Interesting Troop Stats

[Twocubdad]

Our troop has a series of wooden name boards which hang in the front of the meeting hall organized by rank. I think a lot of troops do something similar.

 

I don't know why, but we tend to save the old boards thinking we may recycle them one day. It's created an interesting archive. Getting ready for the new crop of crossover scouts, I was sorting through the old board and learned the following:

 

In the 4.5 years I've been Scoutmaster (I started doing the boards when I took over) we've had a total of 80 Scouts in the troop:

 

40 (50%) are still active

13 (16%) aged out as Eagle Scouts

10 (13.5%) never kicked in, that is, registered but quit within a month or two

8 (10%) were at one time active but dropped

5 (6%) transferred to other troops and, to my knowledge are still active

4 (5%) aged out as Life Scouts, confirming my belief this is the most rare category of all

 

The head scratcher for me are the 10 boys who never really engaged, even after full careers as Cubs. I think all but one earned their Arrow of Light. I break them out separately because I don't feel they really gave the program a fair shot (at least compared to the next 8, some of whom dropped after several years). At least three of them never attended a single meeting. A couple were talked into joining either by me or their parents and really weren't interested in the first place. Two were hard-core jocks and quit as soon as baseball cranked up in the spring.

 

No real point to make, just stuff to make you go Hmmmmmm....

[Beavah]

Thanks for sharin', Twocubdad. What you report I reckon is pretty typical for most troops. I think the "never kicked in" figures are often higher.

 

B

 

[Buffalo Skipper]

I also am most concerned about the group that crosses and doesn't really join. Without pointing a finger, I think that may be from den leaders who really miss the opportunity to express that Webelos prepares for Boy Scouts. I (and a co-hort from another pack) delivered that as a strong part of our messages to the Webs, and all our crossovers are active. 100% from the last 2 years have stayed involved (I my wife lead last year's crop). Being a trainer and former Cub Roundtable Staff and Commissioner, I look at leaders a little differently, and sometimes I actually expect them to the deliver the program BSA has developed.

 

I also think that it has a lot to do with the parent's expectation (or lack thereof) about the program's purpose.

 

This is 1/8 of the boys you dealt with. That is a significant number. Identifying the reasons for this, finding solutions, and working through this can be a significant way to keep membership up in one's troop.

[jr56]

Yup, I had the same thing happen. Somehow, the message just doesn't get through to the parents, or the boys that scouting is not 7 more years of cub scouts.

[IM_Kathy]

the ones that never "kicked in" probably ran into the issues many of us have had... they cross over in 5th grade - then 6th grade comes along and for most that means middle school.. it's amazing the things that are not "cool" in middle school that they all enjoyed in grade school.

 

Add in more sports, band, choir, and more after school programs (newspaper, yearbook, conservation team, astronomy club, student council, etc...) and these are no longer the pracitice during a class and performing twice a year for band/choir and for the sports it's no longer the practice a couple times a week and play a game on the weekend.

 

while my son has been in middle school he's done the astronomy club, choir, musical, student council, conservation team, and was manager for basketball... but he told them all that for him Scouts came first. Which means that he had to leave basketball 10 mins early to make it to scouts, and if it was a road game the same day he would miss out. When it came to the musical as SPL he needed to be on the campout when they were learning the stage makeup, he arranged with his teacher to stay late after a practice to learn this.

 

It's this middle school time where boys basically have to make choices as to what is more important to them and to structure their time. It's also a time when peer-pressure really starts to kick in. And it's also a time when parents get tired of dealing with all these activities and say to their son "you have to stop one/two/etc of these things" forcing the boy to decide.

 

my son's troop tries hard to make scouting as fun as possible and less like work... yes when they are camping there a chores that are needed done and they each take their turn... they also work on advancement requirements or merit badge work - though none of this is "forced" it's the boys that seek this out... and during all the rest of the time they goof-off playing football, cards, hind and seek, etc...

[Engineer61]

I observed two interesting trends my my boy move from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts.

 

1) 1/2 of the boys that went through AOL did not move on to a Troop. Mostly they wanted to other activities within the school environment.

 

2) 1/4 of the boys that moved on to a Troop, left within one month.

[Twocubdad]

Buffalo, of course the overall quality of the Webelos program has a lot to do with crossover and retention rates. But looking at this from the troop's point of view, our opportunity to make an impact is with the Webelos-to-Scouts transition program.

 

We've always hosted a fall campout with the Webelos IIs, but three years ago we really took it up a notch. The whole weekend is built around the Webelos. The Boy Scout patrols do all the cooking for the Webelos and the program is a round robin of scouting activities. One of the big things we do is an intense training session with the parents.

 

I think it's paying off. Over the past two years only one Scout dropped out after only a month or so. And he was a kid who had decided not to join the troop, but we convinced him to give it a try. We had one boy transfer to another troop after about six months -- a really bad personality fit.

 

 

[WestCoastScouter]

I used to be part of a Pack that had an extremely poor program, and one in which the Webelos Dens only met 1x a month, and just did not prepare the boys for the transition. As a result our big brother troop suffered from a lack of good quality boys who could make the transition. This year only 5 of 15 Webelos II boys actually bridged to a boy scout troup... my son and I left that pack last month...(This message has been edited by westcoastscouter)

[DeanRx]

I see varying factors as to WHY new Boy Scouts never "kick in" or become active in a Troop post cubbies or drop from the roster after being involved...

 

1) As some have stated, middle school is a time of competing interests. It is the beginning of the end of being able to do ALL the activities and the beginning of needing to be selective to truely excel at your extracirricular activities. Add in a little dose of peer pressure that "being a do-gooder isn't cool" = a lost transistion to Boy Scouts.

