TAHAWK

It can fairly be said that Bill's success in selling West on the Patrol Method is marked by the publication in 1929 of the first Handbook for Patrol Leaders, written primarily by Bill. One assumes that Bill saw that the primary issue in the success of the new format was adult acceptance. In 1930 we wrote, although not officially credited with authorship, a Service Library pamphlet The Patrol Method, Patrol Helps for Scoutmasters, clearly a pitch to adults on the Patrol Method.

Score individuals and a patrol's score is average of its member's scores. A Scout came up with that. It's only an accident if patrols are even in members or "fire power."

I was taught that is you could make a topic the subject of a game, you "had it made." By "game" was also meant patrol competition. There are few barriers to that approach for any advancement topic. "Advancement is the natural outcome of good program" ties into the above concept. Scouts have proved well able, in my experience, to come up with such games. And they can usually be active.

“Patrols will sometimes join with other patrols to learn skills and complete advancement requirements.” B.S.A., Scouting.org (2018)[emphasis added] “[The patrol is] the place where boys learn skills together, take on leadership responsibilities, perhaps for the first time . . . . ” B.S.A. Scouting.org. (2018)

There were variations from council to council.

It says: "Brownsea II focuses on Scoutcraft In 1976, the Boy Scouts introduced Brownsea II (Brownsea Double Two) to supplement Troop Leadership Development. It was developed in reaction to the changes to Scouting, including the advancement rules that no longer required Scouts to take a hike before obtaining the first class rank. The week-long course, unlike the Troop Leadership Program, was a "back-to-basics" program for Senior Patrol Leaders that was "program- and action-oriented."[25] It emphasized teaching and practicing Scout skills, the purposes of Scouting, and the role of the patrol method within the troop program.[26] Its goals were to develop leadership by giving Scouts opportunities to lead games that they could take back to the home troop, and by exposing the Scout to a leadership development project called "The Brownsea Pioneering Project".[27] Modifications implemented In 1979, the next iteration of junior leader training was introduced in the Troop Leader Training Conference. It was published "to eventually replace Troop Leader Development (#6544) and also provide the Scoutcraft skills experiences of Brownsea Double Two."[28] This paralleled a roll-back of an urban emphasis in Scouting which had removed mention of the word "campfire" from the 8th edition of the Boy Scout Handbook.[29] Effective Teaching, formerly named Manager of Learning, was renamed to sound less academic.[13]" This BA22 is new to me. It was "Brownsea Double Two" here in NE Ohio.

Check above link to history of leader training.

This is why constructive evaluation is important. The leaders need to discover the problem(s), if any, not have that conclusion dictated by adults. Tactically-sound questions - not statements - by the SM can lead to that discovery, because, being human, the leaders may be pleased but the ran-and-file not so happy. Evaluation, by whatever name, was and is one of the leadership skills taught by BSA for at least the last forty-five years.

https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/Leadership_training_(Boy_Scouts_of_America).html Obviously, Bill's course could not be "BS22."

Dealing with the well-oiled machine issue Heard at a council meeting in 1962 or 63 Bill: "Never do for a Scout what he can do for himself." Scouter in audience: "But 'do' to what standard?" Bill (after a brief pause): "Why to a boy's standard, of course."

An outdoor sport in the 50s was watching a Bomb tests - from a suitable distance and with eye protection to be sure.

The average Scoutmaster has just under 9 months on the job, has no idea what the Patrol Method is, and is not inclined to allow boys to plan or lead. Nor does BSA do anything to change this. The new SM is pretty much on his own. 2/3 have no UC, assumning they are competent. There is no training on the Patrol Method, much less what Bill was doing fifty+ years ago. There is no pressure to use it and no recognition if you do. If his Scouts take NYT, he is not inclined to allow them to do what they have just been taught to do: "That may be how they do it, but that's not how we do it."

e) (If you please) have you asked your son's Patrol Leader?

No. Only two troop meetings a month and four patrol meetings. MBs follow strictly from a Scout's interest in the topic. From time to time, we do have presentations that are about MB topics, such as one on wilderness survival. But the presentation was requested by the PLC to help get ready for a wilderness survival weekend that the PLC had planned. It also led into patrol competition that meeting. It did stimulate some MB interest for a few Scouts, but that was coincidental, and it was up to them to follow up with a Merit Badge Counselor.

Gary Ireland (her father): "The Eagle rank gets you into colleges and gets you, it is one of the few things you can put on your resume from high school that will help you get a job. There are companies that look for Eagle Scouts."....."We need the international community to put pressure on the Scouts." So he sent her of to South Africa to pursue that resume bump.

For two years we had a national head of training at HQ whose No. 1 priority was the Patrol Method. We actually got some explanation of the Patrol Method back in the Scoutmaster Specific syllabus, after a fourteen year absence. More change in SM training was prevented by making Venturing leadership training top priority.) The language about a troop being a group of patrols reappeared in the Handbook. But he seems to have made the bureaucracy nervous, so he was promoted out of that job and the former chief put back in charge. All progress stopped, as did any direct communication with volunteers.

