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The Patrol Method

Lessons and questions of Scout leadership and operating troop program


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  • LATEST POSTS

    • IOLS is a Position Trained requirement.  https://www.scouting.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Position-Trained-Requirements-July2024.pdf And councils are supposed to be enforcing this within six months of being in a position.  But that varies by council.  See link below for PA Dutch Council, which puts it a 12 months.  Councils are supposed to be denying position renewal without training, but I have never heard of it actually being enforced. http://padutchbsa.org/training/#:~:text=Pennsylvania Dutch Council Training Policies&text=Scouts BSA and Venturing Leaders,during the twelve month period. For the training piece, for several positions, you have the option of doing either an in-class session, or the online modules to complete the required training. For example, for the Scoutmaster role, you may complete EITHER S24, Scoutmaster Specific, OR all those course modules in the list in the first link above. We actually ask our leaders to do both in-person sessions (when available) and online modules.  It's part of our Culture of Excellence 😜 You learn different things in either training medium.  And, when done well, the in-person/interactive stuff is so much better.  
    • Can you show me how long that is a national requirement, because this is the first I am hearing about this. Also does anyone know how to remove courses that My.Scouting.Org say I need to take, but have taken already, and taught, in a classroom setting?  Thankfully it says I am fully trained, but keeps showing online modules as if I need to do still.
    • Had some MBC situations this year myself; it's all about if you don't like that I run the MB program as designed find someone else. People hate it when I say it, but it's like running a Walmart, people hate it and complain but we'll see them shopping here again tomorrow.  Having IOLS is still required it's just buried a bit. The requirement is that you have to have at least 1 trained SM/ASM on every overnight outing. To be considered a trained SM/ASM you have to have IOLS. BTW hazardous weather is required to be trained now, it's been moved by national into DL/CM/ASM/SM training; can't wait to see people start to fall out of trained status when their hazardous weather expires in a year or two. 
    • Too few adults, and resulting drop in expectations resulting by BSA are not a good combo. Not that many years ago, it was a requirement that at least one adult leader on a Scouts BSA overnight outing had to be IOLS trained. That is no longer the case (why the requirement that there had to be someone BALOO trained for Cubs, and not any requirement in Scouts BSA, IDK). IOLS can be run poorly, but by and large in my experiences those who staffed the trainings I was involved in knew what we were doing (at least within a certain skillset- I was usually woods tools and knots myself), and were dedicated to make it as fun and informative as we could, while emphasizing the real objective was to demonstrate the Patrol Method. I'd love to see some reports from a national level on just how many units don't have someone who has been IOLS trained. If you have units rolling with adult leaders who don't truly get the program, it's a big ask to who may have been the only willing volunteer to be a Commissioner and expect that person is going to impart anything onto that adult. Most of the Commissioners, whether they be Council, District, or Unit that I have interacted with in the last decade+ have been retirement age, long since been active to a unit, and often have been pressed into it. The results often were mixed, especially in light of the later part. 
    • I remember that exact project as a kid. I recall my NatGeo picture was of a bird. Either a cardinal or blue jay. 99.9% of my cub memories were doing stuff like that with my den. The pack rarely met as a group except for the B&G dinner. I agree KIS, the "S" is for "simple", and also "small". Dens meet and do stuff, get rid of pack meetings except for once/twice a year at most. Don't even start as a pack meeting, then split off. This rarely works well.   
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