Adventure Guidelines

[anarchist]

Capt'n,

Please be careful. Keep your goals in mind as you review these posts

 

My opinion of many...What a bunch of clap trap..."toss it out", "put it where the sun don't shine",

Why fight this fight? What, in any of the committee divel is so alarming?

(BW, I am heartened by your restraint...seriously)

 

Folks lets drag the old dog out on the table...along with your BSA policy and training manuals...

 

Who is the "power" in the troop...Hint - its not the SM!

 

They (the committee) have made a fairly positive gesture...and asked the Capt'ns opinion and thoughts...(it was not an edict, it could however become troop/CO policy), I think I would brew up a pot of joe and have chat with the committee and scope things out...Why the need, discuss how some of the drivel is counter to the way BSA wants the program done...Whittle away what is not needed...let them have what is not important...Perhaps you even "wow" the majority of the committee with your knowledge of the BSA program and your wholesome desire to see that "for the good of the boys" all adults should be trained for their positions...

 

Wouldn't it be better to sit down and negotiate?

Try to use honey rather than maggots?

 

If the goals are: 1)get the committee trained and 2) ease them into the Boy led program... I would be willing to bet that blowing off the committee (and a new SM doing it)is NOT the best way to accomplish these goals...

 

Perhaps, look at the training classes offered by not only your council but all neighboring councils and offer to drive a bunch of folks including the CC for a unit wide (your troop scouters) leaders training day/weekend...which ever council offered the "rightdates" to rope in the CC...

 

Start your presentation with the old "what I have learned in ScoutMaster Fundamentals and outdoor leader training has really opened my eyes to the complete BSA program...and there are several leader courses we all should take in fact a series of committee challenge classes are being offered next _____. I think it is really important for all of us to be trained in the BSA methods".....

 

I would try to drop this on them in a committee meeting with the COR present...put the CC on the spot in a quiet, gentle, sly kind of way, with the COR looking on...It might be real difficult for the CC to turn it down...And I would go take the "challenge" with the CC (your excuse for this besides making sure the CC doesn't cut and run... is "SM should understand and appreciate the CCs job as well as the "view point" from the CCs side of the table."

let us know what you end up doing...and if it works...

anarchist

[FScouter]

Have to agree pretty much with Prairie, and with nldscouts comment about the wife. She does seem bent on keeping her husband in power.

 

As a practical matter its not easy to simply tell her to shove it. Help her re-write it. In doing so she may find that the list could be shortened to one sentence Follow the Boy Scout program as described in the Boy Scout Handbook, Scoutmaster Handbook, Troop Committee Guidebook, and other BSA publications.

 

Some specific comments:

 

A minimum of one overnight adventure shall be scheduled for each month except November, February and April.

 

A minimum goal should be to meet the outdoor activities requirement for the Quality Unit award. That includes 6 activities, plus a BSA long-term camp. Also make it your goal to get the Scouts out for at least 10 days and nights per year. That will meet the minimum requirement for the National Camping Award, and follows the guideline in the Scoutmaster Handbook. It has an entire chapter devoted to the outdoor program and how to make it work. The particular months these events take place shouldnt matter much. Just make sure they happen regularly.

 

One parent from each family must participate in an overnight adventure as a chaperone or driver annually. This does not include Summer Camp.

 

The Troop Committee Guidebook lists the responsibilities of the committee, which includes arranging transportation for all events. Parent participation is fine, but maybe the list should call for a number of registered and trained assistant Scoutmasters instead of chaperones. Selecting and recruiting assistant Scoutmasters is also a topic covered in the Troop Committee Guidebook.

 

Each trip shall have a stated purpose and be approved by the Troop Committee.

 

The purpose of all Scouting events is to achieve the aims of Scouting. New Leader Essentials training covers this in detail. There are 3 or 4 activity scenarios where training participants pick apart the details of the outing and find how those details support achieving the aims of Scouting. There would be no reason why the committee should not be able to approve activities that have these characteristics. There is a chapter on program planning in the Scoutmaster Handbook.

