Patrol Leader Training
1st Meeting ] 2nd Meeting ] 3rd Meeting ] Green Bar Hike ] 4th Meeting ] 5th Meeting ] 6th Meeting ] Green Bar Camp ]

 

 

 

Search  Inquiry Net

Back ] Home ] Up ] Next ]

1st Meeting
2nd Meeting
3rd Meeting
Green Bar Hike
4th Meeting
5th Meeting
6th Meeting
Green Bar Camp

Object of Camping
Patrol Camping
Patrol Hikes
Gilcraft Patrol System
The Patrol System
Court of Honor (PLC)
Gilwell PL Training
Philipps' Patrol System
Golden Arrow PL Training
Patrol Leader's Creed
PL's Promise Ceremony
Patrol Competition Awards
Informal Scout Signals
Ten Essentials
Story Telling
JLT Skits: Leadership
Master & Commander
Patrol Activities
Patrol Motivation
Troop Meeting Hints
Troop Meetings
Patrol Leader Training
Essays
Patrol Flags
Training Patrol Leaders
Troop Brainstorming
Menus

Scout Books

Site Contents

INTENSIVE TRAINING IN THE GREEN BAR PATROL

Patrol Leaders' Training

The Troop Leaders' Council as the Training Ground for the Patrol Leaders

In the meetings and deliberations of the Troop Leaders' Council, the Patrol Leaders are initiated into and guided in the parts they are to play in connection with their Troop leadership. Simultaneous with this, but at separate gatherings, is carried out their training for successful Patrol leadership, for their work as the heads of groups of boys clamoring for things to do.

This second phase of their training is, obviously, the more difficult and exacting of the two. In the meetings of the Troop Leaders' Council the Patrol Leader may lean upon his associates, but in the meetings of his Patrol he must stand on his own feet, at all times giving his leadership. He must be trained to the point where he can do this. And it is the Scoutmaster who imparts this training.

The Green Bar Patrol

For this training purpose the Troop Leaders' Council takes on the aspects of a Patrol, with the Scoutmaster as its Patrol Leader, and the boy leaders as members. Throughout this training discussion we shall refer to the Troop Leaders' Council group as the "Green Bar Patrol."

This "Green Bar Patrol"—or "Cornertooth Patrol" or whatever other name the group may decide upon giving it—is then conducted in a manner similar to a regular Patrol, with meetings, hikes, camps and special features such as might be planned and executed by a normal Patrol, with the possible exception that many of its activities, such as games, contests, handicrafts, become "condensed," i.e., started as demonstrations of what might be done in a Patrol rather than carried through to their absolute conclusion.

The Green Bar Patrol should meet at least once every month with occasional outdoor practices scheduled at times that will not interfere with the work of the Troop and Patrols.

Important Points of Training

This matter of training the boy leaders is a continuous job and should never be considered as completed.

Boys are steadily growing and developing. The Scoutmaster's opportunity is to help them grow into fine types of  leaders. To accomplish this, one Scout may need perpetual encouragement, another restraint, one subtle suggestion, still another definite direction; but all need guidance.

To be of the greatest help the Scoutmaster therefore must know his boy leaders thoroughly. He must keep his eyes and brain busy while they are working in his presence and make mental notes of their behavior and their fellows' ways of reacting to their leadership Based upon such study, he can make a genuine appraisal of each leader and learn his weak and strong points.

It is important that the Scoutmaster have a personal friendship with every boy leader which will encourage mutual regard and confidence. In this way only may he succeed in really helping them. More than once a Patrol Leader has revealed to his Scoutmaster the real reasons for his Patrol's failings while they were enjoying a walk or even a movie together.

With a proper understanding of the boy leaders and their problems, the Scoutmaster has a basis for their thorough training.

Two Angles of Patrol Leader Training

There are two angles to the training of the Patrol Leaders which should both be thoroughly covered by the Scoutmaster in his efforts to help his leaders develop themselves.

(1) Patrol Leadership. The Scoutmaster must make clear to his boy leaders the extent of their responsibilities and explain the principles of Patrol Leadership. He must teach them "how" to do what is expected of them, treating every subject in complete detail, not leaving out anything because he thinks it is obvious. What is simple to him may not be simple to his boy leaders.

He should encourage them to read and study available literature (Handbook for Patrol Leaders, Scouting magazine, Boy's Life) that will help them with their Patrols, and should discuss with them the handling of specific Patrol problems as they arise. In this connection he may urge and arrange for his leaders to visit other Troops for the purpose of observing how other Patrols are run.

