meeting locations

[RainShine]

I want to learn what Scouting looks like outside my little corner of it. I have a question about where Scouts meet. Couple examples.

I went to the Scoutmaster training at the recent Council training conference. The man teaching the class was a Scoutmaster for ten years, retired now, seemed like a great guy. During the class he stated while he was SM, the Scouts would visit his house (with a parent) for Scoutmaster conferences. Is this okay and normal and happens all the time, or is this not okay?

Do your Scouts ever have a PLC at a Scouts house? (yes two-deep. Can I leave this acknowledgement out? its always two-deep) Is this okay and normal and happens all the time?

Do your patrols meet only at the designated meeting place or do they meet at a Scouts house sometimes?

Is meeting at someplace other than the designated meeting place normal and happens all the time, or does this ring alarm bells?

Sorry if this is an unusual question. I just don't know what its like out there beyond my experience.

[ValleyBoy]

Scouting can happen at many different places as long as the rules are followed.  If the Scoutmasters conference at the SM home works for that unit and 2 deep leadership is followed I see nothing wrong if this is the way this troop does this.  The troop that I am a member is sponsored by a Church and I am a member of another church.  Several week ago my church's men's had a breakfast and workday at the church,  I invited the scouts to attend and informed them that they could earn service hours for the event.  One other adult leader with our troop attended with his son but even if he had not attended the event 2 deep adult leadership was followed since other adults were at the event.  Alarm bells only ring if the rules are not followed.

[Eagledad]

Once in a while the scouts met at my house and I barbecued burgers and dogs while they had their meeting. Sometimes the scout ran their PLC or Patrol Corners outside if the weather was good. As Valleyboy said, provide the 2 deep leadership and you can have a meeting just about anywhere. In fact, do a Troop Meeting somewhere different like a park just to break the monotony.

Barry 

[ValleyBoy]

Several years ago while I was SM of the troop over half the youth were members of the High School & Middle School band and there concerts were always on the same night (Tuesday) as our meeting time.  Instead of canceling our meeting we would move our meeting to Monday evening  at city hall and attend the city council meeting. 

[T2Eagle]

There are a lot of good reasons to meet someplace different. 

Just about all the Eagle SM conferences I held over the years were held at my house.  I never held them the same night as our troop meeting because I wanted a time where we could both be relaxed and focused.

Patrol meetings, or other events where a group of scouts needed to get together to work on something (prep work for a camporee or klondike derby where they're building props for instance) are almost always held at a scout's house rather than the school/church where we meet.

For the more regularly scheduled meetings, we remember that 80% of scouting is outing, and so we try to meet outside if it's feasible.  As Eagledad suggested parks are a great place to meet if for no other reason than to break up the monotony.  Plus they just give you more room to do things.

If the weather is nice our PLC will often meet outside, even if it's just on the parish grounds.

For our troop meetings, we're fortunate that we have a local park across the street from our parish, and we have a boy scout camp right in our town.  Again assuming good weather, we often plan to meet in the park across the street so that we can conduct the main activity for the evening outside.  Several times a year we meet in the camp, especially if we're working on orienteering, fire building, or something else that needs a wide area. 

If every meeting, troop, patrol, PLC, SM conference, BOR  looks and feels exactly the same you're not using your imagination and probably missing some opportunities for learning and/or adventure. As always, the best answer to your question will come from your PLC.

[njdrt-rdr]

1 hour ago, ValleyBoy said:

One other adult leader with our troop attended with his son but even if he had not attended the event 2 deep adult leadership was followed since other adults were at the event.  Alarm bells only ring if the rules are not followed.

Technically isn't this against the rules now? I thought the rules were any outing the scouts participate in has to be attended by 2 "registered scout leaders"...

[njdrt-rdr]

We meet once a week as a whole troop its usually school cafeteria, our local park or our charter org location. When it's PLC it's either at one of those locations or a leaders house. Scout master conferences and board of review happen at the same place during the troop meeting.

[qwazse]

If it weren't for venturers meeting at my house on my birthday, the salsa would have had been insufficiently spiced, and I my "It's delicious dear ..." would have lacked sincerity.

There is something to be said for regular meetings at a set location. The public counts on that.

But, if your family has a culture of hospitality (as my SM who lived with his sister did), then you'll want scouts and parents to know they are part of that circle. For upper ranks, especially, SMCs may take time ... especially if you have a scout who is somehow trying to figure out life. So, if at the regular meetings things are too disruptive or stressful (some spaces just seem to amplify the chaos), you need to figure out where and when might be a better time to talk personal growth. (Often, we've found those times during campouts or hikes. But homes or nearby coffee shops might work just as well.)

The ideal patrols should meet independently, and with current YPT that may mean at wherever two adults are available to chaperon. That could include someone's home or place of business. Frankly, the only way that I see BSA growing under the current restrictions is if a large number of leaders -- long after their kids have moved on -- maintain their clearances and registration so that they can "be there" to provide space and time for independent patrols.

[Thunderbird]

1 hour ago, njdrt-rdr said:

Technically isn't this against the rules now? I thought the rules were any outing the scouts participate in has to be attended by 2 "registered scout leaders"...

