So What Do You Do To make The Patrol Method Work?

[Eamonn]

Hi,

Moving on to the Patrol Method.

What do you do to make it work in your troop?

If you don't use it why not?

If you do use it what makes it work?

Eamonn.

[schleining]

First we do everything as Patrols.

The SPL and PLs get instructions from the SM and ASMs and then are given the opportunity to execute the plan.

The Patrols do all their planning as a Patrol, meals, who is going to buy the food etc.

Since our Scouts are still young we have an ASM for eac patrol that coaches them, but allows them enough slack that they can make mistakes and then the ASM or myself (SM) step in for the teaching /learning moment.

The Scouts like the Patrol method. Our Patrols are 5 to 6 boys max. That is a small enough unit to still handle big tasks, while being a good size for a young scout to control.

 

Jerry

[Kudu]

Physical Separation and SM Approval for PL-Appointed Patrol Quartermasters.

 

Get the Patrols separated as far as possible when tent camping. Try Patrol Competitions with Reeses Cups (the coin of the realm) awards for the best remote Patrol Site.

 

The Patrol Quartermaster is probably more important than the Patrol Leader in making a Patrol truly independent. Buy him a clipboard with a pen attached with a string, make up a Patrol Quartermaster List, and make sure that the Patrol Quartermaster (and his assistant) go through the checklist before EVERY campout. See:

 

http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/equipment/quartermaster.htm

 

In my Troop, every Patrol Quartermaster is technically a "Troop Quartermaster." He wears that badge, and receives "position of responsibility" credit for advancement.

 

[Lynda J]

WE LET THE BOYS DO IT. We do work with the SPL and PL so they understand what is expected of them. That it is up to them to plan and do. If they make mistakes they will learn from them. We had a partol plan no cooked meals for camporee. Well guess what it was cold. They were complaining about not having any hot food. I ask them who planned their menus.

they made do with what they had planned. Guess what the next camping trip they cooked every single meal. Didn't even do sandwiches for lunch.

Last night our SPL didn't get things moving as soon as he should have. They goofed around for about 15 minutes at the first of the meeting. Normally we do a break somewhere during the meeting. There was a lot to get done and he had all the paper work that needed to be completed so we could turn in our summer camp registration today. Well guess what. When it came time for the break the paper work wasn't done. And the boys couldn't break. One was complaining about it. One of the newer boys commented "everyone took their break at the start of the meeting so we don't get one now." Want to bet that things get started earlier next week.

They learn.

We try to make things to easy for our kids. We don't want them to have to struggle. Well guess what. With out failures we can not appreciate the sweetness of success. You only fail if you do not try.

[NIscouter]

Our troop is a bit behind on this right now, but I focus on the patrol as the basic scout unit, the frame of reference for all we do. The way I discuss the troop issues, our events, scout behavior situations, all are viewed through the lense of the patrol. It is amazing many problems can be traced back to the lack of strong patrol identities.(This message has been edited by NIscouter)

[mdutch]

How do you tie behavior to the patrol? It sounds like an interesting idea.

[NIscouter]

Meameng - I think the patrol can put positive peer pressure on it's members. I feel that putting the responsiblility of the actions of the each member of the patrol to the entire patrol (with some exceptions, of course) helps to influence the boys to funnel thier energy into positive actions that support the patrol, not tear it down. It also helps bring them together as a group.

[Eagledad]

Hi All

 

>>I feel that putting the responsiblility of the actions of the each member of the patrol to the entire patrol

[SemperParatus]

A Boy Scouts Patrol Song

1913

Rudyard Kipling

 

 

THESE are our regulations

Theres just one law for the Scout

And the first and the last, and the present and the past,

And the future and the perfect is Look out!

I, thou and he, look out!

We, ye and they, look out!

Though you didnt or you wouldnt

Or you hadnt or you couldnt;

You jolly well must look out!

Look out, when you start for the day

That your kit is packed to your mind;

There is no use going away

With half of it left behind.

Look out that your laces are tight,

And your boots are easy and stout,

Or youll end with a blister at night.

(Chorus) All Patrols look out!

 

Look out for the birds of the air,

Look out for the beasts of the field

Theyll tell you how and where

The other sides concealed.

When the blackbird bolts from the copse,

Or the cattle are staring about,

The wise commander stops

And (chorus) All Patrols look out!

 

Look out when your front is clear,

And you feel you are bound to win.

Look out for your flank and your rear

Thats where surprises begin.

For the rustle that isnt a rat,

For the splash that isnt a trout,

For the boulder that may be a hat

(Chorus) All Patrols look out!

 

For the innocent knee-high grass,

For the ditch that never tells,

Look out! Look out ere you pass

And look out for everything else!

A sign mis-read as you run

May turn retreat to a rout

For all things under the sun

(Chorus) All Patrols look out!

 

Look out when your temper goes

At the end of a losing game;

When your boots are too tight for your toes;

And you answer and argue and blame.

Its the hardest part of the Law,

But it has to be learnt by the Scout

For whining and shirking and jaw

(Chorus) All Patrols look out!

 

 

 

[Bob White]

While I agree the patrol method helps to promote good behavior I take a different approach using it that I feel better reflects the scouting methods and program.

 

Unless a scout or patrol's behavior is a safety or health hazard I ignore it and I teach the junior leaders to ignore it. Focus on recognizing and rewarding individuals and patrols that display the correct behavior rather than expend attention, energy and resources on those that do not. The others will catch on and come around.

 

BW

 

 

(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[vansja]

As a new leader to a troop that has not succeeded with the boy led patrol method in the past, my post is slightly different from the rest.

