{"id":1911,"date":"2015-11-04T20:32:38","date_gmt":"2015-11-05T01:32:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/?p=1911"},"modified":"2015-11-04T20:32:38","modified_gmt":"2015-11-05T01:32:38","slug":"issue-459-november-3-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/2015\/11\/issue-459-november-3-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Issue 459 \u2013 November 3, 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

________________________________________
\nDear Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

I usually agree with most everything you have for us out here in the field, but I disagree on the point you made in your October 22 issue (No. 458), when you said, \u201cOne of the saddest things I ever heard was just a few years ago at an Eagle court of honor, when the new 18-year-old Eagle Scout publicly thanked his father for having attended every single hike, camp-out, and other outdoor activity with him since he was a Tiger Cub.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

I take my own grandson to every campout he has. I also haul anyone who needs a ride, coming or going or both, and I haul Scouts and their gear to summer camp along (at summer camp I stay usually the first day and then come back for the last two days). I don’t go on the hikes\u2014I would if I could, but age has slowed me down. What I\u2019m saying is that, by my being involved in my grandson\u2019s life, as he gets older he\u2019ll treasure the memories of the times with his grandfather. I tell these boys I\u2019m not a teacher; I\u2019m a guide: I point the way for you, and it\u2019s your choice to follow or not. I also sit in on boards of review (I like them the best), and I\u2019ll tell the Scouts this is like a job interview (although they\u2019ve already earned the rank). So I would think that this father should be congratulated for spending time with his son and the other Scouts. (Paul Peery)<\/strong><\/p>\n

For a father to spend as much time as possible with his son, and his grandfather to do likewise is both correct and commendable… And I’d be a fool to discourage or demean this\u2014which of course I don’t. Fathers and sons can do an enormous number of things together, from fly or cast fishing, to re-building the family’s old “jalopy” (if these even exist anymore), to one-on-one sports (racquet sports are a good example), to learning chess or card games, home repairs, and even camping and hiking together, and the list is nearly infinite. But that’s not what Boy Scouting is for. Boy Scouting isn’t designed to be a “Dad n’ Lad” activity. It’s designed to be a boy-to-boy experience with adults in the background as more or less “safety nets” and guides\u2014actually, just like you\u2019re doing as a driver and board of review member.<\/p>\n

If you step back for a moment, you\u2019ll realize that the most important leadership position in a troop isn’t the Scoutmaster. It’s the Senior Patrol Leader. And the second-most important positions are the Scout-elected Patrol Leaders.<\/p>\n

Want to support your son (or grandson)? Great! Do this by getting him and his friends to and from his patrol’s and troop’s outdoor events\u2014just as you\u2019re doing now. And then let them learn about the world through one another during their camping experience\u2014just as you\u2019re doing now, when you stay for a day and then leave the Scouts to themselves.<\/p>\n

Want to spend personal time with your offspring in the out-of-doors? Great! Go hiking and camping TOGETHER and then step back and allow him to grow into the man you want him to be side-by-side with his fellow Scouts.<\/p>\n

Read the first couple of chapters of the SCOUT HANDBOOK and you’ll see that it’s all about the boy and his fellows. Allow him to have the adventure Scouting promises him by giving him \u201croom.\u201d And then, when he comes home, go do something\u2014whatever you like\u2014together.
\n==========
\nDear Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last issue, you noted: \u201cI\u2019m told that, upon enlistment, Eagle Scouts are jumped a pay grade for being such.\u201d I’m not nitpicking, and I know how hard you strive for accuracy, so let me shed some further light\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My son is an Eagle Scout and spent eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps, where Eagle Scouts are awarded an extra (higher) rank when they graduate from boot camp (but not when they first enlist). Keep up the good work! (Greg Maus, Scoutmaster, William D. Boyce Council)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not a “nitpick”\u2014new information, for which I\u2019m grateful. Thanks, and especially thanks to your son for his service to our country!
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

While counseling a Scout on his Communication merit badge req. 2b (set up a website or blog, etc.), he\u2019d set up an Instagram account for me to view. Okay so far, but in looking through his pictures, I found numerous pictures of partially nude girls (e.g., partially exposed breasts, fully exposed side views of same, frontal view of female crotch with very short underwear, breasts overflowing from very small bra, some animated and some real). When I asked where these had come from, he told me his Instagram \u201cfriends\u201d had sent them, so he added them to the file. What do I do? What\u2019s the protocol with this? (KNB)<\/strong><\/p>\n

