{"id":2198,"date":"2017-06-06T21:48:19","date_gmt":"2017-06-07T01:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/?p=2198"},"modified":"2017-06-06T21:48:19","modified_gmt":"2017-06-07T01:48:19","slug":"issue-534-june-6-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/2017\/06\/issue-534-june-6-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Issue 534 \u2013 June 6, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

I\u2019d like to help Scoutmaster Kociemba, who was having problems securing a Unit Commissioner for his troop. I\u2019ve forwarded a link to your issue No. 533 to our Council Commissioner, who has tasked the appropriate District Commissioner to get on this. So, I\u2019m hoping he\u2019ll soon get the support he\u2019s looking for.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This really hit home, because, in our council, our recently adopted mantra for all Unit Commissioners is:<\/strong>
\n – Inspire the unit leaders to provide the best possible program for their Scouts.<\/strong>
\n – Coach the unit leaders on how to do this.<\/strong>
\n – Connect the unit leaders with the resources they need.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our District Commissioners are tasked with supporting the UCs by:<\/strong>
\n – Inspire the UCs to provide the best possible unit service, and put the best UCs with the units that need help the most.<\/strong>
\n – Coach the UCs in how to provide quality unit service.<\/strong>
\n – Connect the UCs with the resources they need to help units solve problems.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Keep up the great work! (Bob Elliott, Assistant Council Commissioner, Northern Star Council, MN)<\/strong><\/p>\n

What a simple, specific, succinct, and spirit-lifting “mantra”! Thanks for being a loyal reader and for making the time to share these new initiatives!
\n==========
\nDear Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been looking over the service hours for our Scouts and have a question\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tenderfoot through First Class ranks state the specific number of hours needed: Tenderfoot, 1 hour; Second Class, 2 hours; and First Class, 3 hours\u2014but these 3 hours, it says, can’t be for the same project(s) used for Tenderfoot and Second Class. So if a Scout helps out at, let\u2019s say, a soup kitchen for Tenderfoot, he can’t this towards First Class later on? Is this correct?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Further up the line, Star rank says, \u201cWhile a First Class Scout, participate in 6 hours of service through one or more service projects.\u201d Does this mean the Scout needs to have his First Class board of review completed in order for the service time for Star to start counting, or can it start while he\u2019s still working towards First Class? And what about a situation where the Scout has completed his 3 hours of service for First Class but hasn\u2019t had his review yet\u2026 Can he start on service hours for Star? Thanks! (John Burnham)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes indeed, First Class req. 9d states that the 3 hours of Scoutmaster-approved service must be for projects different from what a Scout did for Tenderfoot (req. 7b) and Second Class (req. 8e). And, moving along, for Star rank, req. 4 specifically states, \u201cWHILE A FIRST CLASS SCOUT…\u201d and for Life, req. 4 similarly states, \u201cWHILE A STAR SCOUT…\u201d<\/p>\n

So, for Star and Life, it’s crystal-clear: A Scout can’t be credited with time devoted to service until he’s officially the rank immediately before, which means his board of review for that previous rank has been completed successfully.<\/p>\n

First Class requirements in this department are silent on the \u201cWhile a\u2026\u201d aspect, and that\u2019s because the BSA permits Scouts to complete any of the requirements for these three ranks in any order. This means that, once a Scout has completed the 3 hours required for Tenderfoot and Second Class he can, according to the BSA, begin actively completing the 3 service hours required for First Class, so long as these are different from the kinds of service he carried out for the previous two ranks. Got it? Okay!
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

My son\u2019s ditty bag, which contained his handbook and all the blue cards for merit badges he\u2019d been working on but hadn\u2019t yet completed, mysteriously disappeared (Lost? Stolen? Who knows?). In trying to re-build his advancement trail, it was easy to replicate the dates and signatures in a new handbook, using the troop\u2019s own advancement records. Same with \u201cblue cards\u201d for merit badges he\u2019d already completed. But partially completed merit badges (and blue cards) aren\u2019t so easy, especially when all but three of these were from summer camp last year. Now, with summer camp staff gone back to college or the workplace, there are no counselors who can be easily contacted who might remember my son and what he\u2019d done before leaving camp.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As his father, I\u2019ve made it a point to always enter his advancement data into \u201cScoutbook,\u201d the free advancement tracking app the BSA offers, so we have records of what requirements he’s completed and on what dates. Can this suffice when he goes to a local Merit Badge Counselor to finish off these merit badges? Or should his Scoutmaster sign new blue cards and then indicate the completed requirements, with a personal note to the local counselor? (Hank Eisenstein)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Partials can be slightly tricky. If your son’s counselors from summer camp kept contemporaneous records of what requirements he\u2019d completed, your council service center may have records from the summer. If not, then your own plan should be just fine. No Scout should ever be expected (or compelled) to repeat a requirement he\u2019s legitimately already done, with few if any exceptions (for instance, as a Lifesaving MBC and former BSA Aquatics Director, at a minimum I\u2019d want to be certain a Scout can indeed complete the BSA Swimmer Test plus req. 1b, and can converse intelligently about the BSA\u2019s Safe Swim Defense before providing a blanket \u201csign-off\u201d), and so, on the simple basis of Scout\u2019s honor, I think your son will be just fine in visiting with a counselor and describing what he\u2019s already accomplished. And a note from you and his Scoutmaster certainly can\u2019t hurt!<\/p>\n

