Adult Leader Training

[Argyle]

Hello. Here's my prob. I just got all the recharter info back. There were several of our adult leaders who were not given credit for training courses they've attended. It's not that I'm taking their word, but, I was present and know they were there. So, is it as simple as acquiring a signed training card, filling it out with the date in it and submitting it?

 

Second question. I've got two long time adult leaders who are now mates on our ship, neither have been given credit for New Leader Essentials. The first's training card says he has "Boy Scout Leader Basic Training Completed" this was 1991. The second's says "Cub Scout Leader Basic Training Completed" this one also was in 1994. Is this training equivalent of New Leader Essentials or do they need to complete NLE again? Or is it a matter of submitting another training card, backdated?

 

Thanks!

[GMitch]

If each of these guys has 60 minutes, they can take NLE online. Now, for me this is the "less preferred" method, as I think there is a lot to be gained from networking with other Scouters at training events. However, when I have a behind the scenes volunteer like a Committee Member who cannot or is hesitant to attend a District training, I have them do NLE online. Most Councils do not offer it online, but the Greater Cleveland Council does, and will e-mail a completion certificate afterwards. I have turned a few of these in to our District office, and they have not even balked at them. Really, when you have only 14% of your leaders in the District Basic Trained, how could they make a stink about someone's effort to become better trained?

 

So, here is where you want to be:

Begin by going to the Council homepage here: http://www.gccbsa.org/Index.asp

Slide the mouse over Training on the upper right of the menu, then over e learning, and then click New Leader Essentials. There are detailed instructions from this part forward. Once completed, you will enter information so that a certificate can be e-mailed to you.

 

[rjscout]

I had seen the on-line NLE from the Indianapolis council (Crossroads of America Council). I askes our District Training Chairman about it and he said that it was not a National endorsed course. Is the GCC NLE online actually endorsed by National? If there is a National endorsed course for NLE, can a District ignore this course? After attending the NLE, I thought that this would be one of the easiest courses to put online. I think the networking with Scouters was better with the Leader Specific course. I took both on the same day. We have a few cases where there is a Leader Specific training offered (one is hosted at the school where we meet) with no NLE. I am all for training, and convenience is going to allow more of our leaders to get the basic training.

 

Does anyone else know of other online versions of NLE, and are they endorsed by National?

 

[mt_goodrich]

I'm with GMich...go ahead and take NLE either online or at a training event. I prefer the training event for same reason....networking. Get to know other folks that are "in the same boat" as you.

[FScouter]

New Leader Essentials training is not a BSA on-line course. The NLE found on the gccbsa website is essentially copied from the BSA PowerPoint supplement for the BSA NLE training. The PowerPoint presentation covers the highlights of the training, but it is not a substitute for the complete course.

 

All online BSA trainings may be found on the BSA training website at www.olc.scouting.org .

[Argyle]

Would an adult who completed Boy Scout Leader Basic Training in 1991 have to do NLE again or would that / should that Basic Training count as NLE?

[GMitch]

While it may not be "National approved", I'd rather have folks who refuse to be trained do this online NLE than nothing. Also, as I stated above our District has not questioned the training. I think once the folks who won't go to training but take the online course, will feel less threatened, more informed, and will eventually be more open to learning more in a live training session.

[Argyle]

http://www.grc-bsa.org/NLE/nlestart.htm

 

I went through the above NLE online course. The online course was better than the one I actually attended.

[evmori]

If someone refuses to be trained, I would gladly return their registration fee. They are virtually useless!

[rjscout]

I wasn't too sure about the Ages and Stages video. There are some good points to the video, but the first thing I thought when the leader put the boy on his lap was 'that better be his father'. I think that would be considered 'inappropriate'.

 

Reviewing the GRC online NLE did make me think that it would be better to have audio as part of the powerpoint presentation, to help describe and explain some of the slides. I would like an online option.

 

(This message has been edited by rjscout)

[fgoodwin]

I've learned the hard way that the recharter info is not a reliable indicator of the trained status of your adults.

 

When I first managed a recharter for my son's Cub Scout Pack back in 2001 (I was a newly appointed committee chair), I navely went through and updated the trained status of every registered adult in the pack. I was surprised to find at our next recharter that none of that info "stuck"; I found out later that the council ignores the trained status field for recharter purposes (I hope that changes under the Centennial Unit Quality process).

 

Talk to your district training chairman -- if you can produce trained cards for your adults, I'd be willing to bet (as a former district TC myself) that he or she will give them credit for each course for which they can produce a card.

 

If your pack or troop has a training coordinator, it would be a good idea for him or her to keep a copy of everyone's trained cards in case a question ever arises about their trained status; this will also help for your CQUA worksheet & year-end documentation of results.

 

It is important to remind your adults to keep those trained cards, and never leave a training course without one! Despite the best efforts of your district training team, records get lost (or never entered) between course completion and data entry by someone at the Council office.

 

The trained card is your proof that you attended and earned credit for the course.

[Argyle]

Thanks Fred,

 

I emailed the District Commissioner. His response, well, he didn't have a clue what I was trying to ask him. Two questions. One is, that there were courses held that our adults attended that aren't being recorded. Do they have to take the training over, or can I just get a training card and fill it our, based on my witnessing them personally having attended the training.

 

Second question is that several completed Boy Scout and Cub Scout Basic Training in the 90's. The training record lists courses such as The Troop Meeting, Troop Organization, The Outdoor Program, and Boy Scout Leader Basic Training Completed 11/01/1990....would that be the equivalent of New Leader Essentials or does he have to take NLE to be considered trained.

[FScouter]

The GRC version is a little better than the GCC version in that in addition to presenting the PowerPoint it adds the NLE video supplement as well. Still missing though is all the rest of the content that is found in the 90 minute live training.

[scottteng]

The lack of training being recorded properly is an ongoing problem. The latest fix is to have a unit training person who does an annual training inventory looking at the actual training cards if necessary. This inventory is given to the district training chairman who sends it in for data entry. Over time the theory is that everyone's training records will be correctly reflected. Despite the popularity of Troopmaster most troops are not computerized and you don't need to go back very many years and councils were not computerized. The other factor that throws a wrench into proper data entry is variations of names on the hand written training attendance sheets. It is the same challenge your advancement person faces when advancement reports are not filled out with full as registered name. Your troop knows all of them and it is obvious to you that TJ is Tyler but not at all obvious to a harried data entry person at the council office. We all have a BSA number that must be entered to get credit for the online classes. Would it be a good idea to require that number on all training attendance sheets?

[John-in-KC]

One of the things I wish is that myscouting reported our (adult) information from ScoutNet... such as trainings, FOS donations, OA events,... all of which are tracked.

 

I also wish there was a way a la the Advancement Report or internet advancement units could report various BSA Scouter events for input.

 

As far as someone long ago not wanting to take training... what a crock! I guess he has not heard of Tom Peters and "Train and re-train constantly." Since going to college 30 years ago I've been over the academic fundamentals of leadership time and time again, not to mention MBO, MBE, MBWA, ISO9000, ISO9002, Quality this and Quality that... with the exception of some of the Tayloristic aspects of ISO9000 and the current quality rage, I've learned something from all of them... including WB.

 

Sigh.(This message has been edited by John-in-KC)