ramanous

Is a program better of to stick with the BSA program (as trained), or change the program to keep youth interested? I realize this is a bit of an open-ended question. A general example is that National provides training and guidance that tells us the troop should follow certain procedures. When some of the youth in the troop don't want to do those things, they will complain often to parents who then give the SM an earful. In some cases, youth quit because the troop and patrol expects them to meet certain obligations and be responsible. Recently had a parent pull the kid out of the troop b

All good points being made. This certainly depends on your patrol/troop culture and condition. Leadership Development is both an Aim & a Method of Scouting, and leadership skills can be learned just as any other skill. The Patrol Method provides the structure to do so, and the other methods the opportunity. Certainly a mature patrol can get away with less planning and delegation. Younger scouts, however, don't know where to start and look to the older scouts for guidance. The older patrols aren't providing the guidance, because they are mature/experience enough not to need the formali

Thank you. "Twiddling thumbs" was more of a catch-all phrase. In my observation, the scouts tend to congregate in the kitchen while cooking then disperse when it comes time to clean-up saying they helped cooked so someone else should do the clean-up (who tend to be younger scouts that then stop coming to outings.) A duty roster is absolutely the traditional way a patrol leader should manage this, but the duty rosters I've seen seem outdated. When implementing the scouting methods, certainly there is a balance between youth-led & adult-mentoring. Its great if your older scouts are pro

Whats your patrol Duty Roster look like? Fireman was a coveted role back in the day, but national now tells us not to start unnecessary campfires. The standard duty roster still features fireman, waterman which now appear to unnecessary. Our boys certainly don't bother with it. That leaves cook, clean-up and a lot of twiddling thumbs.

Thank you. Like most things involving people, I think its complicated situation so its hard to put your finger on one thing. To be clear, I don't think there's anything nefarious going on. I was not in cubs as a youth or adult, nor was my kid, though other frustrated parents were. I once thought that was maybe were some of the issue was, to be honest (I didn't "do my time" in the den). I've been involved with the troop near three years, fully trained, present at the troop events. I'm aware of how a troop is supposed to be organized and run, including systems like JTE. I was also a sc

Once a parent has been through training (not just ypt), what is a reasonable way to involve these parents in the troop? The reason I ask is that the current "senior" Scouters in the troop seem hostile towards having parents involved in the troop regardless of their experience or training. At the same time, I hear complaints about adults not wanting to step up as volunteers (which isn't true.) Most of us have scouting experience and/or training so we are aware of scouting methods and the concept of being youth-lead.