All the First Year permutations

[Beavah]

I'm always interested in hearin' folks different ways of doin' things. I was surprised and interested by SR540's troop's approach to "one big NSP", and so I figured it would be interestin' to share all of the different ways of handling new scouts.

 

So what are the particulars of what your troop does in terms of incorporating new boys? How do they fit into patrols? For how long? Who does instruction? What's the average in terms of rank advancement? etc.

 

What about that do you think works well for you?

 

What do yeh feel da weaknesses are?

 

Let's try not to critique or criticize different ways of doin' it, but questions should be welcome!

 

Beavah

 

[Stosh]

Our boys wishing to advance in POR will recruit 7 new scouts however they wish to do so. They are the PL that trains them and gets them up to FC. He has SPL, TG and Instructor assistance in this process. The responsibility of the advancement falls on the PL. If two patrols are needed because of a major influx of new scouts, each takes 5-7 boys and runs the show for that patrol.

 

This may mean that each patrol may be working on a different requirement for advancement at the same time. Each PL does what's best for his patrol. It causes a few tense situations for the TG's and Instructors, but that's what their job is.

 

If the PL wishes to "move on" to other patrols or to go back and bring in a new crop of new scouts he may do so at his discretion. If the PL is planning on that he can train his APL to take over then. What the boys have been doing is rotating the APL position around amongst themselves so the PL has an opportunity to work with each one on their leadership and not just their advancement. A well trained APL may wish to move on as well and or take on a NSP once he's finished up with FC. There are no rules or regs dictating this process.

 

It is also allowable in our troop that if 6-8 new scouts come in they can pick a PL from the older scouts or one of their own members. This may pose a greater commitment on the TG and Instructors, but like I said, that's their job to handle what the patrols decide. One does not need to hold any rank to be a PL. Patrols that have done this struggle more than those that opt for an older boy or one that has been recruited by an older more experienced boy.

 

PL's serve as long (or as short) as their patrols dictate. How and when PL's are selected is determined by the patrol members. If a PL isn't doing his job, he can be replaced in a heartbeat. An older scout that works well with boys younger than him may in fact serve that patrol for many years if the patrol decides to hang together as a group and wants to keep him on as PL.

 

Stosh

 

[Mike F]

The troop I currently serve has 3 permanent patrols and troop membership is capped at about 33-35 scouts due to physical size of facility and philosophy of maintaining size which boys can manage. Staff is SPL and 2 ASPLS. I typically have 1-2 JASMs. Staff and JASMs eat and camp with SM Staff. Mixed age patrols have about 10 members.

 

Age breakdown: SPL/ASPLs always 16 or 17. PLs typically 14-16. JASMs have always been 17 and already served as SPL.

 

New guys go straight into existing patrols. We encourage them to start coming to Troop meetings as soon as theyve committed to joining our troop in the winter. During this time, they are temporarily attached to a patrol and we observe them to make sure its a good fit. By the time they officially join in the spring, we know them and they know us. PLC takes their desires into consideration and assigns them a permanent patrol. Our patrol identities are very strong and I can only recall one instance of a scout requesting transfer to a different patrol after he was settled. We try to limit each patrol to no more than 2 brand new 11-yr olds.

 

PLs have primary responsibility for their training and rank advancement using resources within the patrol. SPL/ASPLs/Instructors set up some of the training opportunities at troop meetings and campouts after discussions within PLC. As a troop, we focus more on skill instruction and adventure training, not rank requirement instruction, per se. Each scout is allowed to move at his own pace. For example, hell get first aid training as part of our periodic First Aid monthly theme and patrol competition and he get can rank requirements signed off by his PL if he satisfies PL he knows it. Average time to First Class is about 2 years (varies from 1-3).

 

Key to success of incorporating new guys is a shared sense of responsibility to getting them trained up as part of the team and each PL assigns a slightly-older buddy to help the new guys adapt to Boy Scout camping.

