Troop 815 Danville, California
2
Introduc8on• IamRobWenstrand,ScoutmasterforTroop815,ASMforseveralyears
• Thispresenta8onwasbuiltmostlybythisguy:
Paul Ellisiry, ASM Troop 815
• FormalizedtrainingtoensurethatallofourASM’sareonthesamepage.
• Whoareyou?
• Whatissomethingthatyourtroopdoesnowthatyouarecurioushowothertroopshandle?
Troop 815 Danville, California
3
QuotesfromBaden-Powell,thefounderofBoyScouts
“Scou8ngisagameforboys,undertheleadershipofboys,inwhichelderbrotherscangivetheiryoungerbrothersahealthyenvironmentandencouragethemtohealthyac8vi8es.”
“Thereisnodoubtwhatsoeverthatintheboys’eyesitiswhata[leader]doesthatcountsandnotsomuchwhathesays…”
Baden-Powell
Troop 815 Danville, California
4
WhatdoASMsdoinourTroop?▪ Adviseandguidescoutsu8lizingthePatrolMethod▪ Providethenecessaryadultleadershipfortroopmee8ngs,events,
andou8ngs▪ ServeastheLeadASMwhoworkswiththeSPL
▪ Serveasadultadvisorsforpatrols
▪ Fillmosttroopposi8ons,suchasMBcounselors,hikingcoordinator,etc.
▪ ConductScoutmasterConferences(Tenderfootthrough1stClass)
▪ MonitorandreactasneededonHealth&Safetyissues▪ MembersoftheHighFivePatrol
▪ AWendHighFiveMee8ngs
▪ Andofcourse,wetransportscoutsandequipment!
Troop 815 Danville, California
5
WhatASMsdonotdo• Wedonotleadevents.
• Wedonotrunevents.
• Ifascoutcandoit,anASMshouldnot.
• Wedonotgivepreferen8altreatmenttoourownsons.
• Wedonotunderminescoutleadership.
(unlesshealth,safety,orimportanttrooppolicyisanissue)
Troop 815 Danville, California
6
HallmarksofaveteranASM➢ Theyaremostlyseenandnotheard!➢ Theyarecalmwhenthingsdonotgoasplanned
➢ Theyrarelyanswerques8onsfromscouts,andiftheydo,it’swithques8ons
➢ Theyguidefromtheside➢ Theyactlikeanadult,buttheycanseethingsfromateenager’sperspec8ve
Youcanbebecomeonetoo!(Aveteranthatis)
Troop 815 Danville, California
7
BadenPowellexplainsthePatrolMethod“It[thePatrolMethod]teachestheboystowork
togetherinteams,itsecuresco-opera8veeffortforacommonend…”
“TotheScoutsit[thePatrolMethod]gives
subordina8onoftheselftotheinterestofthewhole…”BP
Troop 815 Danville, California
8
WhatisthePatrolMethod?• Apermanentgroupof5to8scoutswhoworktogetherasateam
• Eachpatrolisself-reliantandself-governing• Thepatrolisledbyapatrolleader• Thepatrolisthebasicunitofscou8ng• ASMadvisorsworkwiththePatrolLeader• Benefits:Self-reliance,confidence,leadership,andcharacter
Patrolsaretheheartofthetroop.
Troop 815 Danville, California
9
HowanASMadvisesinaScout-ledtroop
• Adviseandguide,thenletscoutslead• Useques8onstohelpscoutsplanandlead• Remember“TheWhy”–explainwhat’sthereasonbehindsomething
• Workwithinthechainofcommand:SPL,PL• Run“interference”tokeepotheradultsfromtakingawayresponsibilityfromscouts
• Setanexample:TheHighFivePatrol• Discipline–CoachingMoment
Troop 815 Danville, California
10
TheCri8calRoleofASM’sforFirstYearScouts• FirstYear-ThisistheCri8calYear(InclusionvsExclusion)
• RolemodelbeingaTeam-BuilderNOTawall-builder
• EDGE-Coaching&Mentoringyourscouts(role-modeling)
• Toolboxes-11yroldtoolboxvsa45yroldtoolbox
• Thepre-mee8ng(s)arekeytosuccess
• UsingEDGE(pre-game)effec8vely,leadsto………….....BOY-LEDconfidence(game8me)
• RemindertoCCanotheradultleader(andparent)forYP
Troop 815 Danville, California
11
TheE.D.G.E.Method• Explain
Explainwhatyouwillbedoinginclearlanguage.• Demonstrate
Showthemhowtoaccomplishwhatwasjustexplained.
• GuideAstheyprac8cetheskill,guide,coachandencourage.
