NYLT Denial

[firecrafter]

Reading the application for NYLT, it appears that a Scout must be approved by his Scoutmaster to attend training(a signature is required). Is this a national standard or a council decision? Also, when would it be appropriate for a SM to refuse his approval for sending a Scout to NYLT? On reading the application, the Scout states he will bring honor to his troop & share what he learns when he returns. Are there other requirements as well?

firecrafter(This message has been edited by firecrafter)

[LongHaul]

Back when I first transitioned from scout to scouter I was involved with the JLTC program. With only 48 youth spots we had to limit troops to one boy each and then we still had to turn troops away ! This was at the District Level ! Today in the Chicago Area Council as a whole we have a hard time meeting the 24 scout minimum. The Scoutmaster approval/recommendation is to serve those areas where intrest is still high. It's there to insure that those attending are going to serve and are not just looking for another feather in thier cap. It's there to insure that the Scoutmaster has an opportunity to have up coming leaders trained. If your local NYLT has to turn away applicants then the SM check is necessary otherwise it's not. It is, in answer to one of your questions, a National policy.

LongHaul(This message has been edited by LongHaul)

[MaScout]

Back with the old JLTC, the SM's had to sign approval for attendance. With the NYLT, it is the same. We have HIGH attendance with boys put on a waiting list each year.

 

We are from a very rural area and our council puts on one training a year, with a limit of 64 participants. (Our district alone covers over 35000 square miles.) All the youth travel quite a distance (I'm talking up to 200+ miles one way) for the privilige of attending.

 

I believe the approval requirement is partly for number control. But I also think it is to assure "quality control" if you will. I personally talk to each of our boys who are interested in attending and let them know what the expectations are. If I feel a Scout is too immature to handle it, I ask him to wait another year, but try to make it HIS idea! That week is VERY intense -- at least in our Council. If he is physically or emotionally immature, he will have a terrible experience. That's not what we want. We want him to come home SOOOOOO excited and pumped that he can't help but infuse new life into the troop!

[Eagledad]

Good responses by Longhaul and Ma, and I would like to add that the SM approval is also a nice requirement for scouts, or worse, parents signing up their sons without the Troops knowledge. It is a delicate situation, but the scoutmaster requirement can be a safety value for the council to find out what is really going on. Once in a while it was a SM who just didn't care and the Scout just wanted more training. That gets tricky also, but you can learn a lot by just talking to the SM. It's more of a council judgement, but I think SM signiture is good to have.

 

Barry

 

[firecrafter]

Our council does put a limit on the number of boys as well. Four older Scouts from our Troop were approved to go this year. After the deadline for signup had passed, we had two additional Scouts ask to attend. Both left without signatures when the SM mentioned that he wanted to talk with them before signing. I was under the impression that it is a privilege to be chosen to represent your troop at NYLT. The Scouts in question show no interest in leading and it may well be a "feather in the cap" situation.

Should SM check with council to see if these boys registered without his approval? One Dad has been known to sign things without SM knowledge in the past...

As always, I appreciate your thoughts.

firecrafter

[dan]

From the NYLT Staff Guide.

An NYLT course is ideal for training senior patrol leaders and patrol leaders or for those who may have those positions later. It can also be a valuable experience for other older scouts.

Scoutmasters should not allow exceptions to age and rank requirements.

 

I take this to mean that the Scoutmaster should choose the scouts to go to NYLT. Because he should see who has leadership possibilities in the troop.

 

Most course limit by either size of the staff, site size and past attendance history. We have ran 3 troops with 6 patrols, eight per patrol for many years. Last year we only ran 2 troops to make sure we did a good job with the new course. This year we are going back to 3 troops.

 

Firecrafter

I would have the SM check to see if scouts are attending, which he did not approve it may head off some issues later.

Every year we have parents trying to sign up scouts without the SM approval, this usually does not turn out good for the scout. The SM most likely knows that this scout is not ready for the course. Issue also seems to arise about who is paying for the course, some troops pay for the scout to attend some do half of the cost.

[Vicki]

Another question along this line - I perused the national website briefly and couldn't find the reference, but our council requires that the Scoutmaster be trained before he/she can approve scouts' applications to NYLT.

 

Not that I'm going to try to argue my council out of it, just curious, is this a National policy?

 

Vicki

[acco40]

I highly doubt that the national council would require training of the SMs. I know that many councils mistakenly make training a requirement but I have a better suggestion, make training better and they will come!

 

Now, did you know that with respect to outings (camping), Webelos Den Leaders, Packs, Crews - all need training (not just youth protection but specific training as it relates to outings) before teh BSA allows them to have an outing. The only program which does not - why Boy Scouts of course!

[dan]

There is nothing in the NYLT staff guide that requires a Scoutmaster to be trained to send a scout to NYLT.

It seems like a silly requirement, how does this help the scout or the troop.