A) Leadership Training: Company leaders
discuss and give examples and exercises in one
particular leadership skill each day. Teams and
team captains are evaluated throughout the project
on their demonstration of these skills. For
example, during the team challenges (initiative
games like the "climbing wall") each day, each
team evaluates itself; writing on their use of
leadership skills in carrying out the exercise.
There are also written tests on the principles
themselves.
B) Specialty Skills: Two members of each
team are assigned to each one of the four
specialty areas: Safety & First Aid, Camping
Skills, Nature and Navigation, and Cooking Skills.
The topics assigned for each training day are
listed in the attached schedules. These classes
are taught by members of the previous
class with a syllabus
they have studied with project leaders. Safety
instructors are trained by Red Cross First Aid
instructors. Freshman specialists take quizzes and
have written homework each day in their specialty
area and have assigned work from two appropriate
BSA merit badge booklets that pertain to the
specialty. There are oral quizzes for specialists
at the checkpoints on training hikes and a final
written test at the end of the training weeks.
Also, each specialist presents one assigned topic
to his team on one of the days assigned to him (at
the General Skill sessions, see below).
C) General Skills: Each day the whole
company considers a single topic from the
Specialist's curriculum, which is taught to the
team by one of their members who is a specialist
studying that area. In addition an older student
assigned to this area prepares hand-outs, posters
and additional information. Also, a video may
shown to the company at this time.
D) Team challenges:
There are nine outdoor team activities
("initiative games") that allow teams to
practice their ability to work together and to
solve problems and to take care of each other. The
teams perform one of these exercises during each
of the training days. They perform a
self-evaluation and are then evaluated by an older
student who is on the staff as a "leadership
trainer."