• EnableLetthemtrytheskillontheirown.
Troop 815 Danville, California
12
Scenariosfromthefield• Ques8ons,ques8ons,ques8ons?• Apatrolismissingatentpole.• ThePhilmonttrekgets“lost”attheendofalongday.
• Scenariosfordiscussion
Troop 815 Danville, California
14
Troop815’sexpecta8onsfromASM’s• Serveinatroopposi8onasneeded.• AWendseveraleventsperyear.• BetheleadASMforatleastoneeventperyear.
• TrytoaWendonetroopmee8ngspermonth.
• AWendaPLCoccasionally.• Training:Keepyouronlinetrainingcurrent(YP,Haz.
Weather),LEAD(January),WildernessFirstAid(highlyadvised)
• Guideyourownscouttobeinvolvedandhelphispatrolandthetroop
Troop 815 Danville, California
17
PatrolAdvisorsBeingaPatrolAdvisoristhemostimportantposi8oninourtroop.
Byguidingandmentoringyouwillhaveanimpactinthedevelopmentofthescoutsin
yourpatrol.
Troop 815 Danville, California
18
WhatdoesaPatrolAdvisordo?• Advisesandsupportsscoutswithinapatrolforadvancement,
par8cipa8onintroopac8vi8es,andensuresac8vepatrolmee8ngs/ac8vi8esareheldonaregularbasis(toensureahealthypatrol,typicallyamonthlymee8ng/event)
• Helpsadviseandtrainpatrolleaders,assistantpatrolleaders,andquartermasters
• Par8cipatesinallPatrolMee8ngsandPatrolOu8ngs
• Twoadultsforeachpatrolisop8mal,typicallyaparentofoneofthescoutsinthenewpatrol
• WorkswiththePatrolQuartermastertoinventorythepatrolboxatleastateachleadershipchange
• Istheprimarycontactforparentswithintheirpatrol
Troop 815 Danville, California
19
• Con8nuestoadvisethepatrolthroughtheirscou8ngcareer• Holdscoutswithinthepatrolaccountabletoperformtheir
electedroles,usingthepatrolmee8ngstoprovideadviseinpatrolandtroopopera8ons
• MakesScoutmasterandAdvancementChairawareoftheneedsofscoutsintheirpatrol
• Inves8gatesscoutswithintheirpatrolnotac8velyinvolvedordisengagingandbringsfeedbacktotheother
• AdultLeaders(HighFivePatrol)forac8onasneeded
Troop 815 Danville, California
20
MethodstoUse➢ HoldPre-MeeMngswithyourPatrolLeader,APL&Quartermaster➢ ThePre-mee8ngmayincludecommunica8onsbyemailortexttopreparethe
PatrolLeaderorSPLforthegoalsofthatmee8ngorevent.➢ Advisenewlyelectedpatrolleaders-providetoolstoaddtotheirtoolbox➢ Wedonotgivepreferen8altreatmenttoourownsons-Importantasapatrol
advisor➢ LookforwaystokeepitfunandposiMve
Troop 815 Danville, California
21
Before&aOerelecMons-whattodo• Beforetheelec8on,talkwithyourcurrentPL.Advisehimon
preparingthepatrolforelec8ons.
• Amertheelec8on,meetwithyournewPL
– Whatishisvisionandgoalsforhisterm?
– SetdatesforthenextfewPatrolmee8ngs.
– PassonPLmaterial:binder,PLHandbook.– Follow-up–talkwithyourPLweekly–aboutthepatrolandtroop
– EncouragepatrolaWendanceontroopac8vi8es
Troop 815 Danville, California
22
APL’svisionandgoals• AnewPLshouldconsiderthe“bigpicture”ofthepatrol?
– Athisfirstmee8ng,heshouldfindoutwhereeachscoutstandsonadvancement.Pullreportsfromwhateversomwareyourtroopusesforadvancementtohelphim.
– Advancementgoals–Howcanmembersadvance?WhenarethenextBORs?COH?
– Patrolmee8ngagendasshouldbebasedonadvancementbutalsobefun.
– Whataboutfun?HowcanthePLfindoutwhatthepatrolwantstodoforfun?
– Howcanthepatrolhelpthetroop?
Troop 815 Danville, California
23
KeyLeadershipConceptsAdultAdvisorCriMcalRoleforFirstYearScouts
• FirstYear-ThisistheCri8calYear(InclusionvsExclusion)• Rolemodel:BeaTeam-BuilderNOTawall-builder• E.D.G.E.-Coaching&MentoringtobuildourscoutsSelf-Esteem
&givethemthebasicskillstosucceed/grow• Toolboxes-11yroldtoolboxvsa45yroldtoolbox• Pre-meeMng(s)&de-briefing(s)arekeytobuildingLeaders• UsingE.D.G.E.(pre-game)effec8vely,leadsto………….....
