Calendar for NEXT year & more

[5yearscouter]

ok, so back up a bit.

 

You have a troop that's been around a while, the SM died, and he had been mostly a one man show. so your committee doesn't quite know what to do, the scouts really don't either, and you are trying to plan the calendar and figure out when to do merit badges with the group focusing on eagle required mb?

 

so you need to go to training and read the whole scoutmaster book front to back. take the pages about committee jobs, and take it to committee and have them read it and have them do the online training and if you can find the training in person for everyone, do it, cause in person training is tons better than online.

 

then you can do SOME of the legwork for the calendar, or task committee to also do some leg work, and the scouts too. With a small group to work with, and boys that are almost done and boys that are just starting, the things the boys come up to do for outings may not work so much for all, but do need to fit all cause you really need all to attend all the outings since you seem to be a small unit. So Everyone goes and gets the ideas of where to go camping and hiking in your area, any other ideas they can come up with. check websites of troops in your area for ideas, look thru the program helpers for ideas of outings and then try to find a few different ways to do a few of them.

 

Make sure the boys bring some ideas too. They may want to do paintball or laser tag, or they may want to hike the grand canyon, or go canoeing or rock climbing. Put all the ideas on a big white board, and have everyone take a piece of paper and write down 12-15 of them that they like the most. adults don't vote, SM and ASM don't either. Adults brought the ideas to supplementwhat the boys found for ideas, but they don't get to decide what to do. If they have something the adults REALLY want to do, they can intro it to the scouts and tell them something about it, but they don't get to decide to do it. the boys get to decide.

 

Don't forget to bring info on the local and further away summer camp, week long camp opportunities, including a do your own thing 1 week of camp if you have a suitable location you could do.

 

The items that get the most votes by the boys, get put on the calendar. That's the simple thing. How they get put on the calendar and which months they fit best, I personally think the adults should have a little input into, especially the first year the boys make their own calendar. Adults know when they can get off work, and can focus attention on whether the troop as a whole likes going on campouts and hikes and such on holiday weekends, or do they prefer to have holiday weekends NOT scouting weekends. Adults can help guide away from doing a big huge campout say when there is state testing or SAT tests for the older scouts, and even can help give a voice to where to put events on months where half your scouts have baseball games or whatever the biggest thing that interveres with scouting for your boys. This is where knowing your scout's interests comes in handy.

 

At this point you'd also want the boys to have brought their family and school calendars, and the adults should have their own calendars, plus district and council calendars too. you start plugging things into dates based on usual weather and tring to avoid conflicts with everyone/or most. You may want to talk about things such as when say big backpacking trips aren't in the too cold, too deep of snow unless you are good with snow shoes, or in the heat of the summer in Arizona in the desert with no access to water kind of health and safety issues.

 

And then the troop publishes the calendar. Suggest that the SPL(or all the boys together) pick a theme from the troop program features that closely matches the events on this calendar to give them pre-planned meetings for a few months. Once they have an idea of how to do this, and how to use these features, give them the reins to do more self planning and less following the exact script in the book for meetings. You may want a Scout and a committee person to sort of be in charge of each event on the calendar, with the goal that at first the adult shows the scout what to do, make reservations, tour plans, permission slips, collect fees. But after a while, the adult only does the things that require adults to do--like perhaps make the credit card payment to reserve a campground.

 

Every month at PLC(patrol leaders council) the scouts would normally review last month, this month and next month, perhaps with an occassional 2-3 month out check to see if something new came up that means a big change. Of course with a small troop, you really don't need to have a patrol leaders council, or even an SPL(senior patrol leder) because you don't have multiple patrols. so the patrol leader ends up being the senior patrol leader. He can have mini-plc kind of meeting in conjunction with a troop meeting once a month where he goes over any upcoming events and what is working and what is not. In a small troop, expect that everyone of the boys will end up doing a lot of the jobs with some overlap. that's ok as long as the spl/patrol leader is the one guiding this to happen. The first time I expect SM may choose patrol leader, and patrol leaders chooses his patrol scribe, quartermaster, etc. But after that, it would be best for the boys to choose their own patrol leader, who chooses his slate of helpers.

