Selecting a scout to attend JLT

[Laure]

Hi -- Our troop is considering sending a boy to Junior Leader Training this summer, to be paid for by the troop. The boy would then serve as SPL at our regular week of camp. We have two qualified boys, both have served as PL previously. Part of the question is how do we select an SPL overall (which I have seen addressed here previously, and we will have to deal with anyway)? The second concern is, parents have asked how can we ensure that a boy who receives this training won't end up quitting scouts during the year, thus "wasting" the troop's financial investment in him? One idea might be to have the boy fundraise part of the fee, thus having a personal investment in it as well. Do your troops send boy to JLT? If so, how do you select? Is it benefitting the troop (as well as the boy) ?

[OldGreyEagle]

Selecting the SPL is easy, have the boys vote for who they want, its part of the program.

 

Next if you have a doubt about who the troop is sending to JLT, then you may want to revisit your selection process. Has the boy asked to go? When told he might be going, what was his reaction? How has he handled leadership roles in the past?

 

Were there two likely canidates and one was selected? What if the Troop sent both, paying half of the fee and the boys responsible for the other half, the troop spends the same money and has 2 trained youth. How much is it anyway?

[Eagle76]

Our troop elects its SPL in the normal manner, by troop election. However, one of the requirements to run is that the Scout must have attended Brownsea/NYLT. In order to earn the Brownsea trained patch, the Scout must complete 3 goals after the camp session in June. Normal expectation is for the goals to be completed by November, when a graduation ceremony is held. Our Scoutmaster has made it a policy that the cost of camp will be reimbursed by the troop only if the Scout completes these goals by November. Basically, Scouts volunteer or request to attend, and the Scoutmaster approves or denies the request. I'm not sure, but the troop may impose a limit of 2 Scouts per year. (We have troop of about 35.)

 

This may not ensure that Scouts will not quit within a year, but it does require a certain committment from the Scout.

[ASM416]

I think every effort should be made to send anyone who wants to go. At least two should be sent to comply with buddy system rules. Also its good to have a friend with you. This may require some personal investment or fund raising on the scouts part but would probably make for a better experience for the boys. I will also help the troop to have more than one trained leader.

 

As for the SPL, he should be voted on by the troop, so there is really no way to make sure the trained one is the SPL.

 

As far as "wasting" the money to send a boy who quits. We all know who the dedicated scouts are that will stick around for awhile. But, another way to look at it. Maybe by sending a boy to JLT you will give him the incentive to stay. Even if he doesn't, if he gets anything that he can apply to life out of it I wouldn't call it a waste. The point here is to make better citizens. We have to do what we can while we have them.

 

Tim

[Venividi]

Hi Laure,

 

Consider sending them both. Check with your council as to whether there is a limit as to the number of attendees from a unit. (Our council's rule of thumb is 3).

 

Am puzzled about why the scout you send to JLT would be the scout that serves as the SPL at summer camp - I would expect that the SPL at summer camp would be the SPL that the scouts elected for the term that includes summer camp. It is not clear to me what is to be gained by having a adult appointed SPL (which effectively the case if the boy approved to send to JLT automatically gets the position).

 

Re: ensuring a scout attending training doesn't quit scouts - a few comments:

- In our council, attendance at JLT requires the SM recommendation. A scout that looks like he is likely to drop out in the near future may not be the best choice for the troop to send to JLT.

- Try to influence the parents that are looking at this as purely a financial decision to the troop. Explain that they are positively benefiting the boy, the troop, and the community even if 9 months from now the scout leaves the troop. No one can guarantee that the scout's parent doesn't get a new job requiring a move, that politics in the troop don't motivate scouts to leave, etc.

- One way to reimburse the scout for training is to do so as a credit for future campouts; i.e. the scout (or his family) pays for the JLT, and then the troop pays all costs for the scout's future activities up to the cost of the JLT. (Our troop managed reimbursement of adult training in this way).

 

I considered candidates by considering their interest in scouting. their participation with the troop, leadership position currently being held, and leadership potential. These factors were pretty much inter-related. I then met with the scout to motivate him, and also met with the parents to explain the benefit to them. (I occasionally encountered parents that didn't want their son to attend JLT because he couldn't earn merit badges, so they considered it a waste of time because JLT wouldn't help him advance).

 

Personally, I would not pursue a path where the scout does fundraising for his own fee - I may not be understanding how your committee would propose to do that, but I suspect that the boy would see this as a dissincentive to go - he has to do a fundraiser that none of the other boyss do.

 

Good Luck - send as many scouts to JLT as you can. It did make a difference in the troop - which was apparent after a couple of years when we could not motivate any scouts (or their families) to have the scouts attend.

[FScouter]

The SPL is elected by the boys in the troop. He is SPL for his entire term, including summer camp. If he cannot attend summper camp, the assistant SPL would serve in his place. The ASPL is appointed by the SPL after the election.

[dan]

JLT is Junior Leader Training is a course run by troops usually done over a weekend or day.

JLTC was Junior Leadership Training Conference it was a weeklong or a 2 3 day weekend course ran by a council it has been replaced with

NYLT National Youth Leadership Training.

Who should go to NYLT the future leaders of the troop, I guess that is just about every scout! The Scoutmaster should choice the scouts he thinks are ready for the next level of training. Yes you are taking a chance on any scout leaving the troop after the training that should not be a reason to not send a scout to NYLT, unless there is some reason the SM thinks he may be leaving the troop.

One scout from a troop can attend NYLT, he will have many other scouts around him, he does not need to attend with a buddy from his troop. Even it you send 2 scouts most likely they will not be in the same patrol, Maybe not even the same troop, depending on how many troops your councils runs for NYLT.

 

[dan]

note to self press the submit button once!(This message has been edited by dan)