Scouters should maintain an ongoing awareness of how well they are applying the patrol method. The questions below, from the White Stag website is intended to evaluate how well we are doing our job.
Give it an honest try, if you have more A’s than B’s your are headed in the right direction; otherwise it is time to work towards a stronger application of the patrol method.
- At troop meetings, do the patrol leaders-
A. Have all the information and plans, or
B. Do I keep a lot of the information to myself?
- Before our camping trips, do the patrols-
A. Usually plan their own menus and buy their own food, or
B. Does someone usually do it for them?
- Do patrols
A. Elect their own leaders, or
B. Do I select them to make sure the right person is chosen.
- Do our troop meetings –
A. Do anything to make patrols stronger, or
B. Do they have little effect on patrols one way or the other?
- Do I spend time-
A. Coaching my senior patrol leader, or
B. Am I more likely just to marvel at his inability to do things?
- Does the troop leaders’ council-
A. Do most of the program planning, or
B. Do I do most of it myself?
- Do I have time for-
A. Individual boys, or
B. Am I usually too busy?
- Am I mostly-
A. In the background at troop meetings, or
B. Do I run most of the meetings?
- Does Scouting in my troop consist of-
A. Some troop and some patrol activities and meetings, or
B. Mostly troop activities and meetings?
- Do I get more kick out of-
A. Watching boys lead activities, or
B. Leading activities myself?