Troop Meeting Agenda

[MajBob]

We are haveing some confusion in our troop, mainly among the adults, about who and how troop meeting agenda are set. Because of (fill in the blank) ______________, PLCs are rarely held. Five out of the last 6 troop meetings have been "planning" meetings where no other activities have tken place - the boys 'plan' from immediately after the opening ceremony until immediately before the close. (the 6th meeting was the Court of Honor, and the 2 meetings prior to that were devoted to planning that!)

 

The response we newer members get from the old timers is along the lines that "this is a boy led troop". This seems to absolve the leaders from providing any guidance and mentoring.

 

The boys are bored to death. The adults are bored as well -

 

Sorry for unloading . . . The question is where can I find guidance/advice on setting meeting agenda? How do other troops deal with this? Where does the leadereship/mentoring role end and the 'boy led troop' notion start? Must they be mutually exclusive?

 

Again, I apologize for venting - our troop is now down to 6 scouts - and we have managed to scare off the last 3 prospective members who have visited . . . We need help!

 

 

Thanks to those of you who have labored through my rant . . . Contrary to how I may have come across, I want to be part of the fix - not a patch.

 

Cheers!

 

Bob Hendry

Troop 908

[FScouter]

Buy Scoutmaster Handbooks for the Scoutmaster and all the assistant Scoutmasters. Then sign them all up for Scoutmaster Specific training. In the meantime they can do the fast start training on-line, or borrow the video and guide from the council office. One cannot be an effective BSA leader without reading the handbook (multiple times), following it, and taking the trainings.

 

The troop committee should have a reference copy of the Scoutmaster Handbook as well.

[welilissit]

Dear Major,

 

I agree with FScouter. Getting the correct training and materials is definately the right thing to do. The problem is that it just ain't that easy to implement change in a way to keep the peace and be productive. It ain't easy, but it can be done, slowly.

 

I would ask how long has your scoutmaster and troop committee been in charge. It is my experience that 2.5 to 5 years is a really good indicator of Scoutmaster (committee as well) burn-out. When burned out, planning is the first thing that goes assunder.

 

I witnessed a new Assistant Scoutmaster work this in a wonderful way. He asked the Scoutmaster for permission to coach the PLC's. When the SM said 'sure' he "informed" the Troop Committee that the SM had delegated the task of coaching the PLC to him.

 

The ASM then began hosting PLC's. He began with the leadership bell curve and used the appropriate leadership style. Since the PLC had a very low competence and low confidence, he used a highly directive leadership style, telling the boys how to hold a meeting and how to set goals and objectives, etc. After a while the boys' confidence and competence rose a bit, and he started letting go of the reigns more.

 

He gives the SM the credit for having a well planned out program and the boys the credit for pulling it off.

 

For those that say this is a "boy run troop" they need to know the definition of two very different concepts:

 

Boy Run

Boy Led

 

There is a difference.

 

Welilissit.

 

"Boys will be boys" (unknown author)

"No, boys will be men, if someone will lead them" (Baden Powell)

[acco40]

There is a fine line between boy run (or led) and abdicating our own leadership roles as adults. Boy run does not mean boy run into the ground. On the other hand, if a boy does not prepare and puts in very little effort, we as adults can't keep bailing them out either, we have to LET the boys fail in a safe environment.

 

To answer the original question, I've made the following available to our boys on the PLC:

 

Patrol Leaders Council Agenda

 

Date: _______

 

Opening

 

SPL will call the meeting to order and take roll call (the scribe will record). The scribe reads the minutes of the last meeting. Give everyone a chance to comment or make changes if necessary. When correct, have someone move and someone else second a motion to approve the minutes. The members show their approval by saying Aye.

 

NOTES:_________

 

Patrol Leader Reports

 

Ask each patrol leader for his patrol report. Each patrol leader reports on progress his patrol has made since last meeting. The patrol leader will also report on advancements.

 

NOTES:_________

 

Old Business

 

Discuss items that were to be worked on between meetings. Discuss anything left undone after the last meeting. Get progress reports on tasks assigned to troop leaders, patrols, etc.

 

NOTES:_______________

 

Program/Meeting Planning

 

Take this time to plan the next troop meeting or work on planning several troop meetings. Patrol leaders should be able to give their patrols suggestions. Use the Troop Meeting Plan Sheets from Troop Program Features and fill out the Program Planning Grid. Complete one sheet for each Troop Meeting and Outing Program Plan.

 

NOTES:__________

 

New Business

 

New ideas, items held over from last month for a decision, assign jobs to be worked on until the next meeting. Get ideas from everyone.

 

NOTES:_________

 

Scoutmasters time

 

Offer a moment for the Scoutmaster to make comments.

 

NOTES:____________

 

Troop Meeting Planning

7:00 8:30 (90 minutes)

 

Pre-Opening (6:30 7:00)

 

A Service Patrol is assigned to each Troop meeting. This patrol is in charge of setting up the meeting (getting flags, arranging chairs, etc.) and cleaning up after the meeting.