(2) The Scoutmaster should help his leaders to advance, not so much by teaching them the actual techniques as by stimulating their desire to learn for themselves.

Method of Training

The method of training in its simplest form max be considered the "interpretation of the Handbook for Patrol Leaders in terms of action."

A copy of that complete manual on Patrol Leadership should be in the hands of each Patrol Leader, and the idea of consulting it whenever he is in need of new suggestions or methods of coping with Patrol problems should be instilled in his mind.

The way to do this is to base all their training on the Handbook for Patrol Leaders by planning the activities of the Green Bar Patrol according to its recommendations and by using it for the textbook for specially arranged training courses.

Planning an Effective Training

On the following pages is suggested program material, which has been found effective for an intensive training of the boy leaders within the Troop.

The plan provides for you to gather with your Patrol Leaders, Assistant Patrol Leaders and the other leaders of the Troop, for one meeting a month for six months, and for one hike and one short-term camp. During those periods the items involved in Patrol Leadership are covered in such a way that the boy leaders will have program features and suggestions for procedure which will make their leadership effective.

To start off the training, simply announce the time and place for the first meeting, make the suggested reading assignments and give the Senior Patrol Leader or a Junior Assistant Scoutmaster the job of gathering needed equipment.

Beyond that, no further preparations are necessary.

Remember in everything, that the reason for having these training meetings is to provide the boy leader , with material he can take home and apply in his own Patrol. So think in terms of the Patrol at all stages of the game.

See:

INTENSIVE TRAINING IN THE GREEN BAR PATROL

 Patrol Method

 

 

   

 

 


Additional Information:

1st Meeting ] 2nd Meeting ] 3rd Meeting ] Green Bar Hike ] 4th Meeting ] 5th Meeting ] 6th Meeting ] Green Bar Camp ]

Peer- Level Topic Links:
Object of Camping ] Patrol Camping ] Patrol Hikes ] Gilcraft Patrol System ] The Patrol System ] Court of Honor (PLC) ] Gilwell PL Training ] Philipps' Patrol System ] Golden Arrow PL Training ] Patrol Leader's Creed ] PL's Promise Ceremony ] Patrol Competition Awards ] Informal Scout Signals ] Ten Essentials ] Story Telling ] JLT Skits: Leadership ] Master & Commander ] Patrol Activities ] Patrol Motivation ] Troop Meeting Hints ] Troop Meetings ] [ Patrol Leader Training ] Essays ] Patrol Flags ] Training Patrol Leaders ] Troop Brainstorming ] Menus ]

Parent- Level Topic Links:
Traditional Scouting ] Patrol Method ] Adults ] Advancement ] Ideals ] Leadership ] Uniforms ] Outdoor Skills ]

The Inquiry Net Main Topic Links:
 [Outdoor Skills]  [Patrol Method [Old-School]  [Adults [Advancement]  [Ideals]  [Leadership]  [Uniforms]

Search This Site:

Search Amazon.Com:

When you place an order with Amazon.Com using the search box below, a small referral fee is returned to The Inquiry Net to help defer the expense of keeping us online.  Thank you for your consideration!

Search:

Keywords:

Amazon Logo

 

 

Scout Books Trading Post

Dead Bugs, Blow Guns, Sharp Knives, & Snakes:
What More Could A Boy Want?

Old School Scouting:
What to Do, and How to Do It!

To Email me, replace "(at)" below with "@"
Rick(at)Kudu.Net

If you have questions about one of my 2,000 pages here, you must send me the "URL" of the page!
This "URL" is sometimes called the "Address" and it is usually found in a little box near the top of your screen.  Most URLs start with the letters "http://"

The Kudu Net is a backup "mirror" of The Inquiry Net.  

©2003, 2011 The Inquiry Net, http://inquiry.net  In addition to any Copyright still held by the original authors, the Scans, Optical Character Recognition, extensive Editing,  and HTML Coding on this Website are the property of the Webmaster.   My work may be used by individuals for non-commercial, non-web-based activities, such as Scouting, research, teaching, and personal use so long as this copyright statement and a URL to my material is included in the text
The purpose of this Website is to provide access  to hard to find, out-of-print documents.  Much of the content has been edited to be of practical use in today's world and is not intended as historical preservation.   I will be happy to provide scans of specific short passages in the original documents for people involved in academic research.  

 

Last modified: October 15, 2016.