Mandatory JTE

[Eagle732]

When we submitted JTE it was just SWAG. Let the professionals do the figuring, that's their job.

Our job is to take boys camping and and promote the Scout Oath and Law. That leaves little time for such foolishness.

 

[Tampa Turtle]

It smacks at the kinda mindless management BS we have to do at work. But as much as I hate it there were a couple items that jogged us a but that we had to admit we needed to tighten up on. So not a total waste of time but not really worth it.

[SeattlePioneer]

Hello Tampa,

 

 

Which were the items on which your unit was weak, and do you have ideas on how to improve those?

 

Personally, my Cub Pack is weak --- marginal and struggling. As I review our JTE scores, they are sometimes weak or failing in particular areas.

 

Just as an example, we did two service projects last year --- three would have been bronze.

 

We failed to meet the bronze advancement or retention standards.

 

We have a newly appointed advancement chair.

 

Retention is tough --- I'm not quite sure what the issue is there.

 

But the JTE does a good job of fingering our weaknesses. If you already have a fine pack it's probably not going to tell you much.

[Eagle92]

Maybe I'm naive because I have a good SE, and had a good DE, who focuses on program.

 

Maybe I'm naive because the pack has had some challenges the past year.

 

And maybe I'm naive because when I looked at the troop JTE some of them seemed to be normal expectations ( 9 camps out/year, Summer camp, 6 service projects, etc) of my troop growing up.

 

But I see JTE as a tool to focus on the challenges a unit is having.

 

Yes some of it needs a calculator to fill out. But overall I see it as a tool to help a unit out.

 

Now I do know sometimes units have problems that seem overwhelming, had that last year, but even just looking at the JTE when in trouble could help focus some attention on fixing the challenges.

[Twocubdad]

Yeah, SP, we know. We've heard the company line before.

 

But that were really the goal, BSA could accomplish the same thing by PROVIDING this info to the units, not making volunteers struggle for it. When your commissioner comes for one of his annual visits (we're still waiting for our 1987 visit) he could provide the leaders with the info available on Scoutnet, then suggest to them they may want to plug in the program data and see how their unit stacks up against national averages and standard. Internal use only.

 

But this system where unit JTE feeds into district JTE which feeds council JTE which feeds professional salaries and reviews is ripe for the kind of abuse Basementdweller is reporting.

[Tampa Turtle]

Weak areas--

 

We scored Gold pretty easy but was reminded on the boy led, adults getting trained up, and the minimum number of outings I recall. It came at a critical moment when some adults were pushing hard on returning to an adult led Troop and cutting back on outings to accommodate the scouts on outings. It helped frame that discussion in "yeah we are going in the right direction".

[kari_cardi]

I filled out the JTE form for our pack. I think the goals themselves are reasonable goals. We made gold without even trying or knowing what the requirements were, because we've been working on building a stronger, more organized pack that has fun activities that scouts like to do. I know my DE and DC were happy. Completing the form was presented as one of the things that needed to be done for re-charter, does that make it mandatory? If I didn't want to do it I would've just waited until after the re-charter deadline passed and the point would be moot.

[johnponz]

I believe that this is another case of unit level volunteers not liking whatever National, Council or district puts out there. Either you buy into the higher levels being there to help you or you do not. If you do not, don't bother with JTE as it will not help you.

 

If you believe that it can help by identifying weaknesses, you need to correct by all means fill it out and use the information to help your unit. You all seem to forget that the Commissioners are volunteers just like you, and would not be doing BSA if not to help units succeed.

 

By the way, I am a Commissioner who visits all 3 of my units at least once a month.

[Eagle732]

johnponz, it's great that you visit your units monthly, from my experience you are the exception. I went years without seeing a UC.

 

Still I don't buy into the JTE thing. I'm not one of those guys that's against everything National, Council or District does. In fact in addition to being a SM I also volunteer at the District and Council levels.

 

 

 

[BDPT00]

Eagle732,

You said you don't buy into the JTE thing.

Don't buy into doing it, or don't buy into the whining about it?

BDPT00

[Abel Magwitch]

I love twocubdad's sarcasm - that they are still waiting for their 1987 commissioner visit. (but I know that there is truth in what you say).

 

My unit will continue to ignore the jte as we have ignored the quality unit nonsense, (its nonsense in my district and council). We know that the form will be filled out for us by our "do nothing for the youth" DE so he can again get his quality district plaque.

 

My unit will ignore any requests by our professional staff as long as our Scouts do not get the promised service from the district and council.

 

Finally, my district is coming up on two years with no district commissioner. Our district is made up of a few hand picked people, hand picked by the DE who you never see and cannot correspond with unless through the DE who will decide if your correspondence is worthy.

 

Yep, my council still runs like this yet there is a nice revolving door of pros coming and getting promoted due the the "quality" of the council.

 

Basement, I would ignore your DE. What's he going to do? prevent your unit from rechartering? That would mean one less quality unit in his district and hurt his chances of making his criticals. Tell him you will cooperate once the council cooperates and starts to serve the youth of your unit first.(This message has been edited by abel magwitch)

[Eagle732]

BDPT00,

I don't buy into JTE. I don't care about the whining. Everyone has their own opinion.

 

Our unit did it because we figured from past experience, the DE would do it for us if we didn't. Better that we put in what we want than someone who knows zero about our unit. We were Gold. We will not buy JTE patches.

 

If a unit wants to do it and they see value in it then that's fine. If they don't then I don't think it should be mandatory.

The fact that DEs are saying it's mandatory (which it isn't) tells me there is more than a few units not participating.

 

Just my opinion.

 

[SeattlePioneer]

Hello Two Cub,

 

 

 

[Basementdweller]

Wow what a bunch of wimps.....you might as well fill it out because he will fill it out for you.

 

 

If he does it again this year, I will have the COR contact the SE and file a complaint. We notified the council office that next time he touches our UDA account with out written permission from our CC we would file a police report for theft.

 

I don't like our district one bit.....ZERO activities. ZERO support for the units.

 

Many of you know my struggles........Abel and I are in very similar boats regarding district.

 

 

I see my whats a commissioner comment got deleted. Had one once, made the boys cry, told him to leave and never come back.

[SeattlePioneer]

Hello Basement,

 

QAs always, sorry to hear about your district and council wars.

 

 

So, if you had filled out your JTE report, how would you unit have done? Any particular weaknesses you plan to work on? If you tell all I promise not to pass that on to the DE....

 

 

As I noted, I've got plenty of issues in my struggling Cub Pack. We do our best, but sometimes that's not a high standard.

 

On the bright side, my pack had it's first den meetings without me as Cubmaster, and did fine. The CC and I (nor COR) recruited a Tiger Cub parent to organize our Blue and Gold Dinner. We are eyeing a Tiger Cub Parent as a possible Asst Committee Chair to be Committee Chair in 2013.(This message has been edited by seattlepioneer)