Yes, I would think so.  All meetings and activities need to have 2 registered adult leaders age 21+ now.  Other adults being present would not meet the 2-deep leadership requirement unless they are also registered adult leaders with the BSA age 21+.

[ValleyBoy]

37 minutes ago, Thunderbird said:

Yes, I would think so.  All meetings and activities need to have 2 registered adult leaders age 21+ now.  Other adults being present would not meet the 2-deep leadership requirement unless they are also registered adult leaders with the BSA age 21+.

You are correct.  But has the scouting program gone overboard in certain situations when it comes to 2 deep leadership.  Example,  Timmy and Tommy are next door neighbors and best friends.  Both are in the same patrol which Timmy is the patrol leader.  They meet after school at one of them house to work on an activity for the next scout meeting with no adults present since there parents have not got home from work or only one parent is home but is inside the house and they work on the activity in the back yard.  Since this is a scouting related activity do you as a registered youth protection trained adult leader in there troop inform them that this activity is not allowed since it is scouting related due to the fact that they do not have 2 deep leadership.

[Jameson76]

45 minutes ago, ValleyBoy said:

You are correct.  But has the scouting program gone overboard in certain situations when it comes to 2 deep leadership.  Example,  Timmy and Tommy are next door neighbors and best friends.  Both are in the same patrol which Timmy is the patrol leader.  They meet after school at one of them house to work on an activity for the next scout meeting with no adults present since there parents have not got home from work or only one parent is home but is inside the house and they work on the activity in the back yard.  Since this is a scouting related activity do you as a registered youth protection trained adult leader in there troop inform them that this activity is not allowed since it is scouting related due to the fact that they do not have 2 deep leadership.

The similar issue that has come up with YPT, but more as friends.  You are a leader in the troop.  Your child is in the troop.  Another child in the troop lives nearby, they come over to play video games and other (maybe) school stuff on a Saturday.  As you are the only adult there, and YPT specifies in and out of Scouting, you are in violation of YPT rules as there are two Scouts there and only one leader.

Oh the horrors

[RainShine]

Related, we now have patrol corners during every troop meeting. At the last one the Scouts in one patrol decided to have a sleepover at one of the guys house. He asked his mom and dad, they will both be home, but neither are registered. They're just regular parents. Obviously no other adults, like me, will be there.

I didn't block it at the time. I'm more of a 'go for it, that sounds cool' kind of guy. But now I realize I should have blocked it. I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes.

It was their idea. They were on the far side of the room, no adults could hear what they were saying. I only got wind of it later. They are going to order pizza and play video games and hang out. But... I will shut it down.

Edited March 2, 2020 by RainShine

[ValleyBoy]

9 minutes ago, Jameson76 said:

The similar issue that has come up with YPT, but more as friends.  You are a leader in the troop.  Your child is in the troop.  Another child in the troop lives nearby, they come over to play video games and other (maybe) school stuff on a Saturday.  As you are the only adult there, and YPT specifies in and out of Scouting, you are in violation of YPT rules as there are two Scouts there and only one leader.

Oh the horrors

We have had this discussion inside our troop with adult leadership.  Our SM son's best friend is also a member of the troop and they spend a lot of time together.  No telling the number of times that only one adult was present.  Both of these youth are over 18 now but are still registered with the troop.  Our SM also works with his Churches youth group and they also use 2 deep adult leadership but it is our understanding that he is in violation of scouting youth protection if any of the youth that attend are scouts and there are not 2 registered scout leaders present at thoughts activities.    

[ValleyBoy]

10 minutes ago, RainShine said:

Related, we now have patrol corners during every troop meeting. At the last one the Scouts in one patrol decided to have a sleepover at one of the guys house. He asked his mom and dad, they will both be home, but neither are registered. They're just regular parents. Obviously no other adults, like me, will be there.

I didn't block it at the time. I'm more of a 'go for it, that sounds cool' kind of guy. But now I realize I should have blocked it. I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes.

It was their idea. They were on the far side of the room, no adults could hear what they were saying. I only got wind of it later. They are going to order pizza and play video games and hang out. But... I will shut it down.

And we  wonder why the patrol method does not work when the patrol tries to plan something on there own.  Then have to inform them that they can not do that.

[walk in the woods]

29 minutes ago, RainShine said:

Related, we now have patrol corners during every troop meeting. At the last one the Scouts in one patrol decided to have a sleepover at one of the guys house. He asked his mom and dad, they will both be home, but neither are registered. They're just regular parents. Obviously no other adults, like me, will be there.

I didn't block it at the time. I'm more of a 'go for it, that sounds cool' kind of guy. But now I realize I should have blocked it. I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes.

It was their idea. They were on the far side of the room, no adults could hear what they were saying. I only got wind of it later. They are going to order pizza and play video games and hang out. But... I will shut it down.

Why block it.  Doesn't sound like a scout outing to me.

17 minutes ago, ValleyBoy said:

And we  wonder why the patrol method does not work when the patrol tries to plan something on there own.  Then have to inform them that they can not do that.

Patrol Method works fine, just outside the auspices of the BSA.