Issue 561 – March 27, 2018

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Hi Andy!

Your recent discussion about counting service hours brings up two issues we recently faced, and I’d like to get your take on them.

At this year’s Scout Sunday, one of our Scouts, who regularly operates the electronic sound board in the sanctuary, wore a jacket over his uniform for the entire service. All the other Scouts, in full uniform, marched in and sat together in the pews. Before the service began, I suggested to the Scout at the sound board that, since he was representing our troop, he should remove his jacket. But instead of following my suggestion, he kept his jacket on. Only later, after the service was over and the congregation had left, he removed his jacket for an all-troop photo. Although he was there, I can’t say he contributed to the troop participation that morning because no one could see that he was a troop member, so he shouldn’t be counted in our troop’s tally for service that day.

In another instance, the mother of one of our newest Scouts insisted that her son should receive service time credit for his weekly volunteering at the church’s food pantry over multiple months. While we applaud this work, since he didn’t get approval from the Scoutmaster in advance, it can’t count toward service.

I’d appreciate any thoughts or guidance you might have on these two situations. (Chester)

Let’s start here: No rank requirement—for service or anything else—insists on a uniform. (In fact, not a thing in Scouting makes uniforms mandatory—not even the board of review for Eagle.) So, for your Scout who kept his jacket on, even though you “suggested” he consider this (which is different from a clear and straightforward request by his actual direct leader: his Patrol Leader or the troop’s Senior Patrol Leader), first, you’re not his direct leader and second, you made a suggestion—and we all understand that a “suggestion’ doesn’t make anything “mandatory”—you might just want to cool your jets on this one. In short, this isn’t a hill worth dying on. But it is about humanity.

Now let’s take a careful look at the actual language of service requirements through Life rank:

Tenderfoot: Participate in a total of one hour of service in one or more service projects approved by your Scoutmaster…”

Second Class: Participate in two hours of service through one or more service projects approved by your Scoutmaster…”

First Class: Participate in three hours of service through one or more service projects approved by your Scoutmaster…”

Star: While a First Class Scout, participate in six hours of service through one or more service projects approved by your Scoutmaster.”

Life: While a Star Scout, participate in six hours of service through one or more service projects approved by your Scoutmaster…”

Do you spot it? Nowhere in any of these is it required that the Scoutmaster approve the service project or projects IN ADVANCE. So if First Class Ferdinand tells his Scoutmaster that he’s been helping his church youth group cook and serve meals at a homeless shelter every month for the past six months, and his “service hours” add up to six or more, it would be a huge mistake and, in fact, a violation of BSA advancement policy, tell this Scout, “Sorry, Ferdie; you didn’t tell me about this before you started, so none of it counts!”

Thanks, Andy! I appreciate your take on the “in advance” aspect. You’re right that it doesn’t say that advance approval is required. I guess your take falls into the “it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission” side of things. So what if the Scoutmaster doesn’t approve the service project? Would that bel a violation of BSA advancement policy? Wouldn’t it be a good idea for the Scout to at least run the idea by his Scoutmaster first?

For instance, what if a Scout (like the one whose mom we had to deal with) doesn’t intend to be “working on a service requirement” while he’s doing it, but then one of his parents looks over the requirements and says, “Hey, we’ll count this as your service time ‘cause it’s something you did that kinda sounds like it fits.”

In all honesty, you’re correct (as usual) and I know we should always remember we’re doing this for the Scouts. I don’t want to deny a Scout his due when he’s honestly worked on his advancement. But in this case Tommy Tenderfoot’s mom has gone through his handbook with a microscope, it would seem, and has personally checked off and initialed just about every requirement through Second Class. As you pointed out, we had to explain to her that this isn’t Cub Scouts, and that parents aren’t authorized to sign off on requirements—this has to be done by his Senior Patrol Leader, an Assistant Scoutmaster, or the Scoutmaster himself, and nobody else. But we did add that we’d be happy to approve him on his advancement so long as it was done properly and fulfilled the language of the requirement. Then I looked through what his mom had initialed. Some had indeed been completed properly and I’d seen this Scout do them, myself, so I did re-initial these. But there were also some items that, when I asked this Scout about them, he had no hesitation saying he hadn’t done them yet. (Luckily all around, at this particular meeting, the patrols were practicing exactly what he needed to learn, so I made sure he got the instruction from his Patrol Leader and then demonstrated his proficiency—he did get credit for his newly-acquired skill!)

