INTENSIVE TRAINING IN THE GREEN BAR PATROL
FOURTH TRAINING MEETING
THEME: Patrol Advancement
Preliminary Reading Assignments:
For Scoutmaster and adult leaders:
Scoutmaster Handbook (Hillcourt's Fourth Edition)
Chapter 7: "The Patrol Carries On"
Chapter 14: "The Boy Stays"
Tool 20: Scout Requirements
For Patrol Leaders:
Handbook for Patrol Leaders (Hillcourt's 1950s Edition)
Chapter 8: "Patrol Instruction"
NEEDED MATERIAL:
 | Paper and pencils. |
| Patrol Record Book. |
| Buzzers or flashlights. |
| Knives and sticks. |
| Carborundum stone. |
| Game material as required. |
PROGRAM:
(a) Opening Ceremony: Senior Patrol Leader stages ceremony which he considers his favorite of those tried at the Second Training Meeting.
(b) Business Period: as usual: short! (see Second Training Meeting).
(c) Discussion: "Scoutcraft Advancement in the Patrol" --led by Assistant Patrol Leader. Why advancement? What constitutes normal advancement? Why is it important that the Patrol Leader is ahead of the fellows in his Patrol? How does hiking and camping make advancement possible?
(d) Scoutcraft Instruction: Signaling. Divide group into four teams. Place one team in each corner of room. Teams diagonally opposed work together, sending and receiving complete messages, using flashlights or buzzers. The messages should have been developed in advance by an Assistant or Junior Assistant Scoutmaster.
(e) Work Period: Knife-craft project: paper knife. Each Scout uses his own knife (or one he has borrowed). Have a short demonstration of the proper way of sharpening a knife, staged by the Quartermaster, then have each boy sharpen his own. Sticks are distributed (3/4 to 1 inch in diameter and 8-10 inches long) and paper knives are carved. Time limit: 10 minutes.
(f) Instruction Games: Use a couple of games. For further practice in signaling and knot-tying, try Knot Signals, for compass work, Compass Facing; for safety, Safety First; for observation, Haunted House or Kim's Game.
(g) Planning: Make a quick review of the meeting up to this point, pointing out how many different Scout Requirements it has been possible to introduce through games and projects. Discuss an effective plan for advancement in the Patrol, making use of buddy teams.
(h) Recreation:
1. Dramatics: In charge of Cheermaster. Cut out suitable jokes from "Think and Grin," BOY'S LIFE, and distribute them to buddy teams for snappy dramatization.
2. Singing: Each buddy team to introduce a solo-and-chorus song, the buddies to sing the solo part, then lead the whole Patrol in the chorus. For suggestions, study the Scout Song Book.
3. Story: told by the leader of the Training Patrol, that is, the Scoutmaster.
(i) Closing Ceremony: Senior Patrol Leader puts on one of the ceremonies, already tired, or a new one especially developed for the occasion.