Of course for the future, I’d recommend showing your son how to keep his own records, for himself (better he becomes self-reliant in this regard\u2014it’s an important “life-skill”).
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recently, I was asked about the requirements for the Arrow of Light. I figured this would be easy. Nope! It was a new one for me. One of the requirements is that the boy be active in his den for six months after completing the fourth grade or for six months after becoming ten years old. The question is, how is this handled when the boy is home-schooled? His mother tells me that he finished the fourth grade of his homeschooling last fall, and we\u2019re just past the six-month mark on that, but I’m not sure he\u2019s 10 yet. At first blush, it seems to me that whatever the parent tells you about their son\u2019s homeschooling education should be sufficient. So I’m not sure if transcripts should be checked and I certainly don\u2019t know what would happen if these don\u2019t jibe with the parent\u2019s statement. If you have any thoughts on how this should be handled, I\u2019m all ears! (Robert McLemore, District Commissioner, Capitol Area Council, TX)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let’s make this one easy… Think Scout’s honor!<\/p>\n

I definitely agree that if a boy’s parent tells me he’s in such-and-such a grade level, then that’s that. (Besides, I’ve never found it profitable to pick a fight with Mom )
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

In our troop locker that we\u2019re slowly cleaning out, we have lots of ancient (some at least six years old or more) “stubs” from merit badge blue cards in a file cabinet, and we\u2019re wondering just how long we should be holding onto these. Our Scoutmaster wanted to keep everything, “just in case,” but is this realistic? (John)<\/strong><\/p>\n

A unit’s merit badge stubs (the \u201cunit\u201d segment\u2014one of three segments) are only needed before the troop files an advancement report with the council service center; after that documentation, they’re no longer needed. Plus, keep in mind that the other two segments are kept (a) by each Scout and (b) by their merit badge counselors.<\/p>\n

Once a Scout has “aged out,” you might want to offer him the unit stubs for his merit badges and such, but it’s more than likely he’ll decline, because he already has his segments, or because he\u2019s simply \u201cmoving on.\u201d<\/p>\n

At this point, I’d say it’s pretty safe to use “File 13” for extraneous or duplicate papers.
\n==========
\nHello Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

I need to know if standing in patrols during the troop meeting is a BSA rule or stipulation. Our troop\u2014which I\u2019ve been variously involved with since 1995\u2014has been doing this for the last two dozen or so years, but I have a feeling it\u2019s more in the \u201cwe\u2019ve always done it this way\u201d category, even though nobody knows why it ever got started in the first place. Others think it\u2019s a \u201cthis is the way the BSA wants it\u201d thing, including new parents, who think this is the only way a troop meeting can be held. Over the years, however, I\u2019ve seen other troops. Yes, they all stand for the opening flag ceremony, but then they sit down. Is there one correct way? Can you shed some light on this, for me and for our troop? (Patricia Smith)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Patrols staying together during troop meetings is definitely a good idea, but standing for the entire duration of a troop meeting is definitely, positively, not in any BSA literature, handbook, guidebook, or training manual, or training course I\u2019ve ever seen\u2026and while I haven\u2019t seen everything, I\u2019ve seen a lot.<\/p>\n

Does anyone associated with your troop read \u201cScouting\u201d magazine, or spent any time reading their son\u2019s Scout Handbook, or attended a local District Roundtable? Start with these, and if you can find any photographs that suggest a troop of Scouts has stood through an entire troop meeting without some specific reason for doing this beyond the \u201calways done it\u201d thing, please let me know. In the meantime, get some chairs. Please!<insert smiling emoji here><\/p>\n

Think about it\u2026 Scouts will sit, stand, lie down, or run around based on what’s going on at the time. Reviewing what requirements remain to be signed off for their next rank, it seems pretty obvious they’d be sitting. Opening and closing ceremonies would be conducted while standing, equally obviously. Running around happens during the intra-patrol games portion of the meeting. And lying down would happen while learning or reviewing certain First Aid\/rescue techniques.<\/p>\n

To stand for the entire 90-minute (on average) troop meeting seems like an exercise in preserving some draconian ritual that needs to go the way of broadswords, pikes, and… leg irons <insert grinning emoji here><\/p>\n

Happy Scouting, Folks \u2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

Andy<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/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. 534 \u2013 6\/6\/2017 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 Andy McCommish 2017]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

________________________________________ Hi Andy, I\u2019d like to help Scoutmaster Kociemba, who was having problems securing a Unit Commissioner for his troop. I\u2019ve forwarded a link to your issue No. 533 to our Council Commissioner, who has tasked the appropriate District Commissioner to get on this. So, I\u2019m hoping he\u2019ll soon get the support he\u2019s looking for. […]<\/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-2198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2198","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=2198"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2201,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2198\/revisions\/2201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}