 

Give the calendar to the troop committee and have them look it over to look for problems, mostly financial. can we afford this and how much do we need to charge. do this occassionally a few more months in advance of what the boys may be looking to, so you know if say the cost of a certain campground has doubled. and then give your spl the notice of these bigger changes with some advice of options --like changing location or doing a fundraiser, and also he may have other options, like just charging each scout a higher amount for the campout. have his discuss the options in his plc and see what the scouts figure out, they may surprise you.

 

now as for this merit badge stuff. you seem worried about boys starting badges and not finishing them, and not starting the eagle required badges willingly. Well not every scout will make eagle, and not every scout wants eagle.

 

as a teacher (I think that's what you said), you'd need to step back and look at the way scouting works as different than the public school system. Think of it this way, the more often you can introduce a cool and neato topic, the more likely a scout will also find it interesting, and will learn something, even if they never finish the badge. If they are truly interested in the badge, they'll finish it. otherwise they still get something out of starting the badge. Giving them a world of knowledge should be the goal of the SM and the MBC(merit badge counselors) but those goals should not come about in the same way.

 

the whole outing that is scouting, exploring the world and doing for yourself, that part of scouting should be the bulk of your meetings and outings. Rank stuff should come naturally-we are going camping, someone has to plan, shop and cook the food; we are going hiking, we should go over the rules of safe hiking. we are going to want a wash stand at camp, so learn the knots to lash together this wood to make a wash stand. naturally occuring learning.

 

Now along the way if you are going hiking, sure you may want to introduce the hiking merit badge and point out how the boys can do stuff on the outing that works for the badge. but if they actually do the stuff and complete the badge is UP TO THE SCOUT, not up to you. You just let it go. It's THEIR Individual merit badge to finish, not for the TROOP or SM to do.

 

Similarly if the troop is doing scouting for food, you could mention how that could fit into the Citizen in the community merit badge. But you should't sign them all up for the badge, and arrange for the community service for each of them. They should choose to dothe badge and choose to do the service and count it for the MB. They may only want to do it to satisfy community service hours for rank, or just cause it's fun, orthey may want to stay home. thats ok too.

 

Take your tracking pages that are driving you nuts because some boys are starting merit badges and not finishing them and throw this out the window. not yours to track. what you should track? not much. you could track how you are doing toward rank as a whole troop. you could track service hours, and you could track nights camping. and attendance and recruiting. those can be signs of a healthy troop. A healthy troop and a good scouting experience doesn't always have to = Eagle.

[Deaf Scouter]

5 year Scouter,

THANKS for taking the time to write all you wrote. Just reading your post I see how much my Adults are inputting in which is why my PLC isn't going so well. Scouts are clamming up along with not knowing how. It is so much to take in that I'll have to come back and finish reading it and rereading it. You've really NAILED MUCH.. *thankful smile!

 

You really nailed the parent involvement/parent influence that I was overlooking. Looks like I need to have a parent/leaders meeting, don't ya think, to tell them SHUT UP while getting the parents & leaders on the same page of how to turn this over to the Scouts as a PLC. You just made me realize big time that I need to include in the aspect of transition the leadership especially the ASM who was previously in our Troop. He is gonna be the same way as the previous SM and he has a son in our Troop. 3 of us leaders do not have sons in the Troop, myself included. Now that I think about it, its the parents that are vetoing the district and council camporees that I just know the boys will have fun at.

 

How does the approach of having interest survey broken down into categories of: camping, hiking and/ or backpacking, biking, canoeing, sailing, Trip ideas, sporting Events and / or Activities, Whitewater Rafting or Tubing, Outdoor Cooking, Stars - Environment Study, Crafts, Archery Range/Rifle or BB Shooting and then have ideas of places, events, and etc. with a blank one for other that the scouts fills in sound? I'm thinking I need to separate the parents and the scouts while the Scout fills it out. Scouts choose 5 categories that interest them and then circle the places they like. Better yet put the scouts in the small board room by themselves but give the directions before hand to the second class scout while keeping the parents in the community room with their own copy with specific directions THEIR scout is DECIDING without THEIR input.

 

Next would be the survey of the Merit Badge, broken into two parts. I'll separate the required from the rest of the list and ask them to pick 4 required ones. Then hand them the list of all the other MB broken down into groups like this list:

http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Work_Sheet_for_Building_a_Merit_Badge_Counselor_List

 

I really would like to do this at my next campout. Do you think this is a good approach? Pros and cons?