While no Scouting volunteer is expected to be a professional counselor or such, the obvious “protocol” here, my Scouting friend, is YOU and your own good, sensible judgment. Part of your responsibility as a counselor (read: mentor) is to help steer this Scout along a correct, good sense pathway. So explain to him that, with an Instagram utility, he needs to function as what’s commonly called “Moderator.” As Moderator, his responsibility is to decide, on a case-by-case basis, what an appropriate posting is, and what’s not. And just because a “friend” sent in something doesn’t automatically make it okay to post as received. He needs to take a cold, hard look at what he’s received and decide whether or not it should be posted. (This is where his “delete” key will come in handily.)<\/p>\n

(This is why a passworded website is the better option\u2014as suggested by the Communication pamphlet. This gives the webmaster complete control over content.)<\/p>\n

So, with a second adult present (your wife would be perfect, because she can provide a mature woman\u2019s perspective), sit down with this young man and review each image, one by one, and provide him with guidance on what’s appropriate and what’s not. (This is actually a powerful opportunity for you, and I suggest you take full advantage of your role as his Counselor.)
\n==========
\nDear Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do merit badges fall under “immediate recognition,” like rank advancement? Or can a troop withhold earned and completed merit badges until a court of honor? Would you point me to any documentation clarifying this issue, please? (Name & Council Withheld)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, they certainly do. Only a very foolish (if not renegade) troop would arbitrarily withhold presenting a Scout with his newest rank or merit badge(s) as rapidly as possible. A court of honor is for acknowledging what Scouts have accomplished since the last court of honor. It’s not for the actual presentation of the ranks or merit badges. Check the BSA’s GUIDE TO ADVANCEMENT for details on this and much more.
\n==========
\nDear Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

About two months ago, my 13 year-old son signed up for his Scoutmaster conference for Star rank. In response at that time, the Scoutmaster told him there were two Scouts who were carryovers from the previous week, so they would go first. But, when he ran out of time at the end of the meeting, the Scoutmaster told my son, \u201cNext week.\u201d The next week, three other Scouts had also signed up for a conference and\u2014for no known reason\u2014the Scoutmaster conferenced with them first, and again \u201cran out of time\u201d just as it became my son\u2019s turn. So my son sent the Scoutmaster an email requesting the following week, and received a \u201cyes\u201d reply from him. But, for the third week in a row, he \u201cran out of time\u201d and my son was told he\u2019ll have to wait till the next meeting (we\u2019re up to four, now). That next week, you guessed it\u2026Three other Scouts and then no time for my son. This has continued, and now we\u2019re right up against a court of honor and still no conference.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My son says this is no big deal, and that he\u2019s feeling like he\u2019s pestering the Scoutmaster, who seems to continue ignoring my son or coming up with \u201cno more time\u201d excuses week after week.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For now, I\u2019m reluctantly willing to honor my son\u2019s request that I don\u2019t interfere, but it’s very frustrating\u2014my son or not\u2014to watch this play out the same way, week after week. And the fact that it is indeed happening to my own son just makes it all the more disheartening. What, if anything, can I do to break this pattern? (Name & Council Withheld)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The irony to this is that it’s fundamentally the Scoutmaster’s responsibility to keep track of Scouts’ advancement and then be certain to conference with them as they’re proceeding toward their next rank.<\/p>\n

(Does everyone know, by the way, that it’s absolutely not required that the Scoutmaster’s conference come last among all rank requirements? That’s right: A Scoutmaster’s conference can take place anytime along a Scout’s path toward his next rank.)<\/p>\n

The further pity is that such conferences should be taking perhaps 5 but certainly no more than 10 minutes, at the very most.<\/p>\n

As a parent, I’d be concerned that this Scoutmaster seems to be avoiding a key responsibility. I’d be tempted to have a quiet, unofficial, personal conversation with the Committee Chair (remember that the Scoutmaster ultimately reports to the Chair) about this inordinate delay and ask what can be done to alleviate this sort of log-jam in the future.<\/p>\n

(If a Scoutmaster is truly short of time, it’s not against the rules for him to ask an Assistant Scoutmaster to help ease the burden by doing a few conferences so that the Scouts can continue to move forward without adult-caused delays.)<\/p>\n

Happy Scouting!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Andy<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Have a question? Facing a dilemma? Wondering where to find a BSA policy or guideline? Write to askandybsa@yahoo.com. Please include your name and council. (If you\u2019d prefer to be anonymous, if published, let me know and that\u2019s what we\u2019ll do.)<\/strong><\/p>\n

[No. 459 \u2013 11\/3\/2015 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 Andy McCommish 2015]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

________________________________________ Dear Andy, I usually agree with most everything you have for us out here in the field, but I disagree on the point you made in your October 22 issue (No. 458), when you said, \u201cOne of the saddest things I ever heard was just a few years ago at an Eagle court of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-23"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1911"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1914,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1911\/revisions\/1914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}