Boy led troop issues

[allangr1024]

I think you did the right thing with the stove incident. If I had seen the stove like you did, and asked the PL if all is set with the patrol gear, and heard that answer, I would feel justified in letting them get through that incident by their own wits.

 

I have found that a troop, though it deals primarily with boys, must make provission to deal with parents as well. This is not to say that we see parents as adversaries, but as partners together to bring about positive growth in the boys. To that end, I suggest that a troop committee person, who is on the same page as you concerning the boy led troop method, be in charge of keeping parents informed, and of educating them about the nature of the BSA program. Unless they were in scouts as kids, parents will have little conception of our aims and our methods. A good troop will impart to them the troops vision of our mission and our ways.

 

Should the SM do this? NO. Dealing with adults is a job of the committee, so a committee person should be given the job. This person could hold a perents meeting each month or two, to share news and plans about scout outings and the status of the troop. I would have the SM say a few words to them as well, but only a very few. The parents want to know that an adult is in charge, and that he is watching over the boys. I have found that a little communication goes a long way to avert the problems you are having. Tell the stove story, and the lessons you wished for these scouts to have learned. I bet the parents could then tell 20 more on their own sons along the same lines. As long as the parents see that there is a purpose in the boy led organization, they will go along.

 

Now this assumes that the SM is keeping an eagle eye out for the patrols and the scouts, and spots most of these boy led problems as they are happening. The SM will be in the wrong if he just takes it easy and never observes the troop around him. The SM should observe everything, and then make the decission to sit back and let the consequenses of the boys actions catch up to them (in the bounds of the safety of the scouts, of course).