TroopGuy

Whether the troop is using the patrol method or not I don't think has so much to do with the troop size as it has to do with the Scoutmaster and the Troop Committee and how dedicated they are to letting the boys lead.

Bigger troops tend to have bigger programs, more money for equipment, etc. These are things that can be readily seen when you go camping with them.

Smaller troops may also have advantages, but those advantages are less tangible and no guarantee.

I would recommend you ask questions about things that may have impact years down the road. For example, what is the troop's relation to the Chartering Organization? Does the CO really oversee and support the troop or are they just the CO on paper? Does the CO Rep actually meet with the Troop Committee? Was the Troop Committee actually selected by the CO or is it just a small group of parents learning the job as they go and possibly bogged down with a lot of disagreements because they have no unifying vision?

How was the Scoutmaster chosen by the Troop Committee? Was there a careful selection process, or was he just the only dad who was willing to do the job for a couple years, but only until his son makes Eagle? How likely then is it that the vision of the troop will change drastically when the the next parent Scoutmaster takes over?

These are important questions that I wish I'd asked when my son got into Scouting, but I had no clue.

Good luck.

Never heard of such a thing. I hope it all works out to everyone's satisfaction.

Just a little speculation, and I don't mean this to suggest you were not 110% committed to the job, but maybe the co-scoutmasters arrangement created a perception that neither of you really wanted the full responsitility of being the scoutmaster.

For years the BSA tried to get the troops to use a planning approach that revolved around program features. This approach evolved over the years until we had a 3 volume set of pre-planned meetings/outings that could be used/modified by the PLC as they wish and would take them through three years with a variety of monthly features or themes. Some troops may still use the one-volume version of the same program known as Woods Wisdom.

The whole planning process started with the Scoutmaster doing a lot of homework and working with the SPL and troop committee to develop a tentative calendar which the SPL would present to the boys at the yearly planning meeting. Then the process of the planning meeting was not starting from scratch but working from that as a template. Whatever calendar comes out the other end of the process, it has to meet certain troop goals, and the boys are expected to buy into it. The monthly PLC then becomes the job of planning to this calendar using the program features that were chosen at the beginning of the year.

You can still follow this process if you like even though apparently a lot of troops never put it into practice. The variety that this would introduce should hopefully get more interest from the boys. It would be a bit of a culture shift, but it would take a lot of work off the Scoutmaster and the boys to re-invent the wheel each month or year while trying to keep the program fresh.

TroopMaster is the way to go.