 

Discipline with bunch of new, excited 11-yr olds is always interesting and sometimes frustrating to the older scouts. Every older scout (12 and up) has a shared responsibility to model discipline. New guys are intentionally distributed throughout patrol in formation. When one of them acts up, hell have 5 sets of eyes looking at him with a Dude we dont do that around here look. Same thing happens with the burning stick from the campfire, etc. Peer pressure is amazingly effective at helping them adapt within weeks.

 

[Twocubdad]

We run a fairly standard NSP program. New Scouts are assigned to patrols of 7-8 Scouts depending on the total number of Webelos who crossover. This year and last we had 14 or 15 each year and split them into two patrols. The year before we had 11 and kept them in on patrol, but assigned two troop guides. The troop guides decide how the patrols are divided, in consultation with the adults and including the former den leaders.

 

Each patrol is assigned a troop guide who essentially serves as patrol leader for the first six months. I think the biggest negative of this system is that you live and die by the quality of the troop guides. Good ones are worth their weight in gold. For the first four months and through summer camp the troop guides are with their patrols full time. The biggest thing the do is to show the new guys the ropes on campouts -- cooking, cleaning, fire building, setting up the tents, etc. In the fall the troop guides rejoin their regular patrols and work with the new Scout patrols on an as-needed basis.

 

We usually have one experienced leader and one newbie assigned to the NSP patrols. Their primary responsibility is to advise the troop guides; to manage the overall direction of the NSP program; and to help the troop guides make arrangements for special activities like the hikes and orienteering programs (we've gotten hooked with a local orienteering club and many our guy enjoy going to the orienteering meets).

 

During the Sept. troop elections the NSP elects a slate of patrol officers like the rest of the patrols. Through the fall the NSPs operate more and more on their own with the troop guides and ASMs taking more and more of an advisory role. In December the NSPs are dissolved and the scouts divided out into the regular patrols.

 

I've tried several years to get one of the adults to write out a program guide based on what we've done, but with no takers. I have someone now who has that as a Wood Badge ticket item, so it's in the works.

 

I'm generally pleased with how the program works. As long as we have good troop guides (and for the past three years we've had goood ones) things run well.

 

 

[BryanSpellman]

Our Patrols are age-based. We currently have 10 with an average of 10 scouts each (118 Total). Our NSP are usually split into Patrols (8-10) with 2 Troop Guides and an ASM of New Scouts.

 

The goal is to go from Scout to 1st Class in one year. The first few weeks are team building, prepping for Joining Conference (square know, learning Oath and Law, etc) and "forming" the Patrol with Name, Yell, Flag and finally getting ready for first campout.

 

The first campout is called the Skills Campout. The SPL working off of a plan he and the SM design assign certain tasks to the other Patrols to teach the NSP. We group certain T-1C requirements (Knots, Physical Fitness, Toten-Chip, Cooking) and they are to teach the NSP in fun ways so that they get their Scoutbooks signed and they a) see their advancement and b) have fun learning Scout Skills.

 

After that the TG and ASM are left to their own to create fun and exciting ways to teach these NSPs life as a Scout. They also plan the Summer Camp Eagle Quest Program. Which is a week long class held during summer camp (in addition to Merit Badges) that continues to help the NSPs advance towards 1st Class.

 

After Summer Camp the next election cycle the NSP elects a Patrol Leader and then has one Troop Guide assigned to it to assist him. At the end of the NSP 1st year they are left on their own with a Patrol Advisor to assist the PL like every other patrol.

 

The NSP is part of the Troop from Day One. They might have extended Patrol time as needed or do some additional skill work on campouts but participate in all Scout Games, Skills Demos, or whatever the PLC plan for the weekly meetings.

 

Has worked very well for us! The Past 3 years we have had 40 Webelos, 10, and 20 crossover. We lost 10, 3 and 0 New Scouts after one year respectively.

 

Hope that helps..

 

YIS

Bryan Spellman

Scoutmaster, Troop 199 Fishers,IN