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\nIn my previous column (No. 497 \u2013 August 3rd), Jim Byers asked, \u201cIn Venturing and Sea Scouts, if you have a coed group on an overnight outing, you need both a male and a female adult leader. Okay so far, but then what\u2019s the reasoning that says a Boy Scout troop (or team) can go on an overnight with two female adult leaders and no male adult leader?\u201d<\/p>\n
Among follow-up reader comments came this, from Ken King: \u201cThis was discussed at VenturingFest just this past week, with the BSA\u2019s National Venturing Director, Jessica Ayala. She agreed with the inconsistency and plans to seek an adjustment. She will be meeting with the BSA Youth Protection decision-makers in Texas on this issue, which is recognized as a \u2018double standard.\u2019 No official change has taken place yet, but it\u2019s likely to happen soon.\u201d So stay tuned, folks\u2026<\/strong> I\u2019m searching for a “Proud Parent\u201d ribbon\u2014the \u201cold\u201d style of a single red-white-blue ribbon attached to a gold \u201cProud Parent\u201d bar-and-clasp (not the current neck ribbon) to match my other son’s, who is an Eagle Scout. Do you know of anywhere to find\/buy one? (Nancy Routt)<\/strong><\/p>\n What you’re apparently looking for is now pretty much an “antique”… The BSA’s catalog doesn’t show that style anymore. However, I did spot one on eBay and the seller is looking for twenty bucks for it, including the attached rank pins. I think I\u2019d wander around a bit more before springing for that one, but at least you know you can find a match for the one you have for your older son. Our son\u2019s Eagle project has been approved: It has the four signatures required to get start the project. He\u2019s also secured all the materials he\u2019ll need through donations and by going to businesses and friends. He\u2019s now ready to confirm a date with his beneficiary to carry out the project with his beneficiary. But it\u2019s baseball season and it\u2019s also very busy time of the year when school year is ending, weekend camping, Scout fundraiser weekend, summer Scout camp, and the list goes on! So he proposed a couple of dates that looked like they might work to his Life-to-Eagle Coach, but she told him that those dates wouldn\u2019t work because the troop already has planned activities on those same dates. She did follow this up with a list of dates when the troop is available, because he must have Scouts as helpers, and also told him that a troop leader must be present to observe how well he leads his project.<\/strong><\/p>\n He\u2019d like to pick a date and time that would work for the helpers he\u2019s planning on, which include teammates, classmates, friends, and neighbors; if some Scouts are available, that would be fine by him, but he doesn\u2019t see how this would be \u201cmandatory.\u201d The same applies to adult troop leaders: They don\u2019t need to \u201cobserve\u201d him as he leads his team.<\/strong><\/p>\n We’ve done some checking in the BSA GUIDE TO ADVANCEMENT\u2014Topic 9.0.2.4 and discovered that not only doesn\u2019t he have to have Scouts as helpers, he doesn\u2019t have to have troop leader \u201coverseers,\u201d either. In fact, the GTE confirms that, so long as he has a minimum of two helpers (\u201cHelpers may be involved in Scouting or not and any age appropriate for the work\u201d) he\u2019s perfectly \u201clegal.\u201d (Do I have that right?)<\/strong><\/p>\n Our son was planning to have at least 10 to 15 helpers and he\u2019s confident he can lead his project without any so-called \u201cobservers.\u201d This means that the date doesn\u2019t have to be one on which his troop and a troop leader are available, yes? Or would it be wiser to have a scout leader there so he\/she can see his leadership skills and to make sure no one takes his leadership from him? Would it be easier for his board of review if an adult troop leader has witnessed his work? Couldn\u2019t he just include in his report how he demonstrated his leadership and then just field questions at his board of review? Thanks! (Scout parents)<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, you’re 100% correct and the lady associated with the troop is not. There\u2019s no BSA stipulation for this Eagle requirement making it mandatory that there be project helpers who are Scouts, and there’s absolutely no stipulation that demands an adult unit volunteer be present for the purpose of “observing” the scout’s “leadership.” (Moreover, no individual, unit, district, or council can alter any BSA requirement, regardless of purported “reason” or “rationale.”)<\/p>\n This is where your son and his fellow Life Scouts in the troop need an \u201cadvocate\u201d\u2014an Eagle Project Coach who can stand up for a Scout who\u2019s confronted with stuff like this. (When a Scout\u2014a minor\u2014must deal with an adult of this type, it\u2019s sorta like bringin\u2019 a knife to a gun fight. Scouts need adult support to help make sure things are done the way they\u2019re supposed to be done and not the way one person might want, just \u201cbecause.