Troop Level Junior Leader Training

[WVBeaver05]

Just curious. How many of your Troops do specific training for your Youth leaders? This would be the program that used to be called Troop Junior Leader Training (not sure what it is now called since they changed JLT to NYLE).

If you do it, how often? How long do you take? Which version of the program do you use (then older one or the most recent)?

And, of course, anything else you want to share about it.

YiS

[Mrw]

The last couple years it has been done about every 6 months - after elections for SPL and PL, but before the boys start in their new positions.

Before that we had not done anything of the kind for years.

[bluenote]

We did this in early December for our troop. One of our SA's has done this training for many years. It was a full day Saturday session and each of the boys need to do a small follow-up to get a trained patch for their respective troop positions.

[scoutmasterbob]

I think twice a year, or when ever you get a new SPL.

We have even started doing a District Level JLT using the the JLT training materials and video.

It has been a huge success, and our district is trying to do it twice a year.

[DadScout]

Our Council does the NYLT 2 times a year. Once is a double weekend in the spring or fall (can't remember) and the other is weeklong in the summer. Our district does a Junior Leadership Orientation Workshop (JLOW) at least once a year and it's very popular and well attended. For our troop the SM and ASM do inhouse training and strongly encourage anyone at 1st class or above to have attended the district run JLOW.

[jr56]

We try to do the troop JLT at least once a year.

[cescout]

I have never been to such training although, I was signed up to do so with our district and was called on account of rain and never resheduled, so what if it was raining!!!!

[scubascout]

every time we have elections we have a greenbar mixed with troop training. The training is based on experience

[fin24000]

Just FYI: there is:
Troop leadership training
NYLT witch used to be JLT
and Nayle witch used to be NJLIC
....

[Chief J]

We do the Troop Leadership Training following the election. Every leader elected or appointed must attend.

We also encourage attendance at the NYLT (They subtitle the conference "Twin Arrow" here in the Greater Pgh Council). The Troop committee goes so far as to provide a scholarship to pay for attendance.

-Chief J

[mt_goodrich]

We have two young men in our troop that I am going to encourage to attend Twin Arrows in the Longhorn Council this year. We have not had anyone attend this type of training...ever.

I will recommend that the troop pay for it and if they don't, I will.

[WVBeaver05]

Having been on the adult Staff of both JLT and NYLT, I can say that it is an awesome course and that the Unit adult Leaders WILL notice the results in the performance of any Scouts that attend.

But, I know that we have Youth in this forum that have attended and can (and do) atest to that here.

I have successfully convinced our Committee to fund half of the cost for 1 or 2 qualified Scouts to attend. Unfortunately, our Council has a difficult time getting enough participation to hold the course each year. This is amazing to me, as any Troop with over a dozen or so Youth should be able to have one attendee every year. The lack of interest in the course by Unit Adult Leaders is truly disappointing to me.

In short, I can't say enough good about this course.

YiS

[scoutaholic]

...Unfortunately, our Council has a difficult time getting enough participation to hold the course each year. This is amazing to me, as any Troop with over a dozen or so Youth should be able to have one attendee every year. The lack of interest in the course by Unit Adult Leaders is truly disappointing to me. ...

Our council runs NYLT twice each year, and they turn boys away because they don't have room. Even at that, with 40000 scouts in our council, I don't think enough are getting trained.

I see 3 reasons that NYLT is not in greater demand in our council:
The council and districts don't promote it - they leave all the promotion to unit leaders and the NYLT youth staff.
Unit leaders who may not have longer tenure have never heard of the course - they can't promote what they are unfamiliar with.
The course costs more than some youth/parents may be willing to pay for scout trainings.

[Quailman]

I'd like to run a Troop Junior Leadership Training weekend. I've looked and looked, but I cannot find the Scoutmaster Junior Leader Training Kit listed anywhere. Are any of you familiar with it? Our local scout shop did not have it, nor does scoutshop online seem to carry it.

[scoutaholic]

I'd like to run a Troop Junior Leadership Training weekend. I've looked and looked, but I cannot find the Scoutmaster Junior Leader Training Kit listed anywhere. Are any of you familiar with it? Our local scout shop did not have it, nor does scoutshop online seem to carry it.

The old Scoutmaster's Junior Leader Training Kit is no longer available and has been replaced with the Troop Leadership Training.

The new one only has 7 or 8 pages of how to run the training, and has no mention of video segments or games, etc like the old one. It appears to be a very short outline, with no detail of how to actually carry out the training.

It appears that the new thinking on the national level, is that troop level Youth Leadership Training should be very basic, and then you should send the boys to NYLT (newly rewritten to coincide with the Woodbadge sylabus).

The new NYLT training sylabus was developed to coincide with the WoodBadge sylabus. That way the Youth Leadership is getting the same training as their Adult counterparts. I imagine that will go a long way in helping the youth and adult leaders to work together in leading their units. The sylabus is available for purchase, but I can't imagine many troops being able to pull off such a big training on the unit level.

[Quailman]

That's too bad. After reading the course guide that appears here, I was all psyched to set up a time. All I needed was the video it refers to and a couple of leaders to help.

[edit]I forgot to say 'thanks' for answering my question so quickly. I guess I'll plan for the abridged version. The application for NYLT in our council includes a statement from the SM and the boys that he has attended Troop Junior Leader Training.[/e]

[WVBeaver05]

IMHO - the "new" version is worthless!! Essentially, it involves defining the responsibilities for each position. Cards are included that can be handed out for the participants. I think we provide more information in the sessions with new Youth leaders at the meeting when they are elected/selected. But, completing this "training" would position your Youth leaders in the training continum as ready for NYLT. (As a strong supporter and staff member of NYLT, I urge to you prepare them and get them to the NYLT in your Council (or a nearby Council)!!!)

The previous version will actually provide some exercises and learning experiences that the Youth will (probably) remember and learn from. Since I have it, I plan to continue using it. It takes around 8 hours to do. It is normally done as a single day, but I have wanted to (but not been able to) teach it as a Junior Leader Campout. (Start one evening, have some parts then and some on the next day combined with fun camping activities.)

There are copies of the older sylabus available at various places on the internet (including the one you linked to). I have the VHS tape needed. I was going to make a copy for another leader here a while back but ran into some family issues that took time away - then ran into some technological ones. After that, I guess I forgot. (Sorry ) We have had some of these videos converted to DVDs and I think I have what I need to copy the tape to VHS. Contact me via e-mail and we can discuss.

YiS

[Quailman]

The resource center at our council office has a copy of the video. I can borrow it, but only for three days. I start a job in the area next Monday, so I can borrow it then for preview and schedule a time to reserve it for later, assuming I can't back it up to another tape.

[stevejb68]

I just transfered my copy of the "Building Teamwork" training video to a DVD since I no longer have a vhs player for my tv. It worked pretty well. I am surprised my tape was still good after using it since 1990.

The Scouts still think the boy in the tape trying to bring a remote control car on a hiking trip is the funniest scene in the movie.

[koholintscout]

We used to do that a long time ago but it wasn't very useful at all. Maybe it was the SM but it just seemed silly and irrelevant.