gwd-scouter 11 Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Just when I thought we were on the right track. Scouts have been getting more involved and attending more regularly. Two new scouts joined a month ago. Scouts just elected new SPL last week and formed themselves into two patrols. Planned to hold PL elections this week. Then, last night arrived. My son and I arrived at Scout Hut a bit early as usual. When 6:30 came, the two new scouts arrived. And, that was it! The SPL had called me earlier so I knew he wasn't coming. But, no other adults and no other Scouts came to the meeting. I received no phone calls. Boy this hurt. I walked out of there last night feeling like all the work I'd done getting this troop reorganized over the past year was for nothing. These guys don't care, why should I? Then, light of day came up this morning. Read a few funny posts on the forum, got my perspective back, and will be back at it again next week. Just venting guys. Thanks for reading. Link to post Share on other sites
SemperParatus 1 Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Maybe weekly sod surfing will keep them coming back. Link to post Share on other sites
gwd-scouter 11 Posted March 26, 2006 Author Share Posted March 26, 2006 SSScout sent me a PM and asked for me to reply on this post. So... Our Troop has been around for 8 years. We have had 5 Scoutmasters over that time. I've been SM Since December 2004, so I am still learning. Have been to all the training. Before becoming SM, I was advancement Chair for about 2 years. Troop currently has 11 registered Scouts. Two Scouts has been completely inactive for over a year, but keep saying "I want to get my Eagle." The other Scouts have varying degrees of activity with the Troop. Some weeks everyone is there, others only half and once in a while as my first post stated, only a couple show up. We did hold our Patrol Leader elections. Now have 2 patrols with five members each and a PL and APL. Scouts all have current rosters so they know who to call if they are going to be absent. It is working well with the younger Scout patrol. Not at all with the older Scout patrol. This patrol is mostly made up of what I call our "legacy Scouts" and all this expectation of responsibility and actually doing a job in our Troop has been new to them. Our new SPL is very eager to do a good job and is the first in over a year to talk to me about setting up the PLC and really getting weekly meeting plans made. We do have monthly plans, but each week's meeting is pretty much planned on the fly the week before. This past month was the first time the weekly plans fit entirely with the monthly activity - backpacking: how to pack and types of backpacks, lightweight stove demonstration, backpacking food. Final pack inspection was held the week before the campout. This activity was entirely run by the SPL without any adult intervention. Fantastic! Ranks of our members are spread out. 2-Scout, 1-Tenderfoot, 1-2nd Class, 1-1st Class, 1-Star, 5-Life (one about to finish his Eagle requirements). Further on our ups and downs list. Our Chartered Org. Rep just resigned last month. He has been with the Troop for several years since his son made Eagle and wants to pursue other volunteer activities. Then, last week, our Troop Committee Chair quit because of work and family responsibilities. But, on the heels of that, we had one new Scout join last week and I got a phone call about two more ready to join next month after their Webelos crossover. Have one parent just step up to be an ASM and another willing to take over as Chartered Org Rep. I can't believe all that happened since my first post on this thread on March 1st. As usual, another roller coaster ride for our Troop! At least it never gets boring. Link to post Share on other sites
OldGreyEagle 5 Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 thats life in scouts, one big roller coaster the work is never done and always always a challenge, dont dwell on the negative, work with the positive and you will do fine Link to post Share on other sites
anarchist 10 Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 gwd-scouter, not to be a picker of nits but the Charter Organization Representative (COR) should be from the CO not necessarily "from" the troop... On the problem of attendance, today we have a lot of 'activities' available for our kids to do...