As for the Scout who kept his jacket on, I didn’t mean to imply that wearing his uniform was a requirement. In fact, we had several Scouts in partial uniforms and some Cubs with no uniforms at all on Scout Sunday. But this one Scout covered his uniform, didn’t sit with the troop, and didn’t participate in the service the way they did. Should he get credit and be counted in the tally for service time? I really don’t think so. That would be like giving credit to Scouts who show up for service projects and then hang around just messing with their phones. If our sound-board Scout had taken off his jacket and showed his uniform, it would have been an affirming action for Scouting. I agree it’s not a hill worth dying on, but this Scout—an Eagle Scout no less!—was clearly not showing “Scout spirit,” and that’s what bothered me most. (Chester)

There’s not a thing wrong with a post-service “ask” and I’m not sure I think it’s about “forgiveness.” Take a Scout who’s “working through the numbers” for his requirements and gets to the one about service. So he asks his Scoutmaster, “Hey, this past weekend I was one of Pierre’s helpers for his Eagle project and put in “X” hours on it. It was a lot of fun and we got almost everything done! Would this count toward service time?” Or the Scout who’s the troop’s new Quartermaster says to his Scoutmaster, “I thought I’d start out by taking a look at that trailer we use to store stuff and it was really a mess! I spent all Sunday afternoon cleaning it up and getting stuff together, like all the tents folded right and in the same place, all the patrol boxes filled with the stuff they need, and all the ropes untangled and coiled up the right way. Say, would this count as service time?” And, of course, in both cases his Scoutmaster would say, “You bet! Let’s have your handbook and I’ll initial it for you!”

Now if a Scout should happen to say, “I babysat my neighbor’s kids for three hours Saturday night,” and it turned out that this was prearranged and he got paid for it, that’s called “work-for-pay;” not “service.” On the other hand, if it turned out that the family had a medical emergency and had to rush one of the kids to the hospital, and this Scout was asked to watch the family’s two younger children while Mom and Dad hopped in the car and did what they had to do—totally spur-of-the-moment—and then this Scout refused “pay” from the parents because, as he put it, “Helping out is what Scouts do!” then an “Atta Boy” and initials in his handbook would sure be in order!

As for “tiger-parents,” well, best they steer clear of requirement hunts, especially parents who don’t quite get it that Boy Scouting ain’t Cubs-in-tan-shirts. What’s most needed is a quiet and gentle conversation with a requirement-hungry parent, pointing out that in their son’s own handbook it tells the Scout that he goes on his own initiative and at his own pace.

Finally, let’s please let the “Scout spirit” argument die a quiet death here… Sound boards are usually fixed in place (you usually can’t cart ’em around the room), so of course this Scout will be separated from his fellows. But he showed up, didn’t he? And he stuck to his job and completed it, too. And, if he’s a “normal” Eagle (these days) he’s probably 16 or 17 years old. If I’ve got his age about right, ask yourself how much YOU enjoyed adults “suggesting” things to you when you were in your mid-teens?

We can’t nail “Scout spirit” to their chests; it has to grow from the inside-out. And we’d better not hold it over their heads like Damocles’ sword either. When a mid-teen young man shows up with younger Scouts and even Cub Scouts (and maybe his girlfriend is there it the church), we can take it easy on him. After all, if he’d worn civvies instead of a uniform, what would you have done then? Sent him home? If you did, do you think you’d ever see him again? (Seriously!)

The more we let the Scouts we serve be the growing boys they are, the better they’ll grow! (Our job is to provide the soil and sunshine!)

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. 561– 3/27/2018 – Copyright © Andy McCommish 2018]