 

Basement Dweller..

Yeah I'll go CAMPING BUT WITH my scouts... *pfft WITH A SMILE

We've only done ONE campout this year. (We've got the second one this coming weekend.) I'm used to doing 10-12 campouts in a year through scouting with my son. Don't ya think there is a problem with this picture?? .. *pfft while laughing

[Deaf Scouter]

And along comes a blog in my ebox that sums it up nicely on Adult led and boy led called The Pivot Point.

The Point Taken says little ol' moi..*laughing

 

 

http://www.scoutmastercg.com/2012/04/the-pivot-point/

[Basementdweller]

In reading all of your posts.....Your going to continue the one man show.....

 

 

with 5 boys you don't need an SPL or PLC you need more scouts......

[Venividi]

Deaf scouter wrote: Scout working on Eagle so really not into planning. I finally stopped doing PLC with him as it was a dead end. ... I'm basically doing the calendar myself with their ideas then gonna teach them how to plan come fall.

 

 

Deaf Scouter,

An obesrvation - it reads like you are giving a bye to your oldest scout because he is working on Eagle. And since he isn't in to planning, you are stepping in and doing it for him (and the other scout that isn't a first year, because he is working on Star).

 

I've got to ask - if a scout cant find the time, and/or doesn't want to step up and help make the troop run, do you feel that he is demonstrating the scout spirit that would be expected of someone that wants to be an Eagle scout? I would suggest having a conversation with this young man about how the troop needs him and his expertice. And ask how he perceives how he is living by the scout oath and law if he is ignoring leading the troop because he would rather work on Eagle requirements.

 

 

Venividi

[Deaf Scouter]

Good Point Venividi!

 

I was even asked by the parent to explain why a scout needs to show up for certain events because the parent was having a problem getting the scout to go. It really did put me at loss for a comeback with so much on my plate. For my son and I never had to think 'why go?', 'we WENT!'

 

After all is said(read), researched, thought about, redirected, encouraged, supported, scaled down, organized and etc....

 

It's time to pull it all together and a figure out what the real simple goals are. I liked this link too:

http://www.scouting.org/Training/Adult/Supplemental/YouthLeadershipTrainingContinuum.aspx I especially like this part:

 

VISIONWhat success looks likea picture

GOALSWhat needs to be done to reach what the group calls success

PLANNINGHow the group will execute its goals

 

Vision: Boy-led Troop

Goals:

Working Monthly Outing Calendar

Patrol Method

Tools for the leaders (Patrol Scouts) to use where ever they may meet

 

Planning:

Adult meetings (were not on the same page)

Committee delegations

New Parent Orientation on Boy Scout and Patrol Method

Troop Guide and Jr ASM of teaching planning

Gathering Tools Resources for youth leaders to use

Educating self in Patrol Method and taking Patrol Method Training

 

Have to say one thing...I sure was all over the map. Thanks to all your insightful help, wisdom, advice, sharing and these forums, I'm hoping to put into a direction and transition in boy-led and the ACTUAL Patrol Method. I do NOT want to go back to being a mother again now that I'm done with my son. Gotta look at my strengths and different approach.

(As a single mother my son WAS involved in our family decision making which NOT common in a family unit. I need to bring that to the Patrol Method... *winka

I also prefer HANDS-ON and OUTING over talk and boredom. Wonder why that is?? *grins)

 

 

[Venividi]

Yep - human nature being what it is, you will always get a few scouts and parents that are looking for a way to get an award with the minimum effort possible. While that can work for the number of MB's required, requirements that are signed off, and other items that are ostensibly "objectively" measureable (i.e., either completed or not), there is that pesky scout spirit requirement. Some scouts and parents view that as anything short of being charged with a crime is showing scout spirit - they weren't bad. I once had a parent argue with me that it didn't matter that their scout was uncooperative at scout meetings, because he demonstrated scout spirit at his theater group.

 

A handy reference to living by the scout law is whether they are the example that you want to hold up to the rest of the troop as a role model - be like this guy, he is a credit to his patrol, troop, and community because of x, y, and z. If you are signing off on scout spirit for scouts that are not stepping up to their responsibilities to the troop, the othe scouts learn that example as to what the adult leaders expectations are. And the other scouts in the troop will likely exibit the same behavior. So communicate your expectations, and stick to them. It's hard, but worth it.