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Realistic Troop Elections


Kudu

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Eagle92 writes:

 

"I'll be honest, I do like the fact that the members of the troop elect the SPL. It reminds me more of our democratic republic format,"

 

Yes, who among us would NOT take Green Bar Bill's power away from the Patrol Leaders, in exchange for the darling cuteness of a school election? :)

 

Eagle92 writes:

 

"The original SPL selection of GBB's, i.e. PLs elect the SPL, reminds me more of a parliamentary system. But again that's just me."

 

No it's not just you, Eagle92.

 

Thanks to the invention of "leadership" development, the BSA's "Real" Patrol Method has become so "foreign" to most Americans, that a committee of Patrol Leaders with the power to select their own coordinator strikes most of us "trained" adults as the "parliamentary system."

 

Eagle92 writes:

 

" i.e. the PLC= Congress and the SPL=President. It's just that the SPL also presides over the PLC. "

 

Cut the crap Eagle92 :)

 

Let's run our Troop Elections the RIGHT Way, with a Two Party System:

 

Patrol Method Party = Parliament (Bad) Scouting conservatives ("Traditional," "Old-Fashioned," Patrol Adventure)

 

Troop Method Party = America! (Good) Scouting liberals ("Modern," "Innovation," Webelos III "Controlled Failure" Bailouts)

 

Scoutmaster = President (Power of the Veto). Appointed by the Electoral College (Scoutmaster can win popular vote & still lose election).

 

PLC = Senate (Each Patrol equally represented)

 

SPL = Vice President (Presides over the PLC. Appointed at his SM's party convention, after a series of Primary Elections in which the Scoutmaster candidates in both parties launch hateful smear campaigns against the other adults in their own party).

 

Troop Committee = House of Representatives (Each Patrol votes for its favorite mommies and daddies) THIS IS VERY AMERICAN, because Baden-Powell's Patrol Leaders (Bad) run the Troop without any "Committee" of mommies and daddies!

 

Eagle92 writes:

 

"IMHO, it reinforces the concept that you must elect good leaders."

 

I agree!

 

In Realistic Troop Elections, if the Scouts elect adults that don't do exactly what they want, they can vote for new adults in six months :)

 

Yours at 300 feet,

 

Kudu

http://kudu.net

 

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Yah, I have always recommended consultin' with the youth leaders on the selection of ASMs and SMs. Their perspective is an important one, both from a program quality perspective and a youth protection perspective.

 

A good rule of thumb in a healthy program is that if the youth are opposed or are lukewarm to a candidate, the committee had best look elsewhere. Even in a program that's in need of a bit of gettin' kicked into shape, the youth perspective is still quite valuable and almost always on-the-money.

 

Let's face it, da average parent or committee person doesn't really see a scouter in action anywhere near as much as the youth leaders.

 

Beavah

 

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Beavah....

 

funny you should mention that......When the SM said he was going to retire in 6 months and the COR asked me if I was interested in being SM that is exactly what I did...

 

we were sitting around the campfire and the SM just broke it to the boys that he was stepping down in a couple of months......I followed up with asking if they had any thoughts about me becoming SM... They said yes, I asked the patrol leaders later if they had any thoughts.......

 

 

 

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Kudu,

 

Gotta remember I use the Patrol Method as part of the Citizenship in the Community and Nation MBs.

 

I've been very fortunate growing up. With the exception of one trip, the adults were old school and let the youth run things. And that one trip was a family trip and the momma's ruined it b/c they didn't want the Cubs with us upset b/c they couldn't do the hike inthe cold rain like the Boy Scouts.

 

But that's a different story for a different thread ;)

 

We've had bad elections in my troop. One SPL got elected, showed up for a meeting or two, and then never appeared again. really emphasised that you need to know who you are voting for.

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