Scout Programme
The Scout section is open to boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 17, and aims at developing Scouting and leadership skills.
Scout Troops are divided into Patrols of between four and ten Scouts, with six being a common size. The Patrol Leader and Second have many responsibilities in training younger Scouts and helping plan and run the programme. Patrol Leaders are in charge of planning and running (often with no adult intervention) Patrol camps and outings, they are also required to assist their Patrol members through the Scout advancement program.
Often the most senior and responsible Patrol Leader is appointed as Troop Leader (TL), who no longer runs a Patrol but instead has other responsibilities such as enforcing discipline and running the weekly programme. Since a Troop Leader is not required to plan or run Patrol camps, or help Scouts through the advancement program many senior Scouts who are in their final year of school choose to become Troop Leaders in order to have more time to concentrate on their studies and on achieving the Springbok award.
The adult leader of a Scout Troop is the Troop Scouter (TS), assisted by Assistant Troop Scouters (ATS) and Junior Assistant Troop Scouters (JATS). Scout Troops often give their adult leaders nicknames related to their branch of Scouting (Land Scout, Air Scout, or Sea Scout).
Patrol Leaders, Troop Leaders and the Troop Scouter should meet regularly in the Patrol Leaders' Council, also known as the Court of Honour, where they are responsible for the majority of decisions regarding troop discipline, patrol management, troop programme and such. The Troop Scouter is the only adult leader regularly attending these meetings, and has the right to veto decisions. The Troop Scouter generally only acts in an advisory role, allowing the Scouts themselves to make important decisions. The Court of Honour may invite the Assistant Troop Scouters in order to hear their input.
The previous Scout emblem incorporates a springbok.
Read more about this topic: South African Scout Association
Famous quotes containing the words scout and/or programme:
“Simone Clouseau: Jacques would make a wonderful father. He has many redeeming qualities, you know.
Sir Charles: Name one.
Simone Clouseau: Oh, he’s kind, loyal, faithful, obedient.
Sir Charles: You’re either married to a boy scout or a dachshund.”
—Blake Edwards (b. 1922)
“In the case of all other sciences, arts, skills, and crafts, everyone is convinced that a complex and laborious programme of learning and practice is necessary for competence. Yet when it comes to philosophy, there seems to be a currently prevailing prejudice to the effect that, although not everyone who has eyes and fingers, and is given leather and last, is at once in a position to make shoes, everyone nevertheless immediately understands how to philosophize.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)