Troop Survey Results

Post date: Nov 10, 2011 7:41:40 PM

Thanks to the 24 Troop scouts and parents that responded to the recent survey. A summary of the responses is available in the PDF file attached below. Your individual comments will not be published, but have been shared with Mr. Wang and Mrs Devito and will discussed in more detail at a future Troop Comm meeting.

As the next Scoutmaster I read through all your comments carefully and it helped me clarify some priorities for next year. My general impressions from your responses:

1. Majority believe the Troop provides enough challenge and learning opportunities. What we may need is additional training and positive support to help the scouts be successful – especially in leadership roles. This includes development of adult leaders.

2. Most concerning was that over 1/3 responding did not perceive the tone in the Troop as being positive and constructive. Some recommended that adult leaders should focus more on positive encouragement instead of on what is not being done correctly. A few also commented that they appreciate being challenged, but perceived that expectations for rank advancement and positions were inconsistent, changing and/or unclear.

3. The most important Troop objectives indicated were leadership development (50%), character development (42%) followed by “having fun” (33%). I was encouraged by these responses.

4. Most felt they were adequately informed of troop activities and the cost of participating was reasonable.

In regards to activities most felt the general level and type of activities was about right. The following were the type of activities many indicated we should increase.

• • “High adventure”

  • Water sports

  • Backpacking (one night)

  • Cycling

  • Patrol meetings

  • Recruiting of new scouts

When asked what kind of camping he prefers, a scout recently told me “I think car camping is more fun, but I get more out of backpacking”. Fun is important, but we should focus on activities the scouts will find rewarding enough that they will remember into adulthood.

Regards

Oscar Rolan

ASM