(not to mention school work). The meetings, therefore, must be interesting and fun in order to have any chance of motivating scouts to come on nights where there are other "opportunities". Then (and some will really scream at this) the PL(s) should be calling each patrol member the night before the meeting to 'remind' his patrol of the meeting and if "johnnie" does not 'show' he should get a call from the PL(s) asking if 'everything is OK' and telling him what he missed... SPL should be 'encouraging' his PLs to do this "member retention" activity, at least weekly! The PLs need to have significant consequences for not doing their jobs...After a time it becomes second nature...and attendance will improve at least when the boys don't have anything "better" to do. After a few heart to hearts with the ASPL a "change" might be called for...only your SPL (and you)will know for sure on that call. Most controversial...if you plan "patrol only" campouts the "troop" or herd instinct will not be as pronounced....cause there are no other patrols to mingle with... On "troop" campouts, if there are no "program activities to keep them busy it is only natural for guys who like each other to "hang" with each other...That does not necessarily mean just "your" own patrol. The presence of a good program...scout activites that can be 'worked' as patrol units can help you with your "patrol/unit identity crisis". Say patrol compass races, pioneering projects for patrols, camp improvement plans, cooking contests, patrol area inspection contests, races stressing -first aid, team building, rope skills etc all... "by patrol" can help. As for the adults...phone trees and email trees can also help remind busy people that they are "needed"...chin up It is alway a new day in scouting...and that just means a new place to start again! Anarchist Link to post Share on other sites
gwd-scouter 11 Posted March 29, 2006 Author Share Posted March 29, 2006 Anarchist. I got a PM from Beavah mentioning the same thing about the COR being a member of the church and not a parent of a Scout in the Troop. Unfortunately, our CO is not really interested in providing anything for the Troop other than a place to meet. I am still working with the Institutional Head to address this issue, but he's a busy man in charge of a very large church and we are not exactly high on his priority list. I appreciate your suggestions on how to improve our attendance and work toward functional patrols. The Scouts are doing, or at least starting to talk about doing, pretty much all of those things you have suggested, but each improvement in our program takes time. I appreciate the opportunity to sometimes just vent on this Forum. I really am commited to the success of this Troop and have seen the other adults finally come around to the Scout-Led concept and they are starting to back away from jumping in to help at the first sign of trouble. The Scouts too are starting to get the concept. At least our new SPL and the younger Scout patrol are - the older Scout patrol still needs a lot of work. We have 2 patrols, one with older Scouts, one with new and younger Scouts. Each had different plans for patrol activity for last night's meeting. This is the first time the patrols actually made plans like that. In the past we've always had a troop activity plan. PL of the younger Scout patrol called his guys and reminded them all to bring their handbooks. He worked with the new Scouts on the tenderfoot fitness requirements and APL helped them with learning the Scout Oath and Law. Unfortunately only one member of the other patrol showed up last night. The PL of that patrol did call the SPL to say he wasn't coming. One member called to say he was sick. One member came late and said he couldn't stay (just blew in to pick up an Eagle Scout Service Project packet - but that's a subject for another thread). Never heard from the other member. Since there was little the one Scout that showed up could do, he helped out the PL of the younger Patrol. All in all I will say that our Troop is a long way from what it was at the end of 2004, but we still have a long way to go. Many of the improvements that have been made came from suggestions by you nice folks on this Forum and I thank you all for that! Link to post Share on other sites
anarchist 10 Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 gwd-scouter, The COR really needs to be (actually has to be) from the CO...not the troop. He is the voting member from the CO at Council...and needs the authority to "speak" for the church as well as for the troop...more importantly he is your 'inside' man (person?) with the CO. You need to cultivate that connection to address your troops needs with the church...as you said the IH is a busy person...and the COR is usually a more accessible person charged by the CO to coordinate scouting for the church. Over time, if the COR is from the church, you stand a better chance to gain more assistance and support if the COR is not a troop person...This is not to say the COR can't have a scout in the troop...he just needs to be "part of the church" from their point of view. (An Associate Pastor, Youth Program Director,church finance committee member or business committee member etc.) Get the PLs making those contact calls every week...it does help! Anarchist(This message has been edited by anarchist) Link to post Share on other sites
