THE heart of the Patrol Method and the foundation on which rests the future of the Troop is the Troop Leaders' Council-or "Green Bar Council," as it is sometimes called, because the emblems of leadership from Assistant Patrol Leaders to Senior Patrol Leader and Junior Assistant Scoutmasters are green felt bars on the Scouts' left sleeves. Without a Troop Leaders' Council there is no Patrol Method-and consequently no real Scout Troop.

The Troop Leaders' Council is:

(a) The managing body of the Troop, and

(b) The training ground of the Patrol Leaders.

It is through this Council that the boy leaders assume their responsibilities for running the Troop and are coached by the Scoutmaster in making their leadership effective.

Membership of the Troop Leaders' Council

The Troop Leaders' Council consists of the Patrol Leaders, the Senior Patrol Leader and Junior Assistant Scoutmaster, if any, and the Troop Scribe, with the Assistant Scoutmasters and the Scoutmaster as advisors without votes.

In other words, all the leaders of the Troop, except the Assistant Patrol Leaders.

Some Troops make an exception and allow them to be present at meetings of the Council, to give them a chance to learn their responsibilities, but without a vote in matters discussed. While the inclusion of the Assistant Patrol Leaders may be practical in Troops of large Patrols, it is not always feasible in small Troops or in Troops in which the Patrols number only five or six boys. In such cases it might mean that nearly half the Troop would be meeting to arrange the affairs of the remainder.

The Council should be kept small enough to be an effective deliberative body and mature enough to exercise good judgment. If a Patrol Leader is not able to attend the meeting he should, of course, send his Assistant to represent the Patrol.

The Chairmanship

It is up to the Scoutmaster to decide who shall be the chairman of the Troop Leaders' Council.

In a young Troop where inexperienced Patrol Leaders are just starting on their quest, it will probably be desirable for the Scoutmaster to act as the chairman; but in an older Troop, where the Patrol Method is well established, the election of a boy chairman-for a meeting at a time or for a month-will unquestionably add to the stability of the Troop structure and the effectiveness of the scheme, specifically, as we are concerned with the training of boys for leadership.

In many Troops the Senior Patrol Leader, and in some a Junior Assistant Scoutmaster, serves as chairman.

The boy chairman will naturally look to the Scoutmaster for aid in conducting the proceedings properly. He should be instructed on how to keep discussions to the point and how to encourage those who are slow of speech to express their ideas, and should be told that a good chairman is not the one who talks the most but who draws out others the most.

The Scoutmaster's Part

It should be made clear that, although the Scoutmaster will not have a vote, since he looks to his Patrol Leaders to decide what is going to happen in the Troop, their Troop, he does reserve the right to "veto." Thus on him rests the final decision on matters in which difference of opinion might not be to the best interests of the Troop.

If, however, it is understood that a Scoutmaster has the right to veto, he will probably never have to use it.

The Scoutmaster, in his relationships with his Patrol Leaders, must remember that boys like to do things for themselves and that, as Charles W. Eliot said, "The very best kind of education is obtained by doing things one's self, under competent direction and with good guidance."