{"id":2353,"date":"2018-07-23T12:56:33","date_gmt":"2018-07-23T16:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/?p=2353"},"modified":"2018-07-23T12:56:33","modified_gmt":"2018-07-23T16:56:33","slug":"issue-571-july-23-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/2018\/07\/issue-571-july-23-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Issue 571 \u2013 July 23, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

________________________________________
\n\u201cIf you\u2019re out and about some morning and you run into a jerk; okay, so you met a jerk. But if you keep running into jerks all day long\u2026 you\u2019re the jerk.\u201d \u2013 Raylan Givens<\/strong><\/p>\n

———————————————————————<\/p>\n

Couple of weeks ago, Scouter Joe Martinez, who had just completed YPT, asked about the \u201cno more than two-year tent-mate age difference for Boy Scouts\u201d and as part of his question wondered since, as he described it, \u201c\u2026youth sharing tents should not be more than two years apart in age\u2026but it doesn\u2019t say \u2018must,\u2019 so is it simply a guideline\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n

So I checked and found \u201cshould,\u201d not \u201cmust,\u201d which makes it a guideline instead of an inviolate rule.<\/p>\n

Quite a few Scouters picked up this. One Scouter\u2014Connie Knie\u2014was pretty direct: \u201cHi Andy! While I agree with you about using the age of the youth (not worrying about the actual birthday date) to determine if Scouts can be tent partners\/buddies, you didn’t correct the question about the use of the word \u2018should.\u2019 The GTSS doesn\u2019t say should; it says \u2018must.\u2019”<\/p>\n

So I checked again. This time I did find \u201cmust,\u201d but it was in a different BSA file. (That\u2019s right: The BSA has two files for the GUIDE TO SAFE SCOUTING\u2014and they don\u2019t match.) So thanks to Connie and her fellow sharp-eyed Scouters, we need to follow the \u201cmust\u201d rule because, being the stronger of the two, it supersedes \u201cshould.\u201d
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our troop of 16 has two patrols. The Antelope Patrol, of 8 relatively new Scouts, has two who are age 10, three age 11, and three age 12 (two of these are brothers: one age 10 and the other age 12). The Bob White Patrol has 5 Scouts: two age 13, two age 14, and one age 17 (this last one shows up only occasionally).We also have a \u201cjunior leader patrol\u201d of three: the Senior Patrol Leader, one Assistant SPL, and one Junior Assistant Scoutmaster (aka \u201cJASM).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of all of these, about nine will be going to summer camp; seven of the eight in the Antelope Patrol won\u2019t be going at all. What do we do? How do we handle our patrols on a regular basis and what do we do for patrols at camp? (Puzzled Scoutmaster)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Interesting assortment. Doubtful there\u2019s a simple answer here. Let\u2019s tackle summer camp first, and then we\u2019ll take a look at what to do in September\u2026<\/p>\n

For the 9 going to camp, it looks like you\u2019ll have 1 Antelope, 5 Bob Whites, and the 3 junior leaders. So you\u2019ll need to have 1 Senior Patrol Leader (be sure it\u2019s your current SPL) plus 8 who need to be in two patrols of four each. Instead of \u201cplaying Solomon,\u201d ask these eight to divide themselves into two groups of four and then give themselves \u201ccamp-patrol names\u201d that are different from the two \u201chome\u201d patrol names. Be sure to point out to them that all Scouts (save the SPL) need to be included\u2014no \u201cstrays.\u201d Then step back and let the Scouts decide.<\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s look at September, when you\u2019re all back home. First, ask the Antelopes to re-form by asking the 3 Scouts who are age 13 (soon to be 14) to \u201cmove\u201d to the Bob Whites, and concurrently ask the \u201coccasional\u201d 17 year-old Scout to move out of the Bob Whites. (Yes, this will split the brothers and each will be in his own patrol, and that\u2019s okay.) You\u2019ll now have the Antelopes as a patrol of 5 Scouts and the Bob Whites as a patrol of 7 Scouts.<\/p>\n