BOY-LEDconfidence(game8me)• YP-RemindertoCCanotheradultleader(andparent)
Troop 815 Danville, California
24
ThePre-MeeMng➢ ThisiscriMcaltotheconfidencebuildingandsuccessofourscouts!➢ Thepre-mee8ngshouldbeinaloca8onwheretherearefewdistrac8ons…
inthescoutshomeoratyourhomeisideal.(FollowingYPguidelines)(Thepre-mee8ngistypically25minutesbeforethePatrolmee8ng)
➢ Two-Deepleadershipisalwaysadheredto➢ Remember,mostpeoplelearnbyseeing(visual)anddoing(handson)➢ Remindyourscoutsthatoneofthekeystobeingasuccessfulleaderare
twoareas:
♦ Inclusion(makesureeveryone’sopinionisincluded)
♦RoundRobin–People(scouts)willinterruptlessiftheyknowtheywillgetachancetovoicetheiropinion
Note:CellphonescanbeanendlessdistracMon–Youmaywanttocollecttheminabasketwhenthemee8ngstarts!
Troop 815 Danville, California
25
Nuts&Bolts:ThePre-MeeMng➢ ThePatrolAgenda:REVIEWthePatrolAgendaasaGuidetoconductmee8ngs..Theyshould
haveacopytorefertowhenleadingthemee8ngwiththeotherscoutsRemindyourscoutsthatoneofthekeystobeingasuccessfulleaderaretwoareas:♦ Inclusion(makesureeveryone‘sopinionisincluded)♦RoundRobin–People(scouts)willinterruptlessiftheyknowtheywillgetachance
tovoicetheiropinion➢ PatrolLeader:Giveleadershipresponsibili8estotheAsstPatrolLeaderperthePatrolAgenda➢ TheAdultAdvisorMinute:Thisiskeytohavingyouropportunitytobrieflydiscuss:♦ Upcomingou8ngs♦ Advancementopportuni8es♦ OtherimportantreminderswhichmaysupportthescoutPatrolLeader ➢ PracMcethebasicsofscouMng:MentorthePatrolLeadertoaskforavolunteertolead(or
assignscouts):♦ TheBoyScoutMoWo♦ TheScoutOath♦ TheScoutLaw♦ ThePledgeofAllegiance(Thisisagood8metochecktheircorrectsalute)
Troop 815 Danville, California
26
Nuts&Bolts:TheDe-Brief
➢ WhatWorked,WhatDidn’t:♦ What should we keep doing, what should we stop doing or change ➢ Start–Stop-ConMnue:(Sameconceptasabove)
♦ Givespecificexamplesofwhatweshouldcon8nue,start&stop➢ Roses&Thorns:(Bringsscoutstogether–providesclosure&unity) ♦ This is a Troop 815 scouting tradition. After outings, everyone
gathers in a circle and briefly says what their Rose was (best part of the outing) and what their thorn was (worst part of the outing)
➢ AdultAdvisorLeadershipTools:♦ Use Question Based Leadership (What do they think? How might it be done
differently? Could we have done something another way?) ♦ Summarize what went well, and what we could do better next time. ♦ The SPL (Senior Patrol Leader) of the outing completes a “Close-Out” report
that summarizes these concepts which also makes a debrief valuable.
Troop 815 Danville, California
27
RankAdvancement-Year1AdvancingFromScouttoTenderfoottoSecondClasstoFirstClass(thisiso<enachievedbyscoutsin18to24months)
➢ TroopMeeMngs:TrytoaWendasmanyaspossible-butatleast2outofthe3Troopmee8ngseachmonth.
➢ PatrolMeeMngs:Inthefirstyear,trytoplanaPatrolMeeMng2xpermonth♦ Reasoning – The Patrol is forming – learning to become a team ♦ Concepts of Forming / Storming & Norming (personality differences)♦ This First Year experience almost always determines whether a scout stays
in scouting and goes on to be an Eagle or not.
➢ FirstCampingTrip/Camporee/SummerCamp♦ First Trip: This is their first Troop outing – it is fun and just one overnight ♦ Camporee: This is 2 nights… lots of fun and a chance to get sign-offs for
rank advancement ♦ Summer Camp: This one is CRITICAL to building relationships,
becoming self-reliant and earning merit badges for rank advancement.
