Things to look for in transferring Troops

[John-in-KC]

Since it looks like Result1 is going to move Son of Result1 to a new Troop in the near future, I though we might band together and share the top 2-3 things we look for:

 

From the adult side:

- Is there a "distribution of labor" on the Troop Committee, or is it a one man show?

- Do the Scouters seem to understand the Methods of Scouting, and know their part in the same, or is there a lot of adult "hands-on" participation?

- Are the adults by and large out of the way of the SM and SPL, or are they being bypassed?

 

From the youth side:

- Is there a focus developing skills towards a coming activity (be it camp, canoeing, or even a Good Turn for America service project, or are folks studying for the next in-house MB?

- Is the SPL or ASPL supervising the meeting overall, or are ASMs and the SM doing that?

- Are there a fair number of smaller activities through the building, or are the youth sitting like bumps on a log?

 

In general, the or... part of each question is focused towards the "don't choose this troop", for me.

[prairie]

Only thought I had would be to make several visits to the troop, with only one you might see only a very good or very bad night. If it were me one of those visits would be unanounced, not polite but a great way to avoid a dog and pony show.

[CNYScouter]

Having done this a couple of years ago here are links to a couple of lists to look at:

 

There is a thread from 2002 with a list called Common traits of successful troops

http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=14781#id_101270

 

Not everyone will agree with everything on this list but I found this a good place to start.

 

Below is a link that also has good questions to ask when looking for a Troop and I would try to find the answer to all of these:

http://www.boyscouttrail.com/library/troop_questions.asp

 

I also agree with going to more than one meeting before deciding, in fact 2 or more.

In the Troop we ended up joining the only time any leaders, except the SM, wore even the uniform shirt was the first meeting we went to.

After joining I came to the first meeting in full uniform and received many dirty looks from the other adults. Not a single adult in the troop owned a full uniform, most didnt even own a shirt and very rarely did they even wear that.

 

Some very obvious things to look for:

 

Where does the SM stand and who runs the meeting. (SM at back and SPL running things)

Are there patrols or does the Troop gather as one big group.

Are patrols flags present.

Does the Troop have separate patrol meeting during a Troop meeting.

Is instruction taught by age levels or in one big group. Also who is teaching an older scout or an adult (but this can depend on what is being taught)

 

There are things I would have done differently:

 

Attend a Committee Meeting before deciding.

I think that these are a much better indicator on how a Troop is run.

The first Troop we were with didnt have them, the SM made all decisions.

The second troop the committee ran the troop and made most decisions.

 

Get a schedule of activities for the year and if possible get a list of previous schedules.

Not having one shows a good deal about a troop.

If I had asked for a previous years schedule I would have seen that the second troop we joined did the same trips every year and had done so for the 4 or 5 years. Most monthly outings were lucky to have 8 or 9 scouts out of 30 go.

 

How often and how long does the PLC meet? And who attends them?

The first Troop never did them and the PLC in the second Troop only met 4 times a year, for 1 hour and any Scout in the Troop was welcome to attend.

 

Spend more time talking with an older Scout and see what they think about the troop.

I found out a great deal more from casual conversations with a Scout than I ever did with an adult.

Almost every adult I talked with told me how great a Scout program they had and I have found Scouts to be very candid about whats really going on in the troop.

 

 

[scottteng]

For those troop hunting might I recommend showing up at your district roundtable a time or two you will see which troops have someone there and meet district people who might be able to steer you in a direction. Some troops and crews specialize we have a troop that consists of developmentally disabled scouts and a crew that is the shooting sports team. Lots of troops are built around the exotic place they go for summer camp we have one here in Florida that goes to Nebraska every year.