\u201d) We have a Scout in our troop who only comes to meetings and events because his dad, an adult volunteer, makes him come. Dad proudly tells people that if his son doesn\u2019t \u201cdo Scouting,\u201d he’ll find him something to do that he’ll like even less (i.e., find a way to \u201cpunish\u201d the kid for not participating in something he dislikes). Scouting just isn’t this boy\u2019s \u201cthing.\u201d Yes, he\u2019s advancing, but only because he’s forced to from the home front (\u201cor else!\u201d I\u2019m guessing). He\u2019s never gone out of his way to help another Scout learn a skill; he’s been uncooperative when directed by adults. He just doesn\u2019t want to be there! I feel badly for this boy. I\u2019m also not enchanted by the fact that he’ll do the requirements for Eagle without having the real desire of his own to learn what makes a true Eagle\u2014instead, it\u2019s just stuff he has to do to make his father happy. When a parent like this dad has his son doing a \u201cBataan Death March\u201d through Scouting just for the glory it brings to himself, and his son doesn\u2019t give a darn except that it\u2019s what Dad wants, what do we do? (Frustrated Scoutmaster)<\/strong><\/p>\n It’s a really tough situation for a boy, when his father is doing something like this\u2014probably with the best of intentions, but not really in the best interests of his son. I’d suggest a quiet, personal (but “in public”) Scoutmaster’s conference with this young man… Try to learn from him what his actual interests are, where he’d rather be, what he’d actually prefer doing. Maybe it’s sports, or a club at his school, or something else. Whatever it is, do your best to get him to talk about it. Avoid what he “doesn’t like” about Scouts\u2014that’s not where you want to steer the conversation. Then, if you can “peel the onion” and get to what he’d prefer to be doing, ask him if he’d be okay with your talking with his father about this, on his behalf (I hope you get a “yes”!). (This will take kindness, willingness to listen, and some skill in getting the boy to talk. Remember that he doesn’t want to “disappoint” his father, but at the same time he’s torn.)<\/p>\n Next step: Have a separate private conversation with this dad. Candidly, tell him you’ve spoken with his son and learned what the boy is really interested in. Then, gently, ask the father if he’d be willing to consider making a change and help his son pursue what the boy would really rather be doing. Let him know that his son is always welcome back, but maybe it’s time to allow the boy to pursue his own interests\u2014and Dad can help him get started.<\/p>\n Obviously, this may or may not work. But I think it’s worth a shot, for the sake of the boy. Can a Life Scout do a maintenance update of a pre-existing Eagle Scout project? We have a Life Scout who wants to repair-replace the roping on an existing rope bridge that was an Eagle Scout project from several years back that needs some \u201crehab\u201d work. He wouldn\u2019t be replacing the brackets securing the ropes to the trees; he\u2019d simply be replacing the rope as it has deteriorated over the last five years (when the original Scout built the bridge). Or would this be more of a troop-wide service project? (Joan Ballard)<\/strong><\/p>\n This is one that the Scout himself needs to discuss with his Eagle Advisor or Eagle Project Coach (if his troop has one of these), and certainly a member of your district’s advancement committee. Whether it was a former Eagle service project isn’t necessarily relevant…pro or con. What’s important are: is it needed, is it of sufficient magnitude, and will it provide an opportunity to demonstrate leadership of others. If it’s yes to these three essential issues, the likelihood is high that it will qualify. If not, then it\u2019s absolutely a great troop service project!<\/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. 498 \u2013 8\/16\/2016 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 Andy McCommish 2016]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ________________________________________ In my previous column (No. 497 \u2013 August 3rd), Jim Byers asked, \u201cIn Venturing and Sea Scouts, if you have a coed group on an overnight outing, you need both a male and a female adult leader. Okay so far, but then what\u2019s the reasoning that says a Boy Scout troop (or team) can […]<\/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-2062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062","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=2062"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2065,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062\/revisions\/2065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\n(This letter was written in the spring 2016)
\nDear Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n