 

Here is what myself, along with a few of the other new leaders to our troop are putting in place to move the troop toward a boy led, patrol focused unit.

 

For the first time, we are going to have a new scout patrol, focused on building basic scout skills and advancing the boys through the First Class rank. Our goal is to get these boys meeting and working as a patrol, with the understanding that they are going to be our next wave of youth leaders. My hope is that we eventually get to mixed age patrols, however, I think that this is a necessary step to getting the boys to respond to the patrol method.

 

We are also planning to start holding a youth leadership campout every fall. This event would be attended by the youth leaders of the troop for the coming year, as well as the SM, ASM, etc. We will focus on team building and leadership skills, with the hope of returning home with a closer, more motivated team of youth leaders.

 

Our hope is that the combination of these two additions to the program will get us moving in the right direction.

 

Jim

[schleining]

One of the best ways to make the Patrol Method work is to Work the Patrol method.

Learn it and start having the boys live it.

Rely on the SPL and PLs to do the work. Give them clear instructions away from the rest of the Troop and let them go at it.

This has worked great for my 1 year old Troop.

 

Jerry

[Eamonn]

The Troop that I was in as a Scout seemed to me to be using the Patrol method. We had Patrols that were in inter-patrol competitions. Patrols that camped as patrols, cooked as Patrols and being as we were in the UK and used six man tents slept as Patrols. We had regular meetings of the Patrol Leaders Council.

As a Scout in this troop and later as a Leader I didn't know or maybe I didn't want to know that there was a really big part missing.

Many of us have heard the wise words: Train them, Trust them, Let them lead.

We weren't doing this and for a very long time were making no effort to even get close to doing it.

Sure we /I was going through the motions but I was holding back. I was in fact telling the Patrol Leaders what I wanted them to do and what I expected from them. They were going back to their Patrols and passing on the information. They really weren't representing the group they were my representatives to the group. I wasn't allowing them the opportunity to have any real authority as at the end of the day they were just the enforcers of what Eamonn wanted.

I have read a lot of guff as to why Troops are not using the Patrol method. I have seen and heard that the boys are too young or too old, the Troop is too small or too large, still at the end of the day it is all guff. The only reason a Troop doesn't use the Patrol Method is because the adults either don't know how to use it or they have decided that they don't want to use it.

I think that we have far too many Scoutmasters trying to do way too much and failing to recognize that the most important job or role that they have is the training of the Patrol Leaders and the SPL.

I am 100% for all Patrol Leader Training's that are offered by Districts and Councils, but the real training is the on the job training that happens every week at our meetings. Each and every Patrol Leader and SPL is an individual with his own strengths and weaknesses and it is the job of the Scoutmaster to support and help this individual to do the best job possible. The shape and the style that this help and support takes on will differ from Lad to Lad.

I have for a very long time believed that our Patrol Leaders and SPL are very important people and have gone out of my way to make them feel special. Sodas at PLC meetings or meetings that end up at a fast food restaurant help. But allowing them the opportunity to really take the bull by the horn and letting them be the Troop Leaders really makes them feel that they are special.

It is important that they know that they are accountable for what they do and what doesn't get done. Some Lads will need the SM to "Look in" see how they are doing. By doing this we are setting them up for success.

There are of course times when things don't go well or maybe not as well as they might have gone. I found one of the most powerful tools for finding out where the strengths and weaknesses were was by using a well run reflection. This only works if we believe that we are striving for an optimistic future and refuse to dwell in a pessimistic past. What we learn from the reflection should help us make improvements for the next time and not be followed by a **** session.

I hear the term "Boy Led Troop" a lot. I have to admit that it was new too me. Scouts and Scouting has used the Patrol method from the very beginning. The Scouts do need to know that there are some limitations that will get in their way. Sure it might be wonderful if the troop went camping every second weekend, but if the leaders are married and have families and children of their own, this just isn't going to happen.

I was very lucky in that I had the greatest committee behind me. I never seen the need to have youth members attend the Troop Committee Meetings and the only adult at the PLC meetings was the Troop QM. Our PLC meetings were held mostly on a Saturday afternoon and I would meet with the adult leaders on Sunday after church for a drink for an informal "What we are doing" meeting.

I did try inviting the ASM's to the Annual Planning Meeting, but they seemed to have a little too many ideas and too much input, which seemed to prevent the PLC members from thinking on their own.

Eamonn

[SeattlePioneer]

Good post eamonn.

 

In my experience, one way adults interfere with Patrols is the desire for the Scouts to do ambitious trips and activities that are beyond the skills that they have. When that happens, adults tend to do the things that the Scouts can't do.

 

A Scoutmaster told me that he was in Scouting because he liked to go backpacking. As a result, he pushed new boys to go backpacking ----hard.

 

These were boys who couldn't cook, had no map and compass skills and such ---and as a result it was the adults who led the trips and did the cooking and the boys "helped."

 

This is quite common from what I see, and it has the opposite problem when the Scouts want to do activities for which they lack the skills and experience. That's an invitation either to training before that trip is done, or again allowing adults to "help."

 

 

 

Seattle Pioneer

[schleining]

My first post on this subject was last week... prior to my 1st weekend at Wood Badge...

Now I completely see or at least have a vision of what Eamonn is saying.

My vision and Mission have been approved for my ticket and my first three goals...

And as luck would have it... Eamonn... you just helped my a ton with that post.

The patrols right now are in fact doing my will... not theirs.

PLC meetings are not really Boy led.

The SPL is doing what he is told, not what he knows.

 

Thats all going to change...

"I'm going to work my ticket if I can...."

 

Jerry