Troop 815 Danville, California
28
RankAdvancement–Year2and3
AdvancingFromFirstClasstoStar➢ Star:Thisisoneofthemostdifficulttorankadvanceto♦ Reasoning – Our Scouts will be tested and must demonstrate skills and
proficiency in multiple areas that include: First Aid, Knots, Lashings, Fire Starting, Flag Folding, Compass and Map Orientation. Individual achievements.
➢ TroopMeeMngs:Con8nueaWendingasmanyaspossible-butatleast2outofthe3eachmonthisencouraged.AWendanceisafactorinrankadvancing.
➢ PatrolMeeMngs:ConMnuetryingtoplanaPatrolMeeMng2xpermonth♦ Reasoning – The Patrol continues to form and bond ♦ More eager achievers can encourage the other scouts in their patrol♦ Some attention should be paid to obtaining the age-appropriate Eagle Merit
Badges for Rank Advancement at Summer Camps ♦ Try to plan a fun patrol outing for bonding at least twice per year
➢ TroopPosiMons:♦ Encourage Scouts to consider taking Troop Positions that will challenge them
Troop 815 Danville, California
29
RankAdvancement–Year4and5AdvancingFromStartoLifeScout
Note:ManyscoutswilltypicallyRankAdvancetoLifeScoutintheirFreshmanYearofHighSchool.SomescoutsmayearnLifeinthe8thgrade,othersasaJunior.
➢ LifeScout:ThisisabigdealasourscoutsarenowjustonerankfromachievingtheirEAGLE(EagleistheHighestRankinScou8ng).
➢ TroopMeeMngs:Con8nueaWendingasmanyaspossible-butatleast2outofthe3eachmonthisencouraged.AWendanceisafactorinrankadvancing.
➢ PatrolMeeMngs:♦ Usually once every 6 weeks. Reasoning – Scouts are usually involved in other
sports & school activities. Homework is usually a heavy load as well. ♦ Consider changing the meetings to a different day that works for everyone
where you can FOCUS on the more difficult EAGLE MERIT BADGES… 3 hour meetings can be huge in knocking out these tougher Eagle merit badges.
➢ TroopPosiMons:♦ Scouts should be running for Troop Positions as a way to give back to the Troop
Troop 815 Danville, California
30
RankAdvancement:TakingthemysteryoutofEagleMeritBadges
ThesearetheRequiredEagleMeritBadges1.Camping(Requires20days&20nightsofcamping+addi8onalskillrequirements)2.CiMzenshipIntheCommunity(Requires8hoursofcommunityservice&aPresenta8on)3.Ci8zenshipintheNa8on(Involvesresearchandmul8pleshortpresenta8ons)4.Ci8zenshipintheWorld(Involvesresearchandmul8pleshortpresenta8ons)5.CommunicaMon(Includesa5minspeech,interviewingskills,leadingaTroopac8vity)6.Cooking(Involvesresearch,cookingforparentsathome&scoutsonahike/campout)7.EmergencyPreparednessorLifeSaving(EPrequiresaTroopwidemobilizaMon)8.EnvironmentalScience(Involveswri8ngareportonanoutdoorstudydonebyscout)9.FamilyLife(Requires3monthsofloggingchoresascoutdoesathishome)10.FirstAid(mostscoutsdothisatSummerCampandneedtoreviewskillsforStarrank)11.PersonalFitness(notdifficult,butrequires3monthsbetweentes8ng)12.PersonalManagement(Bestage14+&requires3monthsloggingexpenses)13.Swimming,HikingorCycling(MostscoutsdothecyclingprogramwithourTroop)
Troop 815 Danville, California
31
RankAdvancement–Year6and7AdvancingFromLifeScouttoEAGLE
Note:IfascoutcanplantohavealltherequirementsmetpriortostarKnghisJunioryearinHighSchool,thistargetisidealgiventhemanydistrac?onsscouts generally
haveatage16andolder.Asareminder,therankofEagleMUSTbeobtainedpriortoourscoutsreachingtheir18thbirthday.NOEXCEPTIONS.➢ EAGLE:Lessthan4%ofallscoutsachievethisrank.Itisgivenweigh8ngand
preferenceatmost4yearcollegesandatallthemilitaryacademies.ManyemployersgivepreferencetocandidateswithanEagleintheirresume!
Paulcomment–in20136%ofscoutsearnedEagle.Iamnotsurehowthisextrapolatestoalloverallscouts--seehVp://www.scou?ng.org/About/FactSheets/Scou?ngFacts.aspx➢ TroopMeeMngs:AnEagleScoutisthetopscoutthatalltheyoungerscoutslookup
to.AWendanceisnotmandatorybutappreciatedasaninspira8ontotheotherscouts!
