Keeping Older Scouts Interested in Troop Meetings

[OldGreyEagle 5]

For the vocabularic confused, Someone who loves to beat dead horses...

 

A lot of these ideas are pretty pricey, high adventure trips, going to the Virgin Islands, Philmont, etc.

 

Is this the same group that looks for alternative uniform pants at Wal Mart because the official uniform is too expensive?

 

I am reminded of the time on the school bus when Napoleon Dynamite was asked what he was doing that day, "Gawrsh, anything I want" the key is indeed, what do they want. The issue is no one may have actually ever asked them that nor have they actually ever really thought about it. And for each group with a myriad of posibilites, how to peel that onion is tough to explain on the internet. Well, OK, I dont know how

[Stosh 3452]

This takes us back to the fundamental question of troop structure. For the most part BSA teaches that patrols are sub-groups of the greater whole of the troop. The troop is more important than any of the patrols and all patrols must place troop's needs as more important than the patrols.

 

As one who's always breaking the rules anyway, my troop is a gathering of patrols and that each patrol is designed to meet the specific needs of the boys in that patrol. We don't have a VP because there's no need for it, we just have older boys operating that way already. We basically have no "troop" just a gathering of patrols. The only thing we do as a troop is openning and closing flags.

 

Now, before everyone strokes out, I have had numerous occasions where older boys have found it enriching to get involved in the younger boys IF THEY WISHED TO, not because they were forced to. Recently I asked my SPL (working on Eagle Project right now) what his legacy to the troop was going to be. He told me he was going to take a young tenderfoot that had some good leadership potential and help him recruit a patrol of new Webelos boys and help him get them to FC.

 

A couple of years back a "patrol" of older boys were camped near our summer camp site. They built a fire and sat back and basically jaw-jacked their entire summer camp week away. I noticed this and visited in their pow-wow for a while. It would seem they were all older scouts, been-there-done-that, had all the MB's the camp had to offer, done the high adventure stuff many times and because they were all going into their senior year, they wanted to just go to camp and simply enjoy each other's company that year. If there was a SM or another adult with them, I didn't see him/her all week. That doesn't mean they weren't there.

 

I hope one day my boys reach that point.

 

Stosh

 

 

[OldGreyEagle 5]

The only thing I will stroke out over is the declaration that BSA teaches that the Troop is more important than the Patrols. I am not sure that is correct and will be waiting for a reference that verfies that.

[Stosh 3452]

BSA doesn't have to put it in print, it's all over in practice.

 

"What's going to happen to the troop if all these patrols just go off and do their own thing?" "It'll destroy the PLC!" "The older boys owe it to the troop to help the younger boys." "What's the SPL supposed to do if all the patrols went off and ran their own program." "The PLC runs the troop and is a consensus of the patrols." "We don't have enough boys for patrols so we do everything as a troop." "The patrols are purposely mixed so the older boys have to ..." (fill in the blank).

 

These comments are dime a dozen on this forum. Look at the organizational chart of the ideal troop. See who's at the top and who's on the bottom.

 

I teach my boys that each PL is a SM of a mini-troop and the PL is the "highest ranking" officer in the troop. The SPL is the #1 "go-to guy" to help them do their job because he's got the most experience to give them the best assistance in their jobs. I'm losing my SPL in a few weeks because he would prefer to be a TG and help a promising TF scout to recruit the new Webelos boys and have the TF scout be PL with his mentoring. I asked him what happens when he turns 18. He said it wouldn't be a problem because he then would just be the "adult" advisor to that NSP, because they should be on their feet and functioning pretty good by then and wouldn't need him to be involved as much.

 

Like I said, not all my boys attended the same summer camp this year. Do the math.

 

Stosh

[OldGreyEagle 5]

I would do the math if I had any idea what you meant by that comment

 

First you say that BSA teaches the troop is bigger than the patrol and then you say its "all over in practice"? That's the proof you have?

 

In the much maligned Wood Badge program, you know, the program that was written to destroy the Patrol System? What do people take away from that that is well known? The name of their patrol, the Bears, the Eagles, The one of the other eight. So, the silly song? Counts down the Patrols, doesnt sound like the end of the patrol method to me.

 

How does the BSA stress Troops over patrols? For the National Jamboree, there is a competition for the best patrol flag, why would they do such a thing if Patrols were not important?

 

Beleive what you want, run your troop as you will, but don't say the BSA stresses the Troop over patrols unless you have proof