Troop Size

[Beavah 205]

Yah, like I said, I appreciate your enthusiasm, and your thoughts on the theory of how this might work, eh?

 

I think you're underestimating the challenges in

 

* Getting adults to understand and support that vision, especially without regular SM contact.

* Getting youth leaders to really learn their roles without the direct example of older youth that is greatly reduced by an age-stratified setup.

 

It's easy to write that "the committee should address that" or that there will be "an abundance of boy leaders to handle that." It's a much, much harder thing to get that to happen.

 

Let's just look at your "overabundance" of youth leaders, as an example. You figure, over time, that half of the troop (75) will be older, high-school-aged boys, because you've had great retention. Problem is, they're all part of venture patrols, eh? They aren't available to be PL's of younger boy patrols, though a few may be TG's of NSPs. And those venture patrols are going to be off doing their own patrol activities while your younger middle school lads are out learnin' things, so those older boys really aren't around as leaders.

 

What yeh have instead is a young 12- or 13-year old PL, who doesn't have as much maturity and experience, and who therefore needs a lot more directive support from whatever adults are workin' with him.

 

And because of that, when he becomes a 14- or 15- year old, his experience has largely been with adult-supported stuff, rather than true youth leadership.

 

Now, it's true you might have 5-10 older boys who could handle a QM position in a regular troop. But da QM position in a troop of 150 is a much, much bigger job, eh? That takes a troop QM and a staff of division QM's. So yeh really need many of those available boys to serve in QM roles.

 

And each and every time a QM doesn't do a great job of trainin' his replacement, or a Scribe, or... there'll be room for an adult to jump in.

 

Like I say, go for it! Just set aside for yourself a weekend every six months or so to stop and take stock of how well you're meeting the vision, and where yeh may need to make adjustments.

 

B