➢ PatrolMeeMngs:♦ This is often more of an outing that gets the patrol together to have fun, as typically most of the patrol is focused on their challenging Eagle Project.
Troop 815 Danville, California
33
Problem-InappropriateandNon-Scout-likeBehavior
• Behaviorcanbeverysubjec8ve• Thishappensineverytroop• Consistencyiskey
Twothingstothinkabout• Boysthatareconsistentlyinappropriateorexhibitnon-scout-likebehavioromenneedscouts
• ExcessivelyInappropriatebehaviorcandetractfromtheoveralltroop
Troop 815 Danville, California
34
BCM:BehaviorCoachingMoments• Talkprivatelywiththescout(YPT!)
– Carefullypointouttheinappropriateness– ExplaintheWhy
– Developalterna8vebehaviors– Offerencouragement
– UseEmpathy-AWempttoascertainunderlyingissues– StayCalm-Raiseitupthechainifyouareunabletodoso
• Follow-up– Pointoutno8cedimprovements– Con8nuetoencourage
Troop 815 Danville, California
35
Problem-StarScoutSignOffs• Manyyearsagothetroophadaproblem:Seniorscoutsnotknowingbasicscoutskills.
• Seniorscoutsweresigningoffonskillsthattheydidnotknow.
TheStarTest● Adultdriven● Highlevelof
difficulty● Senseof
AchievementandPride
● HighlevelofSkillproficiency
Problems● Notboyled● Addingrequirements
toranks● Tes8ngonbook
knowledge● UnhappyParents
Troop 815 Danville, California
36
SLT-OurAnswertotheSkillsProblem
• Wewereabletotalkaboutheaviertopicssuchasconflictresolu8onandempathy.
• Theyworkedwitheachothertoensurethateveryonewasuptospeedonalloftheskillsthattheyshouldknowtobestarscouts.
• Skillsares8llatahighlevelbutweareseeingmorematurityinhowtheolderscoutsinteractwiththeyoungerones.
Troop 815 Danville, California
37
Problem:TooManyCooksintheKitchen• Withalargetroop,wefortunatelyhavemanyadultleaders.Oneissuethatmayariseisthatduringanou8ng,anSPLcangetinundatedwithfeedbackandadvicefromASM’s.
• Some8mesconflic8ngandrepeatedinforma8onispassedtotheyouthwhichcancausefrustra8onandcanfeellikenagging.
Solu8on:LeadASM• LiaisonbetweenSPLand
ASM’s
• Helpsorganizetheou8ngfromtheadultssideandactsasthePLfortheAdultPatrol
Troop 815 Danville, California
38
TheLeadASM-TheChainofCommand• AdviseandguidetheSPL–startearlyandfollowourguides.
– AdultAdvisorPlanningGuide– SPL’sOu8ngPlanningGuide– SPL/ASMChecklist
• TheOutdoorProgramChairwillsendyouandtheSPLa“kick-off”email.– AlldocumentsneededwillbeinasharedGoogleDrivefolderforonlinecollaboraMonwiththeSPL
– YouneedaGoogleaccount• OrganizeandleadtheHighFivePatrol• RememberotherASMsareyourresource
Troop 815 Danville, California
39
Problem:Informa8onD&D• WhenanASMoryouthleavesthetroop,weomenfindthattheytakesomeliWlepor8onofproprietaryknowledgewiththem.
• Somepointsofknowledgearestoredwithasingleindividual
• Noteveryoneknowstheprocedures• E-Mailcanbeinforma8onoverload
Troop 815 Danville, California
44
TroopCalendars• AnOutdoorplanningCalendar(availableonthetroop
website)liststheeventsandtheSPL/leadASMforeachone.
• Alltroopmee8ngsandeventsareontheGoogleCalendar.Thiscanbesynchedtoyourphonecalendar.
• EventsarechosenbyscoutsatPLCsandplanningmee8ngs
Troop 815 Danville, California
45
TheBestScoutmastersareStageDirectors
Baden-Powelltaughtusthatthebestscoutleadersaretheoneswhocanre8retoacornerofthemee8ngroomorcampsiteandwatchtheac8vi8esmoveforwardundertheleadershipoftheScoutsthemselves.ThisdoesnotmeanthattheScoutmaster’sroleisunimportantorminimized.Farfromit!Tothecontrary,puingtheScoutsoutinfronttomakedecisionsandleadisthehighestcredittoanyScoutmaster.WorkingthePatrolMethod,p16