The troop is having a youth leadership seminar over the long holiday weekend. We just had Senior Patrol Leader and Patrol Leader elections, so this is the time to do it. We are particularly encouraging all of the new youth leaders to attend, but the seminar will be open to the whole troop. Hopefully some of the members will be inspired to apply for one of the open positions.
The syllabus for the training will be theBSA Youth Leadership Training Book (publication #34306). This is the first time we have used this. It looks pretty good though. It is divided into three modules and each module is divided into several sections. According to the guide, some sections are lead by the Scoutmaster, some are lead by the Senior Patrol Leader, and others can be lead by experienced Scouts.
To give you a general idea of what the modules cover, here is an outline. I included the timeline and who leads each section for module one. In the book you will find this information for all three modules plus details about what to cover. It also has some cards which the SPL can hand out at the end to everyone who has been trained. If you think this might be helpful, I encourage you to spend the $7 on the manual.
Module 1 – Introduction to Troop Leadership (Know)
- The Boy-Led Troop and Living the Scout Oath and Law (Led by SM) 5 min
- Discussion of a Boy-Led Patrol (Led by SPL) 10 min
- Review of the Troop Organization Chart (Lead by SM or designee) 20 min
- Position Overview (Led by SM and SPL) 20 min
- National Honor Patrol Requirements (Led by SPL or experienced PL) 5 min
Module 2 – How to Handle Your Role (Be)
- Scoutmaster’s Vision of Success
- Teaching the EDGE
- Troop Progress Discussion
- Assignment
Module 3 – What Is Expected of Me (Do)
- Position Descriptions and Expectations
- Servant Leadership – Motivating Scouts to Lead
- Defining Success in Your Position
- Scoutmaster Conference
- Recognition and Game Time
In the past we’ve done leadership training just be talking about the positions. We’re hoping that having the set lesson plans will make this more effective. Also, it should provide some more consistency when we do our future training sessions.
