Jobs within the patrol

[JerseyScout]

After years of getting by on my own Scouting experience, advice from my old Scoutmaster, common sense, and asking questions on this board, my troop is no longer in danger of collapsing. Therefore, I decided to buy and read the Scoutmaster handbook to try to fill in gaps in my knowledge, as well as to see other (and official) ways of doing things. After all, you can't change the rules until you know them, right?

 

Anyway, I've been reading up on patrol method, and I love the idea of every single patrol member having a specific job, as one thing I've noticed is that our patrol leaders tend to dish out jobs on the spot. This works well for the short term, but it doesn't play well to the idea of a patrol as a team where every member is contributing to the good of the unit.

 

As for positions, the book suggests the following: Patrol Leader, Assistant Patrol Leader, Patrol Scribe, Patrol Quartermaster, Patrol Grubmaster, and Patrol Cheermaster, which sounds a little too much like Patrol Cheerleader. Checking older literature (at the Scout dump... awesome site), I also saw First Aid-master who was in charge of upkeeping the patrol's first aid kit. Does anyone have other ideas for patrol positions, either from "the old days" or that they see today?

 

I'm going to have the patrol leaders brainstorm jobs at the next Patrol Leaders Council. I purchased patrol logs for them when I got the Scoutmaster's handbook, so I give those to them at the same meeting.

[Beavah]

Yeh can develop "fixed" jobs if yeh feel yeh need to, JerseyScout. It might help yeh get goin'.

 

Da best way, though, is to have the PL identify something that needs doin' and assign someone to it permanently... or to identify a patrol member who has a particular interest or skill and have him take over a set of tasks that fit his interest.

 

In other words, tailor the jobs to the real jobs a patrol has and da real people it has in it, rather than come up with a more generic list. It's OK if one patrol has a "nature expert" and another doesn't, or if one patrol has a patrol Quartermaster and another has two because the PL feels it's a big job and there are two guys who are interested.

 

If yeh help the PL experiment and try things out, he's going to feel more ownership and is goin' to learn more about leadership than if yeh give him a list of jobs to fill.

 

Of course, same could be said about TLT and da SPL

 

Beavah

 

[boomerscout]

We rotate all our patrol positions so everyone gets a chance to learn & grow.

Patrol cheermaster always sounded silly unless he is the one in charge of the nightly campfire -- the organization, creating the skits, setting up any refreshments, planning the widegames.

Since our CO is a church, we've also had patrol chaplain. Patrol pathfinder researches outings in depth before presenting them to patrol or presenting them at PLC if PL agrees. He also lays out the orienteering course.

Patrol medic sounds good if someone wants to continue with advanced Red Cross training. I may suggest this to our troop

[RememberSchiff]

Patrol method = everyone has a job but all help. No sitting on your duff because it ain't in your job title description. In a newly formed patrol, the PL sees to this. As (if?) the patrol successfully gels, this occurs automatically. A thing of beauty!

 

Often in a successful patrol, it will not be readily apparent who the PL is. Everyone knows their job and helps everyone else.

 

My $0.02

[Stosh]

It's easier to follow along with a job description than it is to get out in front and lead. If everyone has to have a job title to follow along with, then I would suggest a bit more leadership training or everyone's going to not do anything until they are told to do it.

 

This is the problem with management. There's a task to be done and some manager gets told what the task is. They tell someone to do it and thus it gets done. Ever notice that as the directive comes from top down, everyone follows, no one leads. Sure the problems/tasks are managed, but there's really no leadership going on in the process.

 

Every time I hear people needing job descriptions, it's time for a leadership training opportunity. All they are saying is that they need some to tell them what to do. "I'm wanting to follow something because I have no idea how to lead!" This is why adult-led programs run so smoothly and boy-led don't.

 

Stosh