SPL at troop Committee mtgs

[theysawyoucomin' 10]

Is there any good reason the SPL should not attend the Troop Committee meeting?

More important what do you do in your Troop?

 

[SemperParatus 1]

Our SPL attends. Gives a report on past and future activities and brings any concerns that have not otherwise been addressed.

[jr56 92]

There is no reason why he couldn't. In troops that I have been associated with, the Scoutmaster relays the wishes of the PLC to the troop committee, so the Scoutmaster is representing the SPL at the committee meeting.

[FScouter 24]

There's lots of good reasons why the SPL should not attend. The troop committee meeting is not designed for boy leaders. There is no purpose in the SPL attending an adult meeting. The Scoutmaster is there to report and to present the troop needs to the committee. The SPL has enough to do without another meeting. He meets with the Scoutmaster.

 

Take a look at the SPL Handbook, the SM Handbook, and the Troop Committee Guidebook for guidance.

 

More important than what other troops do is what does BSA say is the best way?

[Bob White 20]

I'm with F-Scouter. While there may be no harm I do not see the need. The SPL is responsible for the Troop meetings and troop events along with the PLC. Combine that with School and family obligations that is plenty of responsibility one more meting is unnecessary. The SM is responsible for representing the program decisions to the committee.

 

Besides there are things sometimes discussed at committee meetings that a Scout need not be present for.

 

I'm with FScouter, the closer you stay to the program the better.

 

 

[SR540Beaver 116]

Bob,

 

I understand where you are coming from, but the flip side is that there are Scoutmasters who try to control what the boys do and does not represent the PLC to the committee. Sometimes it is good for the committee to hear the PLC's wishes from the SPL so they get a true picture of what the boys want as opposed to an SM that tells them they can't camp here or they can't do this type of activity. Should he be involved? Absolutely, he is the adult leader. But there are good reasons for making the SPL part of the team. I'd venture to say that there are more boys interested in being boy led than there are some SM's who want no part of it.

[FScouter 24]

If the SPL has conflicts with the SM over activities or where to camp, I'm not sure the best way to resolve that would be to bypass the SM and make his case directly to the committee. Nor for the committee to bypass the SM and go straight to the SPL.

 

If the SM is controlling and opposed to the concept of boy-led, is involving the SPL in the committee the best way to fix that? Instead of one bad practice, now there are two?

[frank10 12]

SR540Beaver, The quality control you are seeking is part of the BOR. That is why youth members and SM's are not invited to the BOR.

 

On the other hand, the committee meeting is no place for a scout. He has no need to know that we are appling for campership funds for an un-named fellow scout, that we are having a problem checking a fathers referances on his adult app or a hundred back office things.

Sure, I could hold a committee meeting that avoided all these things so he could attend and them hold a second submeeting but that's what the committee meeting is for in the first place.

[Eamonn 61]

The Troop Committee in the Troop that I served never invited the SPL to attend the Troop Committee meetings. I think in part because the meetings were dealing with very mundane things like insurance on the vans and maintenance on the building.

I looked at it as the Patrol Leader represents the patrol at the PLC and I did the same thing at the Committee meeting, I represented the Troop.

Eamonn.

[Eagledad 2777]

Hi all

 

There a lot of good reasons to allow or invite the SPL to the meetings. One comment I remember very well from an SPL; "Wow, now I understand what you have been trying teach me at PLC meetings".

 

We also found that the committee members enjoyed listening and learning the scout's point of view on different subjects.

 

But I would be cautious that he has the time and isn't being pulled in to many directions.

 

I don't think there is right or wrong answer here, only that it should be a positive experience for both the scout and adults. It was been for us.

 

I love this scouting experience.

 

Barry

[eagle90 125]

Our SPL does NOT attend Committee Meetings. As has been stated before, oftentimes confidential information is shared and opinions and diagreeements occur that the scouts do not have to hear. It's always awkward to have someone at a meeting and then ask them to leave the room during a certain discussion and We do not need the "Do you know what Mr.XXXX said at the Committee Meeting about YYYYY"? Besides, our Committee has been known to share a beverage or two at a Committee meeing!

[SR540Beaver 116]

eagle90,

 

Gee, maybe your committee meetings and troop is different than ours. I'm an ASM and my son is the SPL. I used to be our old pack's committee chair. I've yet to be involved in a committee meeting where what we discussed wasn't appropriate for an SPL to hear. He has been told and does understand that he COULD be asked to step out of the room for a few minutes if we needed to discuss a particular scout's problems. So far, we have not had to do that. Besides, being SPL, he has already had to deal with the problem scout before it ever got to the committee.....he was second in the loop right behind the PL. Drinking at the committee meeting?

[ManyIrons 10]

Our committee chair kept suggesting that our SPL attend the committee meetings to brief them on the troops activities. I politely disagreed. I let them know that I was not being obstinate, but that BSA guidance clearly states that the committee interacts with the PLC through the Scoutmaster.

 

She countered that the committee felt that it would help the Scouts to better interact with the adults.

 

I gently pointed out that meeting with 1 Scout had no benefit for the rest of the troop and if increasing the Scout's interaction with adults was the goal, it could easily be satisfied by having the committee members work with their Scout counterparts (secretary with the scribe; equipment coordinator with the quartermaster, etc) and they could hold more boards of review (theyre not just for advancement). She never raised the issue again, and resigned a short time later (gosh, I hope it wasn't me and those darn official procedures!)

 

Now it wasnt my goal to shut her up. I was just trying to get the committee to follow the BSA format.

 

Short answer: Our SPL does not attend. I don't see the benefit, especially in light of existing guidance.(This message has been edited by ManyIrons)

[theysawyoucomin' 10]

Wow,

Thank you all for the timely reply.

I do agree that a SPL could be asked to leave if the subject of camperships comes up. Another families finances are never another boys' business

Concerning other matters would the avarage SPL be trusted to be told "what you hear here stays here".

 

If BSA guidelines say it is not his place, well that's good enough for me. I would like to read chapter and verse where he is prohibited. I would follow that guidance.

 

Thank you all again for the lively discussion. See what happens when they let den leaders attend Wood Badge before they have been on the Troop Committee for a couple of years.

[Bob White 20]

Did you attend Wood Badge as a Den Leader or as a Troop Committee Member?

 

You will not find a passage in any BSA resource prohibiting the SPL from attending. What you will find is a list of who attends and you will notice that the SPL is not among the listed.

 

Few BSA resources tell you what not to do. That simply isn't the tenor of BSA handbooks or training. You will find for the vast majority of things the BSA only tells you how to do what you are supposed to do.

 

Other leaders have chosen the path that you now face. If you do things contrary to the program (based on the fact that the handbooks don't say you can't do it that way, rather than follow the program the BSA lays out for you), you will find the self satisfaction that they have found. You will also find that you are a leader in a very small and ever shrinking troop, just as they have.