show up as often. Anyone have suggestions on how to best do this? Also, how many ASPLs do you recomend?

Also make sure you stress the diference between turning in a blank ballot and not turning in one at all, as elections teams often are not clear about this.

In our troop all the adult leaders ar Mr. Lastname, although often one adult leader will, when talking to me, refer to them by first name. Also, everyone calls our former scoutmaster by his first name (including when he was SM). I believe that I refer to my father as "Dad", Mr. G just sounds wrong. although I, personally, do not use peoples names much when I talk to them.

Eric

ASPL

As my troops CO is the American Legion, we have been placing flags at all of the graves of veterans for many years. The american legion provides the flags, I am not sure who picks them up. We too have to go down each row reading each stone checking to see if they are veterans. We do not use any tools, and are able to get them in the ground by hand. If no map is avalible of which veterans are where, it could make a good eagle project (although some may argue that it only benifits the troop, the arguement can be made that having the map will be good for everyone).

How much do you recomend each patrol spend on food for a campout? (say, 9 people, Sanck friday, 3 meals saturday, breakfast sunday) We want to have each patrol set a budget before they go shopping (and make sure they stay within the budget), but want to give them some ideas on where to set it.

Thanks,

Eric

When a scout leaves the troop, do you take his piece of rope off, or do you leave it on forever? If you leave it on, I can just picure this getting really big, really fast.

Okay, the following happened to me about a week ago, and it is still bugging me. Should it still be bothering me, or should I just be over it? (sorry if it is a bit of a rant)

Okay, so I was at a curling tournament (you know, the sport where you push those stones to a circle, kind of like shuffleboard). So, anyway, I was on the same time as this other kid, john, who I had never met before (he was about 12). I found out he was a scout, and had just earned tenderfoot and was just about 2nd class. While we were curling, he started to say something mean to another person, about missing there shot (not that he was making any of his shots). So I went up to him, and our conversation went about like this:

me-hey, john, what is the 5th point of the scout law

john- (counts to five on his fingers) courteous

me- and was that remark courteous

john- (shrugs shoulder)

me- every meeting you say the scout law an promise to do those things don't you?

john-yeah, but I don't know what it means, so it doesn't apply to me.

me- well, why do you say it if you don't know what it means?

john- this isn't scouts so it doesn't matter

me- to get to tenderfoot you have to pass a requirement saying that you will do this in your everyday life.

john-well, I am second-class now, so the tenderfoot requirements don't apply anymore

me- there is the same requirement for second class too.

The conversation was ended there because of a need to continue the game. So, am I over-reacting by being annoyed by this?

Thanks,

Eric

ASPL

so I gues I am not the only one having a problem?