SPL at Troop Commitee Meetings

[Fehler]

Ok, I don't have a Troop Committee Handbook.  Does the SPL attend Troop Committee Meetings?  Should they?

[Eagledad]

They don't. They could, but consider and measure the value of the SPLs time and what the patrols gain from his presence. Consider what the adults gain from it. And remember sometimes things are discussed that are not for the Scouts' ears, like behavior discussions. You could have the SPL come in and give a brief report of the status of the troop. That is what the SM supposed to do anyway. That only takes a few minutes. Our troop has done this several different ways, and the largest issue of the SPL participating in a committee meeting is his time. These are busy.

 

Barry

[John-in-KC]

When I was a CC, the SM and I decided the SPL could attend the meeting to give the program report, under the supervision of the SM.  It worked fairly well.  The youth said they wanted to take a high adventure, but not Philmont or Northern Tier.  We told them, through the SPL, to research the options and come back to us with where they wanted to go and why.

 

Worked really well.

 

Your mileage may vary.

[John-in-KC]

Barry, if you:

- Limit the SPL's time to rendering the program report and getting feedback from the committee...

- Move his report to the very front end of the meeting so he can be in, out, and done ...

 

Then it can be of value.  See above.

[Eagledad]

Barry, if you:

- Limit the SPL's time to rendering the program report and getting feedback from the committee...

- Move his report to the very front end of the meeting so he can be in, out, and done ...

 

Then it can be of value.  See above.

Agree, in fact that is exactly how we do it. I was just giving warnings and caveats with our experiences.

 

The SM, CC and SPL should be prepared. Do it with a purpose of improving the the program so as not to add one more task for the young man. The CC can also give a brief commentary (very brief) at the begining of the meeting to kind of suggest the status of the troop from the committee side for the SPL's benefit. 

 

Our committee enjoys the SPLs presence, so they always behave well even complementing the patrols work.

 

Barry

[qwazse]

I encourage the practice. The challenge I see is freeing up the SPL's time to drop in on a committee meeting.

 

But, I would not encourage folks who do it to think that they are more youth-led by doing so. As Barry points out, the whole thing is a bust if this is just a bunch of adults heaping advice on the SPL.

 

It's a boon if on the other hand it's the CC asking, "What can we do to help you all?", and the SPL saying "We can manage XYZ, but are a little weak on ABC" then the committee sets to working on how they can enable the ABC (hardly matters if the boy's in the room or not).

[Stosh]

 I really don't see any need for any of the boys to have contact with the committee as a whole.  The SM is the liason between the adults and the boys and that should suffice.  The Scribe should have a regular contact with the troop treasurer on the committee and any of the boy leaders (PL, SPL if there is one) should be able to directly approach the CC if there's an issue with the SM.  I seen no reason why the boys need to report anything to the adults.  If the adults want to know what's going on with the boys, The adults  can visit with the boys at a meeting and observe during the meeting and ask questions afterwards if necessary.  Boys having to report to the adults sounds a bit like adult led or adult controlled process.  I would never do it, but I would make sure the CC's door is open for concerns just like the SM's door is open.

[CalicoPenn]

_{Not on a regular basis, and often not at all.  The Scoutmaster is the liaison between the Committee and the PLC/boys.  Too often, I've see SPL's invited to committee meetings to report on the annual plan the PLC has come up with only to be told why the Troop can't do this, that and/or the other.} 

 

_{On the other hand, with the right Committee Chair - that rare CC that understands the Committees real role (one of service to the boys), it can be a good thing.  For a while, we had a couple of Committee Chairs that really got it and would invite the SPL to stop by towards the end of their term to report on the Troop's activities and accomplishments, rather than future plans.  Those CC's would introduce the SPL as the leader of the Troop and the representative of the people they all worked for - the boys.  If that's the plan, and the schedule works out, I'm all for it.}

[Krampus]

TC's tend to have a lot of drama and dry stuff. 

[Sentinel947]

We have the invitation out there, I don't know of an SPL that attends. I didnt when I was an SPL. Heck, I don't attend the TC meetings as an ASM. There's no point.

[Stosh]

If paperwork is a waste of time, sitting in boring meetings perhaps even trumps that.

[fred johnson]

Maybe.  And depending on the SPL.  And depending on the nature of the committee.  But as a rule of thumb, I think it is best if it is limited to the SPL reporting the PLC and troop plans and needs.  The only person questioning him should be the scoutmaster.  Beyond that, I've seen too many adults that do way more damage interacting with scouts than they do good.

[Stosh]

Except  for a brief moment before I left my former troop when he finally got up to 4 patrols, did I even have an SPL.  Basically the PL's just would get together as needed and worked things out.  We're going to go to summer camp and they require an SPL, so the 2 PL's figure out who wants to spend the extra time at the SPL meetings.  Usually they take turns.  If there's food involved, they both go.  No one's complained yet.    Basically the PL's support each other and if they are up against an issue they can't handle they go to the SM as would the SPL in that situation.  Most of the SM support/assistance is in terms of homesickness, bed-wetting and other "personal" issues the PL might need an adult figure to handle and minimize the embarrassment to the scout.

 

With the new troop and young boys, the PL does rely on me for training because there are no older boys in the troop to do the heavy lifting.  Items I have taught are always picked up by the boys and taught to the younger boys.  If the subject has been marked off in anyone's handbook, they are qualified to teach.

 

So without a SPL, it hasn't been any great hardship not to have someone from the boys sit in on committee meetings.

[qwazse]

So, @@Stosh, are you saying that you don't have sufficient experience with an SPL to determine if a committee would benefit from his presence at their meetings?

[Stosh]

 No, I have lots of experience with a former troop (15 years) and been involved with many SPL's over the years (5 years) as a UC where SPL's were used.   In some cases where the troop was large, they were marginally effective in a management role.  The majority of SPL's are in name only prestige role and are really the PL of a small troop.  In the smaller units were SPL's were used they tended to interfere with the operations of the patrol method and tried to run everything.  PL's thus became redundant and ineffective.  There seemed to be a lot of concern on how to get SPL's to actually fulfill their POR's and were basically pencil whipped through the requirement. 

 

It has been my experience that SM's view the SPL's in our area as either their minion or necessary evil.  I did experience one boy who was identified as the SPL of a small troop, but was in fact a very good patrol LEADER.  The boys flocked around him like chicks around a mother hen.            

 

My skip-level meetings with SPl's in the units I am UC for and they only reinforce my bias towards the subject of SPL's, they tend to run the same course as meetings with ASM's.

 

The ultimate example I have to offer is the SPL that got up at the beginning of the meeting and made a ton of announcements before the adults realized they had given him last year's agenda for the meeting and not this year's.  Only the adults noticed, the boys were totally ignoring him.

 

What they would have to offer a committee contact would be about as effective as what they have to offer the troop they are supposed to be supporting.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Stosh