{"id":2029,"date":"2016-06-09T10:15:49","date_gmt":"2016-06-09T14:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/?p=2029"},"modified":"2016-06-09T10:16:36","modified_gmt":"2016-06-09T14:16:36","slug":"issue-490-june-9-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/2016\/06\/issue-490-june-9-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Issue 490 \u2013 June 9, 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

I\u2019ve just finished my first year as a Cub Scout adult volunteer\u2014Tiger Den Leader\u2014after several decades as a Scout and Scouter.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We finished this year with ten Tigers, of which eight were with us for the entire year and two for the past six months (these two participated fully for the months they were Tigers). All did their best (with varying results) to participate fully and with good cheer. All the parents did their best (with varying results) to bring their boys regularly and support the program. And I, likewise, did my best to lead the den and provide a fun, engaging program in a safe environment. At year\u2019s end, I awarded the Tiger badge to all ten, even though, in one instance, one of the full-year Tigers didn\u2019t make it to one of the required adventures and his family circumstances did not afford opportunity for him to make up that last adventure.<\/strong><\/p>\n

After the awards ceremony, one of the parents asked me why every boy was given the Tiger badge, even when several showed up less or made less effort, or joined later on.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I explained to him that each boy has his own unique level of ability, self-control, attention span, interest, and backing from his parents, just as each family has its own unique level of participation in other organizations and activities as well. Some families have both parents at home and often both of those parents support Scouting. Other families have different circumstances, sometimes even where one parent embraces Scouting but the other parent won\u2019t bring the boy to meetings when that parent has custody. Also, each leader\u2014like myself\u2014has his or her own unique collection of experiences, training, maturity, resources, interest, and supportive or critical spouses or partners. And certainly everyone has different levels of available time and money.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If, for example, a boy signs up for a sports team but misses half the games and doesn\u2019t ever hustle, he still gets the participation trophy at the end of the year. Cub Scouting gives boys so much more than a participation trophy, even if all the boys at all levels of skill and effort all receive the Tiger badge.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Boy Scouts, if you don\u2019t earn First Class by age 12, you can earn it later. In Cub Scouts, when your Tiger year is over you either get your Tiger badge or you never can or will. Plus, Boy Scouting is a \u201cBe Prepared\u201d culture with moveable thresholds between ranks, while Cub Scouting is a \u201cDo Your Best\u201d culture with fixed start- and end-dates for each program year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tiger badges, like Eagle rank, college degrees, and licenses to practice medicine, are earned by different individuals as a result of different levels of knowledge, effort and integrity. The value of your credentials can not exceed the value of your character. The value of your Tiger badge does not increase if other boys had left that night crying because they hadn\u2019t received one.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So, finally, my question: Can you give me a reputable resource\u2014preferably published by the BSA\u2014that I can quote from, that explains how the BSA intends for us to apply \u201cDo Your Best\u201d in the context of boys earning the completion badge (Tiger, in this case) for a given program year of Cub Scouting? (Name Withheld, Tidewater Council, TX)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The citation you’re seeking can be found on pages 5-6 of the BSA’s TIGER HANDBOOK. It should be pointed out, however, that the concept of \u201cDo Your Best\u201d doesn\u2019t go away somehow after Cub Scouting ends and Boy Scouting begins. This is actually a thread through the entire Scouting program from the beginning onward.
\nFrankly, I\u2019m not certain your Eagle, academic degree, licenses examples actually hold water. When one doesn\u2019t complete all requirements for Eagle and its preceding ranks and necessary merit badges by your 18th birthday and guess what\u2014you\u2019re not an Eagle Scout. Fail to pass the minimum standard for all required and elective college courses and guess what\u2014no degree. Fail the written or on-road test and you don\u2019t get a driver\u2019s license. Miss the bar on a pole vault and that height isn\u2019t recorded. Swing at a pitched ball, miss it three times, and you take the bench; you don\u2019t get to go to first base just because you \u201cdid your best\u201d to hit it.<\/p>\n

As for treating Cub Scout badges like \u201cparticipation\u201d awards, consider this: You said in your letter that you received the Cub Scout Leader Award and wear it proudly. Would you wear it just as proudly, if at all, if you knew that others failed to complete the requirements for it, either in training, tenure, or performance?<\/p>\n

Children of both sexes at Tiger age are a lot more perceptive and smart than we often give them credit for, and among other aspects they recognize and value success. Yes, by making the Tiger badges recognitions of participation and not achievement, you\u2019ve possibly eliminated, as you put it, \u201cboys going home crying.\u201d You\u2019re mistaken.<\/p>\n

Boys\u2014better than we often realize or acknowledge\u2014know full well who among them the achievers are and who aren\u2019t. So what makes you comfortable with the idea that a boy who has indeed done everything expected of him to earn the Tiger badge is okay with the notion that someone who\u2019s fallen short (for whatever reason or circumstance) gets the same badge as he and his parents worked to earn? What you\u2019re actually communicating is actually that \u201cDo Your Best\u201d doesn\u2019t matter\u2014you\u2019ll get the badge anyway.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a true (and brief) story about achievement versus participation\u2026<\/p>\n

A small private school had for decades held a science fair from all grades from Kindergarten through 12th, with each entry judged and First Place, Second Place, and Third Place awards for the top three entries in each grade level. For decades, participation by the students was virtually 100%, year after year.<\/p>\n

But then, a group of parents decided amongst themselves that this was unfair and\u2014to \u201cavoid tears,\u201d or so they thought\u2014they petitioned the school\u2019s teachers, administration, and board of trustees to forego awards and announce to all students that, instead, the science fair would be providing \u201cParticipant\u201d ribbons to all entrants.<\/p>\n

The result was this: Student entries in that year\u2019s science fair instantly dropped to less than 20%. Why? Simple. The students themselves realized and responded to the plain fact that merely getting something for just \u201cshowing up\u201d had no intrinsic value or importance by failing to recognize creativity or excellence. In short, when \u201cDo Your Best\u201d no longer mattered, the students simply walked away.<\/p>\n

End of story.<\/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. 490 \u2013 6\/9\/2016 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 Andy McCommish 2016]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

________________________________________ Hi Andy, I\u2019ve just finished my first year as a Cub Scout adult volunteer\u2014Tiger Den Leader\u2014after several decades as a Scout and Scouter. We finished this year with ten Tigers, of which eight were with us for the entire year and two for the past six months (these two participated fully for the months […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2029","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=2029"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2033,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2029\/revisions\/2033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}