Issue 558 – February 28, 2018

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Dear Andy,

I’m concerned that the Boy Scouts of America has had a long relationship with the NRA, but today the NRA really is a political organization and is tarnishing the reputation of my beloved BSA. I think it’s time to sever ties with the NRA publicly! Keeping the ties can only shrink the amount of families willing to join the BSA. (Rick Bensco, ASM, San Francisco Bay Area Council, CA)

If there’s some sort of relationship between the BSA and NRA beyond our requiring NRA certification for anyone directing or counseling BSA shooting sports, it would be way above my pay-grade. What I am aware of is that the NRA provides some of the very finest safety and training courses in America, and if this scrupulous and deep training is available elsewhere, but I’m personally unaware of it.
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Hi Andy,

We have a Scout who’s been a dues-paying troop member for the past couple of years, but the problem is that he shows up at troop meetings irregularly at best and—in two years—has yet to show up for any troop outdoor activity or event. He maybe shows up for about one meeting in three and, when he does show up, he just hangs out and socializes with his patrol. He’s a decent kid, but just doesn’t seem to have any real interest in the types of activities Scouts do.

His mother drops him off and picks him up, but that’s about it; no actual engagement with any of us volunteers (although she apparently does have a friend or two from her son’s Cub Scout days) except she’s made sort of a sideways point that she’d like her son to advance and wants us to come up with alternative requirements.

In thinking about alternative requirements, is it okay for me to ask his mom if her son has a diagnosis of some sort, or is it an inappropriate question? Thanks! (Puzzled Scoutmaster)

Yes, you can and should point out to Mom that “alternative requirements” pertain only to Boy Scout ranks (not merit badges) and can only be sought when it’s confirmed in writing by a licensed health care provider that a specific youth has a physical or mental impairment that’s of a permanent nature such that he’s unable to complete requirements as written, and that without this document no requirement variations of any kind can be made by any person, unit, district, or council.

It would also be helpful to explain to her that, unlike Cub Scouts—in which Den Leaders guide the Cubs in their charge to complete requirements and advance—advancement in Boy Scouting is based 99% on the initiative of each individual Scout; the troop’s adults support advancement, but they don’t march the Scouts through the ranks in lock-step. Briefer: BSA adult volunteers facilitate advancement; they don’t make it happen. The Scouts themselves make it happen.

For a boy who’s shown up at troop meetings only occasionally and has little to no interest in doing what Scouts do for some two years and, in that same time-frame, hasn’t gone with his patrol on any hikes, campouts, or other activities, and isn’t really “in the program,” I’d say you’ve been pretty forgiving. But this is ultimately damaging his patrol. Consider having two direct and pointed conversations—one with this boy and then one with his mother. Hopefully, through these chats, Mom will help her son find something he’d rather be doing and this Scout’s patrol can replace him with a member who’s going to be functioning as a team member instead of a “visitor.”
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Dear Andy,

A young woman friend will shortly be celebrating the completion of her Venturing Summit Award. Is there a Venturing-specific program to follow for this? Is she, for instance, allowed to use the “Eagle court of honor” format as a template for a Summit Award ceremony? Also, her brother—an Eagle Scout—has waited till now to publicly receive his Eagle, so his sister could receive her award at the same time. Do you know of any reason that these can’t be done together? (Lucille Watson)

Of course, two different Scouting unit-types may likely be involved here: Your friend’s Venturing crew and her brother’s Boy Scout troop. So it would seem that it’s up to these two units on how they’d like to handle these awards. The good news is that there’s nothing that in any way prohibits dual ceremonies—one for each—so the units themselves and these two outstanding young people can collaborate on how they’d like to do this. Thanks for reaching out, and congratulations to both!
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Hi Andy,

Would you see a problem with a Scout’s mother, an RN, working with Tenderfoot-through-First Class Scouts on their First Aid requirements and signing off in their handbooks? I know she’s not a “registered BSA volunteer,” but she sure has more experience than any one of us! (A “Make Maximum Use of All Available Resources” Scoutmaster)

I think you’ve found a wonderful resource. The only modification I’d suggest is that a Patrol Leader or your SPL actually does the signing. But, when the requirements are completed and it’s time for a court of honor, invite this Mom/RN to it, where the Scouts who worked with her can present her with a “THANKS!” certificate or plaque.
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Hi Andy,

I just read your August 22 post about the abusive nature of overzealous adults in Eagle boards of review. I’m in complete agreement that the abusive nature of these folks is unwarranted and they should not be used for such reviews any further. I’ve sat in with well over 200 Scouts for their boards of review, and I’ve had to slam on the brakes several times in these because of one interpretation or another on some issue that should never have been brought up. My stance has, on these occasions, has been, “This is what the Guide to Advancement states; if you don’t like it, go speak to ‘National,’ but the time and place to drill a Scout isn’t here.”

I’ve encountered reviewers who’ve rejected a Scout’s service project because they think that Scout “didn’t show leadership,” even when he’s brought together multiple groups of helpers to collect and assemble articles of clothing and then distribute them to the homeless, telling the Scout that he “should have built something” instead. In one case they actually “failed” a Scout who had built a series of earthen steps…because he didn’t list a level in his project report! Some of reviewers have proclaimed that the Eagle service project needs to “leave a lasting legacy,” even though the Project Workbook specifically states that this isn’t necessary.

The biggest threat to Scouts in Eagle reviews isn’t that they don’t have Eagle-worthy projects; it’s that these misinformed reviewers believe that, because the Scout is “only 13 years old” he “isn’t ‘mature’ enough to deserve Eagle rank.” Then there are reviewers who believe that college-level grammar is a requirement.

I tell my Scouts and my fellow volunteer leaders, “If it’s not written, don’t make it up.” If you don’t understand what our goal aim is, go see the Scout Oath and Law. And if you still don’t agree, step away from this process before you damage this Scout.” (Matt Price, SM, Occoneechee Council, LA)

I recently sat in on a troop’s committee meeting (I’m not their commissioner; I was representing their sponsor—my Rotary Club—at the time). They got on the subject of the flock of Eagle Scouts they’d had in the past year—which you’d imagine should have been met with substantial enthusiasm, but wasn’t. Instead, the troop’s advancement chair said, “Hmmm… Maybe we’re making it too easy for them. Maybe we need to make the requirements tougher. After all, the stuff in the ‘Requirements’ book represents the “minimum standard’.” I guess I’m glad I was there, but I did feel pretty alone when I spoke up and told them that, if they messed with the BSA requirements one iota they could count on removal from their positions, which a chartered organization has the authority to carry out. This, of course, didn’t set well, but they did get the message—crystal clear.

I’ve also run into exactly the kinds of situations you’ve described… In one troop, for instance, unless the Scout included a fund-raising phase, his proposal was guaranteed to never see daylight!

As for an Eagle board of review “rejecting” a project that’s already been signed off as completed, it’s high time certain “reviewers” understand that they’re not wearing the black robes of the Supreme Court!

Happy Scouting!

Andy

Have a question? Facing a dilemma? Wondering where to find a BSA policy or guideline? Just write to me at: askandybsa@yahoo.com.
Please include your name and council. (If you’d prefer to be anonymous, if published, let me know and that’s what we’ll do.)

[No. 558– 2/28/2018 – Copyright © Andy McCommish 2018]