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Scouting Leadership (Serious Side of Scouting)

Troop Guide Job Description

This is a discussion brought up in an archived Scouting Discussion Thread. All views expressed do not necessarily represent the troop's position and stand.

Subject: Troop Guide Job Description: was: [BSA] Leadership Requirements .....
Date: Thu, 3 Aug 1995 18:25:22 GMT

>When my scouts volunteer for a troop leadership job, I first have them read

>the troop leaders handbook (exact name just left my brain :) so that they

>understand what the job entails....

I recently prepared this for the Troop Guides and the first year ASM's. I did this after seeing that the 6th graders were still all at Tenderfoot, and their Troop Guides didn't seem to have a clue as to what was expected of them (and the ASM, who's the parent of a 6th grader, really didn't know what he could, or couldn't, expect of them).

This is based on the way we do things; if there's anything here which differs from your understanding or your Troop's implementation of the BSA program, I'm not in a position to take any comments that we're doing anything "wrong".

TROOP GUIDE JOB DESCRIPTION

o The job of the Troop Guide is to work with the younger Scouts until they reach the rank of First Class.

o Here's what this means;

• - In our Troop, there are one or two Troop Guides assigned to each new Scout patrol; there may also be Troop Guides assigned to patrols of older Scouts (e.g., 7th graders) where there is at least one Scout below the rank of First Class.
• - For each Scout in the Patrol who is not yet at First Class, the Troop Guide must be sure to obtain the following information:
  • a. Their names, addresses, and phone numbers.
    b. Their ranks.
    c. Their COMPLETE advancement status; specifically, which requirements they've met and which they still need for Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class. In this regard, the Troop Guides obviously must know from whom they are to get this information.
    • i. The Advancement Chairman, currently _____________, owns the official records; from these records, he prepares advancement status reports for the Assistant Scoutmasters in charge of the New Scout Patrols.
      ii. You should get the copies you need from the Assistant Scoutmaster, which you will need to mark up with any additional requirements that the boys complete. In this way, you'll have the most up-to-date record of the Scouts for whom you are responsible.
• - The Troop Guide must know EXACTLY what the Troop process is for approving a Scout's meeting of any requirement, which is:
  • a. Teach the new Scouts what needs to be done and later test them to see if they've really learned it (the teaching and testing can, and maybe should, be done on separate nights).
    b. If the Troop Guide is satisfied that one or more of the Scouts have met a requirement, he prepares a written report for the Advancement Chairman or Assistant Scoutmaster listing which boys met which requirements.
    c. When you get a new printout from the Assistant Scoutmaster, you will need to make sure that it matches the record you are keeping.
• - At each meeting where there is no formal program planned, or when the formal program for the night has ended, the Troop Guides are responsible for bringing the younger boys into their patrols and working with them on rank advancement requirements.
  • a. While many of the older Scouts may simply hang out or try to organize a game at this time, the Troop Guides MUST NOT JOIN THEM, but instead remain with the younger Scouts and work with them.In fact, the SPL and ASPL(s) should break up any such gatherings and require all Patrols to work on Scouting activities. For the older Scouts, this may include teaching each other merit badge requirements.
    b. Attached are the Tenderfoot through First Class advancement requirements, which include a notation as to which can be done at meetings (the letter 'M'), which can be done either on campouts or at meetings (the letter 'E'), and which will need to be done on campouts (the letter 'C').
    c. As some of the requirements to be met at meetings will require equipment, such as first aid supplies, rope, or wood, the Troop Guides are responsible for making sure the supplies have been brought to the meeting if there is ANY chance that they will be working on that requirement that night. Either they must bring it themselves, arrange for another Scout to bring it, or make sure it's already in the Troop box.
• - For the requirements that can be done only at campouts, the Troop Guides are responsible for planning how to cover them at the campout and for providing any necessary equipment.
  • a. The Troop Guides, probably as a group, will need to see from the advancement records which outdoor requirements the boys who are going on the campout need to work on.
    b. Since different Scouts may need to work on different requirements, depending on which ones they completed or didn't complete on previous campouts, the Troop Guides will need to determine who will be working with which boys, and on which requirements, at the campout.
    c. A one-page plan of the advancement requirements they plan to work on, and the names of the younger Scouts and Troop Guides who will be involved, needs to be submitted to the Scoutmaster prior to the campout.
• - A Troop Guide's working with the younger Scouts will not be limited to time at Troop meetings and campouts. For those boys in your patrol who have fallen behind, it's YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to call them and arrange to work with them after school, on weekends, or on school holidays on requirements that the other boys in the patrol have already met.
  
  In addition, during the week between meetings, you will need to plan what you will be covering at the next meeting, and make sure that you are some semblance of an expert in the area (or find somebody, usually an Instructor or ASPL from the Senior Patrol, who is).

o +As a general rule, few excuses for your not getting the job done will be tolerated.

• - If you don't have a roster and the advancement records, it's your OBLIGATION to get on the phone and ask for them, and this may take several phone calls before you find the right person
• - If you can't do anything at a meeting or campout because the equipment you need isn't there, you will be required to explain why that was the case and what you plan to do to make sure it doesn't happen again.
• - It's your RESPONSIBILITY to make sure that whenever there is a period of unscheduled time at a meeting or at a campout, that you are prepared to work with the new Scouts on their advancement requirements.
• - As with any other job in the Troop, the position of Troop Guide is a JOB, and you are REQUIRED to participate in ALL Troop activities in which the younger Scouts will be having a chance to work on advancement requirements.
  • a. Please make sure your parents understand that you do have such a responsibility, so that when they plan family vacations or day trips, or schedule your doctors' appointments or outside education, such as music, dancing, or driving lessons, they treat this obligation of yours in the same way as they would treat your participation in varsity sports, band, drama, academic teams, etc.
    b. Very simply, if they would reschedule your orthodontist appointment or a family ski weekend because you had a basketball game or a high school band practice, the Troop expects the same consideration when it comes to campouts and other Troop activities where there will be work for you to do.
    c. Finally, remember that YOU have accepted a FULL-TIME job with the Troop. Attending or not attending a meeting or campout is NOT A CHOICE that you have; you have a job and you're expected to actively work at it. Clearly, there are always going to be times that you will be unable to attend a specific meeting or campout, but if that's the case, YOU ARE TO NOTIFY YOUR PATROL LEADER or the Senior Patrol Leader, AND YOU ARE TO MAKE SURE that whomever is covering for you knows
    • (1) with which boys you are working,
      (2) what their advancement status is, and
      (3) what they should cover with those boys.
  • A situation where there are younger Scouts who have no Troop Guide to work with them will NOT be tolerated if it's because you decided you didn't want to, or couldn't, come to the meeting that night. There is NO possible excuse, except maybe a medical emergency 5 minutes before you were to be driven to the meeting, for not telling someone to whom you report that you would not be coming, and how they can get your records or otherwise cover for you.

o +Finally, if you have any questions or if there's anything here that you don't understand, isn't clear, or that you are surprised to see as part of this job description, PLEASE discuss it with one of us.

Prepared by ___________________________________

Approved by ___________________________________ (Scoutmater)

Stanley M Krieger