 

A pre-opening game should be planned to keep Scouts occupied until the meeting starts. This will also encourage Scouts to arrive early (instead of late).

 

Opening (7:00 7:05)

 

SPL calls meeting to order (on time!) instructing Scouts to gather by patrol

Service Patrol also performs opening ceremony opening should vary each week (pre-determined list of openings will help)

Announcements (SPL and/or Patrol Leaders)

 

Patrol Meetings (5-15 Minutes)

 

SPL will announce that it is time for patrol meetings. Each patrol will gather in a predetermined area. Each patrol leader takes charge of his patrols meeting.

 

Attendance

Collecting dues or fees

Planning patrols involvement in upcoming event

Selecting menus (Notice this is selecting not making)

Assigning patrol members to specific tasks

Working out any other details for upcoming outings or responsibilities.

 

Skills Instruction (15-30 Minutes)

 

This part of the meeting might focus on skills Scouts will need in order to fully participate in an upcoming activity, or upon skills they must have to complete requirements for advancement. Instruction should be varied by experience level: Junior Scouts, Experienced Scouts, and Older Scouts.

 

Instruction should be hands-on learning rather than lecturing. Those leading the sessions should be troop instructors with expertise in a particular area, adult scout leaders or outside experts.

 

Interpatrol Activity (15-20 Minutes)

 

Lead by SPL, allows all patrols to interact in a competition or cooperative effort. The activity might be a game that tests the skills Scouts are learning for an upcoming activity (race to set up a tent properly or to tie a set of knots correctly)

 

 

Closing

 

Scoutmaster announcements (including reminder of who is next weeks Service Patrol)

Advancement Recognition

Troop Recognition

Scoutmaster Minute

 

After the Meeting

 

Service Patrol puts away flags, file folders and restores room to original condition.

 

SPL meets with PLC members and Scoutmaster to review the meeting, review plans made at PLC

Meeting Evaluation Answer

Meeting Evaluation Answer

Did we accomplish a purpose?

Was the meeting fast paced and fun?

Was the meeting well attended?

Did we do something new and different?

What worked well that we could do again?

 

***IMPORTANT***

Troop meeting planning should also include listing any materials needed.

 

The pre-opening Activity. Who is in charge? The SPL! He may delegate the running of it to an ASPL or a Patrol leader. What sort of activity will it be? I like an activity that allows the Scouts to get rid of some surplus energy, allows for people to arrive early and still be doing a planned activity. If you don't plan it every meeting will start with Scouts just milling about or worse, arriving late. If it fits in with the theme, that's great, but the important thing is for it to be fun! Have the SPL take a look at: http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/direct/games/index.php?ID=97. There are a lot of ideas there. If possible try and play one at the PLC. The SM should do what he can to prompt the SPL to try new games and new ideas.

 

The Opening. Again the SPL is in charge. It can be very simple, but does need to be planned. We have so much material available that has to do with the Flag and Citizenship, to just do the Scout Oath and Law every week takes away from the true meaning of the Oath and Law.

 

Skill Instruction. If the Patrol Leaders need help this can be done at the PLC meeting. The SPL informs the Patrol Leaders what skills they will be covering and where they will find the information that they need to cover that skill, if the SM knows that a Patrol Leader is not up to snuff on this he becomes a resource and works with that Patrol Leader or group to get them up to speed. In the case of the New Scout Patrol, the ASM or Troop Guide will work with these Lads. If the skill is something brand new or is beyond the capabilities of the Patrol Leaders then the Leaders might want to work with the Patrols, in this case maybe a round robin might be an idea.

 

The Patrol Meeting. At this time the Patrols should simply work on Patrol stuff. It might be making something or preparing something. Or both. Making plans for the weekend activity needs to be covered, but Scouts can be assigned things to bring back to the next meeting, things like menus and equipment lists. These can be covered very quickly. A lot will depend on the age of the Scouts in the Patrol. They could work on making a knot board or preparing the route for a hike. The Patrol meeting is not "Free time". The SPL will need to drive that point home at each and every PLC meeting. The Scouts SHOULD NOT be meandering over to mom or dad during this activity to ask questions. The SAs assigned to each patrol along with the SM will need to support the PL's in keeping the Patrol on task and be ready to help if asked. If a Patrol is in over their head, the SM might ask the SPL if he thinks that the Patrol is doing okay. The SPL might see that the Patrol members are not getting it. This is causing them to get frustrated and this in turn is leading up to some of the Patrol members messing around. Let the SPL then determine when you, the adult, should step in.

 

The Inter-Patrol Activity. This could be some sort of competition. Build a Sedan Chair and then have a race or they could have built the chair as part of the Patrol meeting. An Orienteering course that spells a word, the stuff that can be done is endless. Maybe in the early days you might want to ask a SA too work with the SPL on planning this depending on the activity he might or might not want to let the Patrol Leaders know what it is ahead of time.

