Tools of the Trade - Methods of Scouting

[BrentAllen 10]

SP,

Yes, I am a big fan of Green Bar Bill. I'm sure you are aware that he is generally credited with saving the BSA program from it's experiment in the 1970's. You are also visiting a web site that is dedicated to him.

 

The quote I use is from the Scoutmaster Handbook that was in place for a number of years, so it is the text the SMs used to run their programs. If you reread the quote, it doesn't say to build "the" best Troop - it says to build "one of the" best Troops. And you are correct, there is no metric to measure that, and I don't think there should be. A Scout Troop should have to work hard to earn the respect of others in the Council to be considered "one of the best." The way you and I would decide which Troops are among the best might be very different. I put a ton of clout in how many older boys are in the Troop (I'm not going to say "active" because that should be the case for any boy on a Troop's roster) - how many boys age out instead of quit. I put a lot of clout in % attending events - meetings, campouts, Summer Camp. You can't work with the boys if they aren't there, so active participation is a big sign for me. You may not feel the same.

 

The Boy Scout program does promote the idea of striving to be the best. It is in our Oath. Every Summer Camp program I have been to had camp inspections, and award ribbons for earning different levels. Again, not trying to be "the best" but "one of the best." Camporees usually do the same.

 

Our boys get to decide on parts of the program every week. Each boy gets to decide if he wants to wear the uniform or not. We don't kick them out or make them sit in the corner - they participate just like everyone else. Their patrol may give them a hard time for costing them points, or they may not care, if they aren't trying to earn Honor Patrol. It's their decision. Same with the Camporee contest - not all of our patrols were trying to win the contest. Some of our patrols had several new Scouts and the PL was more interested in letting the new Scouts participate and have fun than just going for the win - again, their choice.

Scouts are constantly offering up suggestions for changes in the Honor Patrol competition. The suggestions have always been to add more categories to the game - none have wanted to remove any parts. Some we are able to work in, but some don't turn out to be workable. Again, their choice.

 

You know what the grand prize is for the quarterly Honor Patrol competition? Besides the pure honor of winning, they get to hang a pendant from their flag signaling they are the current Honor Patrol, they get first choice of campsite locations when we arrive at camp, they get first in line for peach cobbler desert if I make it on a trip, and they get enough funds for the patrol to go out for pizza or a movie or something similar. Believe it or not, the patrols compete hard for this.

 

Some here seem to think that if our Troop decided to go to a waist-up uniform policy, that would be a sign of real leadership from the boys. Horse apples!! For us, that wouldn't be leadership, that would be laziness! The boys joined the organization, they should respect the uniform. If they don't like it, they can try to change it through National or leave. This isn't a leadership issue, this is an issue of respect.

 

I have Scouts who are trying to get into the military academies. Should I teach them that if they don't like the uniform culture at the Naval Academy, they should just ignore it and "show leadership" by coming up with their own idea of what they want to wear? Yeah right, that would be interesting.

 

No, we are teaching them to respect the organization and its uniform, and to work together as part of a team, to put team and others before self. If you think some wishy-washy uniform leadership lesson is more important than that, and should be learned at the expense of that, then knock yourselves out. I find plenty of other ways to teach leadership through the Patrol Method, so I don't have to do it in a manner that teaches disrespect.

 

So, Beavah, you admit you really don't know enough about our program to make any real judgements about it. That's what I thought. Carry on.

[BadenP 93]

Brent

 

I had to run outside to look and see if pigs were indeed flying because I find myself agreeing with you on a number of points in your posts. I too agree that Green Bar Bill was a key element in saving scouting from that disasterous experiment of the 1970's, unfortunately CSE Mazzuca seems to want to head us back in that direction. I too agree with holding your scouts to high standards, within their capabilities of achieving, since the schools and many parents seem to be letting that aspect of development slide by.

 

I have had the fortunate experience/privilege of working with a troop of boys and their families who had absolutely nothing in the way of money, material goods, and self worth transform themselves into a troop of boy scouts performing community service in an area riddled with gangs and violence, develop confidence and self esteem in their own abilities to transform their community and themselves. Standing proudly in their scout shirts and neckers reciting the scout oath and law and really and truly living those words still gives me goosebumps. We scouters may approach the methods of scouting a little differently but our goals are still the same, to see our scouts grow into good adults and great leaders. (What's with the socks thing, lol?)