 

All Trips require the attendance of one Trained BSA Leader identified as the "Tour Leader" for the duration of the adventure.

 

Assure the committee that as a trained Scoutmaster, you are committed to following the Guide to Safe Scouting, including the tour leader requirements. Suggest that the list be revised to say Follow the G2SS, instead of singling out only one element.

 

The ratio of 2 adults for every 10 Scouts shall be maintained for all trips. At no time shall a scout be denied attendance because of an excess number of adults.

 

More important than adults is registered and trained assistant Scoutmasters. Ask the committee to select and recruit a few. More important than a ratio is the quality and commitment of the adults that attend. There is nothing in BSA that requires a ratio.

 

One approach you might take with this is to tell the committee that you will happily go along with any rules or lists as long as they are supported by the BSA literature. Ask them to cite the specific sources that support the rules on the list.

[anarchist]

FScouter

 

excellent post, good, sound well grounded.

[rpushies]

Hi Captain,

 

Welcome to the virtual campfire! Looks like your are getting a fair amount of response on your request. Training the committee seems to be a common denominator in many of the responses.

 

I will focus my response on that challenge. When the current Troop Committee Challenge came out I was the Committee Chair for my son's troop. I was also the district training chair. Our troop scheduled two campouts a year that were designed to include the whole family. So, I scheduled the Troop Committee Challenge to be given on one of these camp outs. Now these are not high adventure backpacking trips but the do hold a certain amount of adventure. This particular campout we went to Monterey, California and camped at one of the county parks. On Saturday while the Scouts and other family members were off sight seeing, bike riding and kayaking, the committee went through the Troop Committee Challenge training. In addition to the 13 of the 14 registered committee members that attended, 4 other parents that had no involvement in troop leadership and 2 assistant Scoutmaster's attended. I was very pleased with the attendance and participation. It was one of the best family campouts the troop every held. All night long and all thru Sunday morning the training kept popping into our discussions. It really helped all the adults (uniformed and committee) get to know the committee responsibilities and each other much better. Both of the couples that attended the training, that previously had no leadership responsibilities, became involved in the troop committee!

 

Food for thought. The training can be easily done by one or two trainers. An invitation that includes feeding the trainers might just do the job to get them to attend your campout training event!

 

Yours Truly in Scouting,

Rick Pushies

[CaptainRenault]

I was never a scout, so I'm not sure I have a good idea of what Scout Spirit is. Would anyone here say that these guidelines are a good example of Scout Spirit?

[FScouter]

The rules and guidelines you posted have little to do with Scout Spirit. Scout Spirit is discussed throughout the Boy Scout Handbook. A few excerpts:

 

Scout Spirit refers to the effort you make to live up to the ideals of Scouting. The Oath, Law, motto, and slogan serve as everyday guidelines for a good life.

 

Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath and Scout Law in your everyday life.

 

How well you live the Scout Oath and Scout Law in your life is something for you to judge. You know when you are being kind, when you are helpful and a good friend. You know when you are trustworthy and reverent. You alone know how you act when no one is around to witness what you do.

 

Dont be surprised that when you use the Scout Oath and Law for guidance, others will recognize those values in you and respect you for it. Set high standards for yourself and strive to reach them.

 

[CaptainRenault]

Thank you FScouter. Maybe it is not Scout Spirit, but there is something about those guidelines that makes me uncomfortable. It seems to me that they are designed to take the fun out of outdoor adventures.

 

[FScouter]

You might ask the committee what problems they are trying to solve through the list of rules. Perhaps there are other ways to achieve the objectives that might work as well or better.

 

For example what is the thinking behind the "leader ratio" rule? Are there discipline problems? Are the patrol leaders and senior patrol leader lacking in leadership skills? Does the outing agenda have a lack of planning such that the boys run wild?

 

There are approaches to solving those issues other than adding more adults to control a bunch of wild kids.