pizzafrisbee84

At our camp, the CIT's are on a rotation. They usually spend 4 weeks (I think) as CIT's and come with their troop for one week as well. They have the option to spend the other weeks of camp as CIT's if they want to though. Each week, the CIT works in a different area. As a part of the application process, they make a list of areas that they'd want to work in and we do our best to accomidate that. Now as a program area director, this is how I deal with the CIT's. First of all, I explain to them on Sunday what badges we teach and I ask what they would like to help out with. They chose which badges they want to "teach" and they attend all of the classes with the staff instructor. Monday through Thursday, the CIT spends time observing the classes and helping with lesson plans, blue cards, etc. On Friday, the last day of classes, the CIT actually teaches the class and the staff member sits back and observes. The staff member helps the CIT to develop a lesson plan and is there to help out if needed, but I think the best way to learn something is to do it. I also make sure that the CIT is free for at least one time slot in the morning so that he can work on his own advancement if he'd like to. In my opinion, this should be a requirement for the program. Most of the CIT's that have passed through my area have returned as staff either in my area or another. Two of the people working under me this summer were CIT's in previous years and said that they came back to Nature because they enjoy working with me. This might not work at every camp, but it seems to do just fine at ours.

I am staff at a Summer Camp and from our perspective, addressing the patrol method is difficult at best. This year I have taken on the task of designing a program for our camp that will increase the opportunities for Patrol-method camping. At many camps, the only patrol activity seems to be meals, but as a staff member, I have a problem with that. Meals are some of the few times that we have the entire camp together in one place. This is where we can give out our announcements and messages to everyone without having to track people down. No one is going to miss a meal if they can help it, right? Secondly, I don't know about at other camps, but at our camp, we do a short program during the meals (song, skit, or what-have-you). This serves to bring some of the staff into the spotlight so to speak and helps to form bonds with the campers. All of the staff rotates through the program schedule and the kids often relate the staff members with the program that they did at a meal. This is where I'm coming up empty handed when trying to write up this program. There doesn't seem to be a program at any camp out there that is doing what I want to do. I have nothing to base this on and I'm sorta starting from scratch. We already offer inter-troop competition and urge them to participate by patrol rather than troop, but I would like to go a step further. If anyone has any suggestions for patrol-method programming, please let me know.

Hello gentlemen (and ladies??), I am the Ecology Director at the best BSA camp in America (as proclaimed by me :-D). I have worked at camp for several years and plan to do so until I absolutely cannot continue. This year, I opted to take on the additional responsibility of creating a patrol activities program. I am working hand in hand with the program director to develop this, but on major problem that I'm up against is the lack of free time. Our camp, like many others, is very structured with Merit Badges, especially in the morning. In the afternoon and evening, our council mandates a couple of hours of "site time" for the boys to relax. No programs can be run at these times. On top of that, we do not run programs during Vespers, campfires, or outpost cooking night. This leaves me with only 3 1-hour blocks throught the entire week in which to hold patrol activities. In my opinion, camp should not be a "merit badge factory." Yes, there is a lot to say for earning badges and learning new skills (I am a councilor for several badges), but Summer Camp should be an experience to stay with the boy for his entire life. I fondly remember my days at camp and I like to try to ensure that the campers get the same experience that I did. I have seen in recent years though that scouts are getting burned out around Wednesday. I strongly believe in the benefits of the patrol method, but how can I squeeze more stuff into an already packed schedule? It's a terrible dichotomy.