Time for presentation

[yarrow]

How do you make time for presentation in your troop meetings? Many badges require this and I would like to see it as regular portion of the meeting. Say ten minutes and have the SPL invite anyone up to do one that is prepared. It benefits the scouts to present to a big group too.

[jmcquillan]

Depending on the business to be attended to, I would always reserve the last 15-20 minutes of the meeting for announcements and last checks on trip planning. If there were rank awards of merit badges to be presented, we would use that time, as that is the time when the entire troop is in formation, and usually, most of the parents had arrived at the scouthouse to pick up their sons. Of course, this was only the "immediate recognition" thing. At subsequent Courts of Honor, we would recognize those Scouts again, before the entire assemblage.

 

[Chippewa29]

If you are talking about a Scout needing to do a presentation to the troop for a merit badge or rank, then the Scout needs to speak with either the SPL or the PLC to request time to do the presentation before the troop.

[OldGreyEagle]

I agree with Chippewa. If a presentaiton needs to be done, say for the communications merit badge, then the scout should go through whatever procedure the troop has to be placed on the troop meeting's agenda.

 

Learning process is as important as any other skill we teach

[jmcquillan]

DUH...next time I'll read the question twice...just to make sure I understand it. I will agree with the other posters, though.

 

[slontwovvy]

What our troop does is break up into small groups. Older boys and adults will break off for advancement purposes. They mean to help! Whether it be through listening to presentations or sitting on boards of review, our older boys are there to help out. If they are not available for whatever reason, our adults do it.

[AdvanceOn]

If your troop isn't using the troop meeting plan you might want to check it out. When a boy needs to do a presentation he would request being put on the agenda, the SPL would check the meeting plan to see when he can be scheduled. My son is now SPL for our troop and is using the troop meeting plans (my husband has actually turned the plan into a template on the computer so it is a breeze to use). This has helped the troop stay on time and get done what they need to. It also helps reduce the last minute, "OH, yeah, I need to give a presentation."

 

Sort of on the same vein -- many boys do a bad job of scheduling these presentations (and preparing for them). As part of this "new" system that we have set up, Scouts are being asked to make presentations on a regular basis. For example, an older scout was asked to do a presentation on winter first aid a couple of weeks ago. He was supposed to prepare, have visual aids, and actually make the presentation during the troop meeting. Can't remember if this specific scout needed communications merit badge, but he would have met some of the requirements by doing this in the troop meeting.

 

Sorry to ramble. Our troop is still struggling with incorporating merit badge work and advancement work into the troop meetings so when I see something working I get excited!

 

--Melodee