DugNevius 10 Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 I disagree with Anarchist about Patrol trips. In our troop we encourage the patrols to take a patrol trip twice a year. It is up to the PL to set it up, date, adults, trasportation as well as the trip program. It adds a chance for them to practice their leadership and responsability and promotes patrol identity as well as allowing even more time for the younger boys to work on advancement requirments. I have never sensed any decline in troop identity from having patrol camping trips. Link to post Share on other sites
gwd-scouter 11 Posted March 30, 2006 Author Share Posted March 30, 2006 Anarchist. Again, I agree that the COR is a member of the church and not necessarily have a Scout in the Troop. I agree that we need someone who will "cultivate" the connection between our troop and the church. Unfortunately, as I've said, our Chartered Organization (or more specifically, the Institutional Head) is not interested in providing us with or helping us find anything other than a meeting place. I have called him and scheduled a meeting for next week to discuss these and other issues again, maybe this time I'll have some success. Link to post Share on other sites
anarchist 10 Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 Dug... a swing and a miss! you missed the point completely...you must stay after and re read the whole composition for context and meaning.... anarchist Link to post Share on other sites
gwd-scouter 11 Posted April 1, 2006 Author Share Posted April 1, 2006 I've always liked the expressions "when God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window" and "positive attitude yields positive results." Even though some of my posts seem rather doom and gloom, I really am a person of optimistic nature (sometimes too optimistic for some peoples). A few days ago, our CC called to say he was speaking to one of his colleagues about our Troop. His colleague was a former Boy Scout (Eagle) and worked a bit as an ASM while his sons were young. He is a member of our Chartered Organization and had some vague idea that the church had a Scout Troop. He willingly and wholeheartedly wants the job of Chartered Organization Representative! He said he would like to see the Troop be more visible to the church and is eager to be a strong advocate for us. I also accepted application for ASM from one of our new Dads. He had gone on last weekend's backpacking trip and decided he'd really like to be an ASM. He is an avid outdoorsman, hikes the AT every summer, and will be a great asset to our Troop. FANTASTIC! I have a meeting set up next Monday with the Institutional Head to talk about these two guys and have him sign their leader applications. Just got a call from one of my Eagle candidates to remind me and my son about helping with his Eagle Scout Service Project later today, now in its 2nd weekend of work. New leaders? Phone calls from Scouts? Sure has turned out to be a wonderful week! Link to post Share on other sites
gwd-scouter 11 Posted April 5, 2006 Author Share Posted April 5, 2006 Fun night of Scouts last night. We are getting ready for our Council's Exporee (held once every 4 years for all Boy/Cub Scouts in our Council). Each Troop usually puts up a gateway at their campsite. So, last night the guys worked on knots and lashings. Then they picked a fairly simple gateway for the campout and had a competition between the two patrols, each building one side of the supports. The younger scout patrol jumped right in and began building their side. The older scout patrol stood around looking at the poles and ropes. Then, they got a look at the younger scout patrol that already had their tripod standing. Older guys suddenly sprang into action. It was amazing. Everyone working together. The older guys actually beat the younger by a few minutes, but both patrols got their tripods up and standing. Both patrols had probably the ugliest lashings I've seen, But they actually had fun and made plans to work on it again next week. That way, when we arrive at camp in a few weeks, the gateway can get put up with pride! Link to post Share on other sites
anarchist 10 Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 gwd-scouter, Good for you! or the troop.... as I have said in many other posts and threads... network, network, network...talk about your programs! ASK for help...folks don't know what you need unless you give them an idea! As I have found in dealing with our Troop's "trials and tribulations'over the last nine years...In many cases there are lots of alternatives and options...WE JUST DON'T KNOW THEM YET! And take a "cue" from your kids..."Never take the first no for an answer...or the second...maybe even the third" (I remember your help OGE?)If you keep rooting around you may just come up with an answer only a jail house lawyer could love...(or only a council registrar would know about)... keep smilin' we can see the grin from up here! Anarchist Link to post Share on other sites
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