The formation of the boys into Patrols of from six to eight and training them as separate units each under its own responsible leader is the key to a good Troop.
The Patrol is the unit of Scouting always, whether for work or for play, for discipline or for duty. An invaluable step in character training is to put responsibility on the individual. This is immediately gained in appointing a Patrol Leader to responsible command of his Patrol. It is up to him to take hold of and to develop the qualities of each boy in his Patrol. It sounds a big order, but in practice it works.
Then, through emulation and competition between Patrols, you produce a Patrol spirit which is eminently satisfactory, since it raises the tone among the boys and develops a higher standard of efficiency all round. Each boy in the Patrol realises that he is in himself a responsible unit and that the honor of his group depends in some degree on his own ability in playing the game.
- Aids to Scoutmstership by Baden Powell (translated to update some archaic terms)
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I have been an assistant scoutmaster for some time and was recently asked by the committee to be the new scoutmaster. I have had only one meeting as the scoutmaster so far. However, that being said, one of the things that concerns me is the patrol setup in our troop. We are setup as the Scoutmaster Handbook says - Webelos that cross over together and new boys form a "new boy patrol" - we have "regular" patrols, then we have a "venture" patrol. My question is (and we use the Troop Guide the best we can) - why does the mixing of ages in patrols not work? I have noticed that as the boys grow older they stick to themselves, the new boys are coming in lost. Wouldn't it be nice to have them integrated into the patrols when they first come in? When they went on a campout then they could rely on the experience of the other guys in their patrol, the ranks would be spread out across the patrol and the could help teach the younger scouts? Does anyone have any feedback for me?
Ed Buhler
Posted by: Ed Buhler | October 15, 2007 at 03:23 PM