I take it you mean communication of care by displaying care. But is "caring" is all that is required? I suggest more is needed. The "helicopter parents" so decried here all care. The Scoutmaster I noted above - the one man band - cares a great deal. He devotes many hours each week to "his" troop. However, he simply does not have a clue about what goals Scouting says he is supposed to be working towards, much less how to get there. But he cares. And from caring does everything "for the boys." He had told me if would be "cruel" to expect the Scouts to plan and lead program. They "are just kids." Scoutmaster of the Year. Just because management requires some of the same skills as leadership, does that mean they are the same? If so, skill in chopping wood makes you a headsman. Bill thought leadership was accomplishing a "job" through others. So did Ike. Bill speaks with some authority as he pretty much invented what we call Boy Scouting here in the U.S.A., inclusive of elected leaders. He was "the foremost influence on development of the Boy Scouting program." Boy Scouts of America, Scouting, September, 1985 at p. 26. "Scoutmaster to the World" Journal of Scouting History (1993) Ike? Well, he accomplished some remarkable things as a leader. Bill cared, and so he planned and led a massive leadership training program (Brownsea Double Two) as part of his effort to save Scouting from the awful "Improved Scouting Program" of 1972, and he actively supported Wood Badge, despite misgivings, for twenty years after it shifted from his preference of all Scoutcraft T-F to a focus on "leadership skills." (I suspect he would be horrified by the third, indoor version.) "Again and again we come back to the important point that you can’t expect a gang of boys to build a good Patrol without a boy leader who has been trained to lead." Boy Scouts of America, Scoutmaster's Handbook, (1953), W. Hillcourt, Ed. As for Ike, he said “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” Eisenhower. I think that's a pretty good few words that means a lot to me, especially the "because he wants to" part. If they don't follow for whatever reason(s), the job will not get done. (That is especially true in Scouting where most of the "players" can "vote with their feet.") Ike had six "rules" for the leader that sound pretty good, some of the same stuff you have taught us over the years, Stosh, if in different words. 1. Don’t take yourself seriously Eisenhower said, “Always take your job seriously, never yourself.” His first priority was getting the job done, and he knew that humor helped. He said, “A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” Leaders need to be serious and focused when pushing agendas, even agenda's that have strong support from the players, but they must have a sense of humor - especially at their own expense - throughout the process. Humor helps smooth the inevitable bumps in the road. 2. A leader doesn’t simply order people around Eisenhower believed that leadership didn’t come from barking orders or mandating action. He said, “You do not lead by hitting people over the head. That’s assault, not leadership.” At the core of this sentiment is the idea that leadership isn’t about simply pushing your own ideas. It’s about a conversation that demands respect and listening--from both sides. Getting people to move to where you want them to go is a subtle process that involves dialogue and interaction. It’s not about defining what you as a leader want, but discovering what everyone wants and fighting for that. Leaders must appreciate that leadership is about continually searching for common needs and involves conversation, both listening and talking. 3. Know that coalitions are vital Eisenhower knew the value of patience, and that coalitions and "political" sway were necessary to accomplishing the mission - the value of building consensus. If you have the power now to impose your will on the group now despite what they want, will that power last and what price will you pay later for using that power now? (My first SM said bossing is like pinching a watermelon seed; the harder you squeeze, the less control you have of where it will go when it pops.) 4. There are smarter people out there. Leaders need to stop protecting their egos and learn from whomever they can. My first Scoutmaster blessed me with a profound gift when he taught me "You don't have to always know the answer." 5. A pat on the back is all you need Eisenhower boosted morale not with inspirational speeches, but with simple, honest, straightforward face-to-face conversations. Instead of handing out trophies, he gave his soldiers encouraging pats on the back. It was a humble, direct way of reaching out, and it made him a favorite of the troops. 6. Be cheerful Eisenhower made it his business to be a positive, cheery, and upbeat. He knew optimism, like pessimism, was contagious. By remaining positive and trying to “reflect the cheerful certainty of victory” he believed he could boost individual and team morale. Leaders shouldn’t glower, whine, complain, or pout. They must demonstrate that they are excited about the larger organizational mission and work to cultivate a sense of optimism. Dour behavior from leaders has the potential to incite organizational malaise that can spread like wildfire. Be like Ike and make sure your mannerisms and speech reflect a positive attitude. B-P too was big on "Cheerful." (With thanks to Samuel Bacharach, co-founder of the Bacharach Leadership Group) Co-founder, Bacharach Leadership Group

"There are many ways Leaders communicate without verbalization." And so Bill taught. And so Wood Badge has taught in all three versions (I have staffed each.) - especially explicit in the second version. And it's still the leadership skill of communicating.

So Scouting in the 1950s was about "management"? Funny how well we did since "management" is now the label for utter EEEVVVIIILLL. Illustrates my point quite well. What you label a thing is neither here nor there. Blanchard - and the U.S. Military - call it "leadership," not "management." My employer sent all of us to a Blanchard course 22 years ago on the grounds that "management" was out and "leadership" - "bottom up leadership" at that - was in. I would like to see the servant leader perform his/her leading without communicating/communication. I know. So very 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 21st century! But, I submit, so true. Oliver Swift had it right. People kill over labels without even considering substance. _____________________________________ Don't use a demonstration if the boy can do the thing. The secret of success as a Patrol Leader? Be a Leader. Be a Friend. Be ahead. Bill Hillcourt.

Exactly so. No need to get hung up about labels when the ideas are the same. "Explain; teach; application phase" is EDGE. Not to mention "Communicating" vs "Communication."

Very cool! I expect there are still neat things out there to discover. I went to a tiny Army Navy store in a small town. They had a barrel of "intrenching tools." One was a short-lived BSA experiment with such a tool - shovel and pick like a real "E Tool" but built way too flimsy for boys. Even the steel parts were thin! Might have lasted a couple of days in a sand box, but clay ! Denominated the "Pick & Shovel," BSA # 1374. By Vaughn and Bushnell, which also made official BSA axes and survives today as "Vaughn Manufacturing." And here was one almost entirely totally intact for $5.95.