Step Back (opens in a new tab)
Here are some excerpts from a reply to a letter from a frustrated Scoutmaster over at Ask Andy Usually, the single most important thing adult leaders can do to improve delivery of the Boy Scout program is to step back.
Topic
Patrol Method
Small groups of Scouts, led by Scouts. The patrol method was one of the most talked-about ideas in troop leadership, and these posts work through patrol leaders' councils, patrol identity and letting youth lead.
136 posts · 2007–2019
Patrol Method posts from 2008
12 posts
GreenBar.ws: Teaching How to Patrol (opens in a new tab)
A few weeks ago, I wrote about getting things started. How do you get things going in your pack. For us it was getting started participating in a Webelos Campout or Web-o-ree. I have been thinking back to that campout.
Weekend Patrol Box #11 (opens in a new tab)
The snow is beginning outside my window. Lows this weekend in the teens--but a whole lot warmer than my years growing up on Eielson AFB, Alaska! Yep, I'm still in t-shirts. And loving the cool weather. I do try to encourage my Scouts to mentally fight the cold.
Webelos to Scout Transition - Part 3 (opens in a new tab)
Hello fellow Scouters, This is part 3 in my take on Webelos to Scout transition, this time dealing with the patrol method of scouting. In Boy Scouts, the patrol method is used to teach the boys to work as a team, sharing responsibilities to help achieve success for the patrol.
Weekend Patrol Box #9 (opens in a new tab)
Happy Halloween! And many of you will be remembering All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day . Trick-or-treating on a Friday night is a busy way to start the weekend. Going to be chilly tonight, and I'm taking my grandkids out with my younger children to scare up some candy from the neighbors.
Patrol Box Wash Station (opens in a new tab)
Gregg Shupe Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 12 in Framingham Mass. has come up with a great Patrol Box Wash Station . The station holds three wash basins for cleaning rinsing and sanitizing - looks like a great idea! Associated posts at Scoutmaster Chuck Boxes More Camp Kitchens Patrol Box Design Two Patrol Boxes Even More Chuck Boxes…
Weekend Patrol Box #8 (opens in a new tab)
This is the last weekend before Hallowe'en, and then the holiday rush begins. Our regular meeting times are on Wednesday nights, so Thanksgiving rushes our month a bit. The same thing happens in December, with Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve falling on a meeting night.
Weekend Patrol Box #7 (opens in a new tab)
Wow, the fall colors are out in great form this weekend. I just returned from a trip, and need to get the Patrol Box out before the weekend fades into the sunset. We have a Patrol Leaders Council at my house tonight, so there is a lot to get packed in quickly.
Weekend Patrol Box #6 (opens in a new tab)
Hey, six weeks have come and gone now. Hope the Patrol Box is giving you plenty to read and learn from. Feel free to link to it or send out to your Scouts, too. Shenrapawa's Mighty Troop 423 is headed out on our Lewis and Clark Fall Camporee this weekend.
Weekend Patrol Box #5 (opens in a new tab)
The weather is sunny and warm, and down into the 40s at night. Perfect for camping and dragging out the Patrol Box. Lots of interesting things in the Patrol Box this week. Fire is always popular. There is also a video and a video game tucked away to help pass the time.
Perhaps my favorite topic
Recently in the PTCmedia forums a Scouter posted a new topic. It caught my eye, as leadership always does. His post asked several questions: "Who makes up your unit's leadership? Is it current parents? the Old Goat or rocking chair Patrol of people that are retired or semiretired?
A "Boy Planned" Program (opens in a new tab)
The Yearly Planning Session (YPS) is an activity held by the Patrol Leader Council of Troop 68 the first weekend of each August. During this session the PLC, under the supervision of the scoutmaster, will plan the troop's program for the next twelve months.