 

The Closing. It is very important that a meeting has an opening and a closing. I find that announcements are a pain. These can be done by the Patrol Leaders at the Patrol meeting. They have all the information from the PLC meeting. A troop newsletter informs the parents. The Scoutmaster gets a minute and no more than three minutes. The troop is dismissed and the Scoutmaster and PLC members meet for a quick reflection on the meeting that they just had. What worked and what didn't? SPL hands out the meeting plan for next week and makes sure that everyone knows what they are doing and when they are doing it. It is important that the plan is written down and that everyone knows that the SPL and the SM are available to answer any questions and will help. If everyone is a little lost there might be a meeting planned for during the week or everyone will arrive a little early next week.

 

Leadership is learned in lots of little steps. Sure we have some really good courses that cover what the skills are, and knowing what is required is a big step. Communication or the getting and giving of information needs to be practiced. It can be helped by adults telling Scouts "Did you ask your Patrol Leader?"

(This message has been edited by acco40)

[MajBob]

Dear Welilissit,

 

Thank you for your sage advice.

 

I for one, need to keep that distinction in mind when working in and around the troop. Our oldest scout is about ready to turn 15, and there are unrealistic expectations on these young boys.

 

Our SM has been in place for about the limit that you mention - Committee Chair has been in place for about the same. Neither has sons in the troop any longer - all 5 of them have made Eagle Scout and movet on to adulthod. So they are both easily distracted and overworked. But rather than ask for help, they let things slide down in that proverbial crack . . .

 

Because of the small size of the troop, there arn't many adult volunteers to help out. Yes, the load is much lighter, but things still need to happen - and we are striving to discover a way to correct these shortfalls.

 

Thanks again to all who have contributed. I am greatful!

 

Cheers!

Bob Hendry

Troop 908

Southern Maryland

[Venividi]

Majbob,

 

I would add to Fscouter's suggestion - purchase a copy of the SPL handbook for the SM, and PL handbook for the SM and ASM's. Those books present very clearly what the jr leaders are supposed to be doing, and the scouters can then teach, guide, (and push?) the scouts based on the discrete leader fuctions in the books.

 

As an aside, I just spent an evening reviewing PL responsibilities with newly elected PL's (at the request of the SM). I used the PL handbook as my guide. I found they did understand what they were supposed to do, and why. One scout did ask about what the minimum acceptable level of effort would be and still get credit towards advancement. He was refreshingly honest.

[Kahuna]

I agree training and resources are important. However, troop meetings are one of the hardest parts of Boy Scouting to make work. I think the keys area:

 

Short (it's easy to fill 2 hours with stuff, 1 or 1 1/2 requires thought)

Divided into several periods (kids have short attention spans)

Minimal lecturing from the front (Doesn't do any good, kids tune you out)

Keep patrols together and PL's responsible for their conduct (Boy run)

Have some goals and objectives that fit into your program theme for the month (Preferably something fun)

Some time for play or fun activities (Got to burn off some energy)

You can never have too much fun during troop meetings - you can squeeze a lot of learning into fun activities.

 

The point about boy run vs boy led is key. The SM and the SPL should work hand in hand (well, not literally under YP) and be on the same page as to what the troop will accomplish in the meetings.

[Eagledad]

>>As an aside, I just spent an evening reviewing PL responsibilities with newly elected PL's (at the request of the SM). I used the PL handbook as my guide.

[EagleInKY]

Lots of good comments, I especially "ditto" Barry's.

 

I've seen several troops that suffer from the "boy led into the ground" syndrome. Some adults take the boy-led term to mean adults don't have any role in making the unit successful. Usually these troops have chaotic meetings with nothing but games, but you can also have the problems to this extreme as well. The adults have to realize that they play a role in helping the leadership (PLC) run the program correctly. This starts with the SM counseling the SPL, and then the PLC, if necessary.

 

Our troop has fallen into a little of this. They don't get enough accomplished in their PLC meetings, so they end up doing a lot of planning during troop meetings. There's two things I'm trying to get them to do. One is to be more effective in the PLC meetings and get more accomplished. They may also need to have some brief meetings through the month to help keep things on plan. Second, the SPL and PLs need to get more effective at doing planning outside of the meetings. I find the boys are reluctant to call each other up, make a decision and carry it through. They always want to discuss it. And I thought it was adults that suffered from "groupthink". It seems teenagers can too.

 

Just a couple of thoughts, good luck.

[Venividi]

EagleinKY wrote:

 

Every scout that I have seen run for SPL has run on a promise to "make meetings more fun". Most of the SPLs I have seen elected go to their first PLC and asks "OK, what do you guys want to do?", and do not offer any suggestions of their own. I asked about this at the PL training this past week, and the responses boiled down to the effect that there is a fear that their idea will be seen by the other scouts as lame, and they don't want to risk proposing something that they are not certain will be accepted. It lead to a good discussion on how the "brave" point of the scout law applies to the situation.