 

2) Some parents seem to view AOL as an END to the scouting career, instead of the beginning of the Boy Scout years. I have even seen (and heard) parents talk of "just get Jr. done with AOL, so we can be done with this scout thing...." They are missing the whole point of scouting.

 

3) Many parents have a VERY HARD TIME with the concept of Boy Scouts and the fact that it is Boy-led, not adult ran. They are used to things being planned out by adults and things looking sharp and being executed efficently. They have a real hard time with boys who will mess up as part of the learning to lead process. Many adults today (myself included) find it very hard to stand back and allow a youth to struggle with an issue and form their own solutions (especially imperfect ones). The persuit of perfection drives many to intervene when it really is not needed.

 

4) Many scouts (for better or worse) find out for the 1st time that they actually HAVE to do something besides show up and have fun for a Boy-led BS Troop to operate. Most spend their cubbie days doing fun stuff that was organized and led by adults. Its a HUGE intimidation factor to suddenly be faced with being RESPONSIBLE for something, not just yourself but the food for the campout, or the skit, or planning the hike. That can be a daunting task for scouts, and if not mentorred well, it can led to them dropping the program.

 

5) The 3C's - Cars, Cash and Chics. One a guy gets a job, a car, or starts chasing after girls... its a pretty sure bet his scouting days are numbered. This comes at different times for most boys, but if they aren't closing in on Eagle by their 16th birthday, its likely going to be a hard sell to get them to follow through.

 

The ONE thing BSA could do to help the rosters is to implement a system wide transistion program from cubs to Boy Scouts. Some councils (and more likely districts and local units) band together and do this well, but for most its rocky at best. Being that I serve a Pack that is NOT a feeder to a ready-made Troop, it is a very real issue for our boys. We are getting ready to graduate 12 boys from WebII year the end of this month. About 2/3 are going on, 1/3 this is the end of their scouting. Of the 8 that I know are moving forward, they are joining no less than 5 different Troops in our area. The logistics of holding an AOL and bridging ceremony and having a rep from each Troop to accept the new Boy Scout(s) for each respective unit is a logistical nightmare. I had an easier time getting a field hospital ready to deploy when I was in the Army! This is where a district or council liasion would be most helpful, but no such thing exsists.

 

As a youth, I was in a feeder pack and even with that - the transition to a Troop was not all that clear to me. I don't ever remember the SM or any other adult leader sitting down with the new Boy Scouts and telling us, "The goal of our program is for every scout to have the chance to lead and learn leadership. This means YOU will be doing the majority of the planning, not mom and dad anymore." That is certainly the way it worked, but I don't think it was ever explained to the youth (at least not to me as a youth). It took a good year before I felt comfortable in my scout Troop because it always seemed disorganized and rowdy. If I had been told - "look, your leaders are youth just like you trying to figure things out and it won't run as smooth, so just roll with it. Also, you will be a leader at some point, so be a good follower for those in a POR right now." - it would have made more sense and I wouldn't have been so self-conscious when I screwed up in a POR.

 

Maybe we need a transistion plan for CS to BS, with an explaination to BOTH parents and scouts about the difference in the expectations for executon of the program? I don't know if it would help with retainment, but its a start.

 

Buff Skipper - you make a good point about Web DL's getting the boys prepared to cross over, BUT I would add that in order for them to do so, they first need to be TOLD that they need to do this and be SHOWN HOW to do such a thing. Too much of WebI & II looks alot like Tigers and Wolf years, just more (and slightly harder) requirements before you get the rank. If all the DL knows is how to lead a cub scout den meeting and work them towards advancement, then that's likely what gets delivered in the program.(This message has been edited by DeanRx)

[BrentAllen]

We have had 29 boys in our Troop in the 2 1/2 years we have been in operation, with 26 still active members. Of the 3 that left, one moved to Memphis, one dropped out after nearly 2 years (just wasn't for him), one dropped when his dad lost his job. We've had pretty good retention, and good participation.

 

We will be receiving our new Scouts next week, and should get anywhere from 12 to 15. There are a few boys that are on the fence about continuing on into Boy Scouts, and if they all do join us, I wouldn't be surprised if we lost a few during the first year.

 

I spend a good bit of time with Webelos II parents during our recruiting events. We sometimes forget these parents haven't read the BS Handbook or the SM Handbook, and many were never in Scouts. They have no idea what they are seeing during a Troop meeting, except that it can look pretty disorganized compared to the Den meeting their son attended last week. So I spend a lot of time with the parents explaining the program. I also encourage them to visit the other Troops in the area and find the one that fits them best. I let them know our expectations regarding attendance, behavior, uniforming, etc. Better to get that all out on the table while they are Troop shopping than after cross-over.

[Engineer61]

I'd have to agree with most of DeanRx's reasons....

 

...although I would add a #6, that there is much more to become involved with in school at 6th grade and beyond. Music, Sports, Clubs...etc.

 

In thinking about it some more, I also think there is a different personality needed between CS and BS. In CS there are Leader, Follower and Independent Worker personalities. CS appeared to work for all three.

 

In BS, it seems to me that if you don't have the Leader personality, you're not going to stay. Some people don't want to be leaders (in fact the vast majority aren't)...so if you are in a group where EVERYONE is required to be a leader to advance, and the advancement process is competitive, that means you can't just be involved for the enjoyment of it.

[Horizon]

Engineer61:

 

You have the same impression I used to have. However, advancement requires RESPONSIBILITY, not leadership. A boy can make Eagle without ever once serving in a Leadership capacity. He can learn responsibility through Scribe, Bugler, Quartermaster, Chaplain Aide. He can also be an Instructor or a Guide - which do not put him in charge.

 

I was focused on Leadership, and then watched as a couple of non-leaders were elected to be Patrol Leaders. It was a learning experience, and I do not expect either of those boys to try for a Leadership position again any time soon.