This leaves four Scouts: The SPL, the ASPL, the JASM, and the \u201coccasional\u201d 17 year-old. Of course your troop needs the SPL\u2014he\u2019s the highest-ranking leader in the troop! The SPL isn\u2019t a member of any patrol during his tenure, and often moves to the JASM position when his watch as SPL has ended (so still: no patrol). As for the ASPL, in a troop this size I\u2019m not sure this position is actually necessary. So let the current ASPL complete his term and\u2014unless the troop\u2019s size increases dramatically\u2014just don\u2019t replace him. (Remember that the ASPL isn\u2019t the \u201crunner-up\u201d in the troop\u2019s annual or semi-annual SPL election; the ASPL is appointed by the SPL with the approval of the Scoutmaster.) What will happen is the current ASPL can easily be asked to join the Bob White Patrol, which would bring the Bob Whites up to 8 Scouts. Meanwhile, the JASM is never a patrol member, regardless of the \u201cleader patrol\u201d notion; the JASM reports directly to the Scoutmaster, just as an ASM (Assistant Scoutmaster) would, and he carries out responsibilities assigned to him by the Scoutmaster (not the SPL).<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve deliberately left your \u201coccasional\u201d 17 year-old Scout (who I\u2019m assuming is Life rank) to last. If indeed he achieved Life rank more than six months ago and has already completed his required six months of active participation in the troop and six months in a qualified position of responsibility, then \u201coccasional\u201d is just fine: Scouting is designed to be flexible, with the understanding that older young men in particular often have very busy lives outside of Scouting, including school, church, sports, music, specialized high school clubs (math, language, service, etc.) and we allow for this by not arbitrarily \u201cdinging\u201d the Scout for showing up less regularly than he may have in the past but by accommodating him (Scouts are, after all, Scouting\u2019s first \u201cvolunteers\u201d). If, however, it turns out that he still needs to complete either or both of the two tenure-related requirements I just mentioned, then a Scoutmaster conference is definitely in order here, so that he can fulfill these two on his journey toward Eagle rank. My recommendation for this young man is that he be appointed to the JASM position, which would be age-appropriate and useful to the Scoutmaster and the troop as a whole.<\/p>\n

Finally, a caution. Arbitrarily realigning patrols from is rarely, if ever, a first-order option; in fact, it should conscientiously avoided except in very unusual circumstances (such as yours, for summer camp). When new boys join as a former Cub Scout den, and they\u2019re all in the 10-to-11 age range, we should expect them to continue as an intact patrol straight through the Boy Scout program. They start as a \u201cnew-Scout\u201d patrol, continue as a \u201cregular\u201d patrol, and finish their Boy Scouting tenure as an \u201colder\u201d patrol. So, in your troop\u2019s situation, buy-in from the PLC (aka \u201cPatrol Leaders Council\u201d) is critical. Sit down first with your SPL in a collaborative conversation. Then, with your SPL in the lead, address the PLC. Unless you approach this situation through your SPL and his PLC, it\u2019s going to feel like a dictatorship when it should ultimately be a democratic process. Not easy, but pretty darned important!
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our troop committee and I (I\u2019m Scoutmaster) are aware that, beginning in 2019, the BSA\u2019s long-standing Boy Scout program will be renamed \u201cScouts BSA\u201d and become open to girls. But we\u2019re having some difficulty understanding how this is going to work and there are different viewpoints operating.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recently one of our council\u2019s professional staffers took me through how the new Scouts BSA will work: There will be all-boy troops and all-girl troops; they can be independent \u201csolo\u201d troops or they can be linked (that is, two separate units with the same chartered organization, and sharing activities from time to time), but they still need to be separately registered troops.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Okay so far, but a few members of our committee have different views. Several, for instance, are thinking that it if there are, let\u2019s say, four or five or six girls who fit the criteria to become Scouts, they can become an all-girl patrol in an existing all-boy troop. One of my own concerns with this is the BSA \u201ctwo-deep (adult) leadership\u201d rule: If there\u2019s an all-girl patrol in an otherwise all-boy troop and they go on a weekend overnight campout, they\u2019d better make sure there are two adult female leaders along. In fact, this sort of troop would need two adult female leaders at all troop meetings too, they say. So what happens, they ask, when one or both of the girl’s adult leaders backs out at the last minute\u2014do we cancel the entire event or meeting for both boys and girls?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I just don’t know how to get it through their heads that it\u2019s separate troops.<\/strong>
\n Do you have any ideas on how to steer them along the right path? (Sorta Frustrated Scoutmaster)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Begin here: You all need to go to https:\/\/www.scouting.org\/familyscouting\/ and ready the FAQ section (and then the other five sections). Not to preempt your reading, here are a few highlights\u2026<\/p>\n

Yes, all troops for boys and for girls will be separate from one another. This means each troop is an “umbrella” for a unique set of patrols, and all members of those patrols will be the same gender. All-boy patrols will be in \u201cTroop B\u201d and all-girl patrols will be in \u201cTroop G.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adult volunteers registered with one or the other of the two types of gender-specific troops may be (a) all male, (b) all female, or (c) mixed genders.<\/p>\n

No group of girls is permitted to join an all-boy troop as individuals or as a patrol, and likewise, no group of boys is permitted to join up with an all-girl troop.<\/p>\n

For an all-boy troop to abide by the “two-deep (adult) leadership” proviso, the adults may be all male or all female or mixed. This means that the all-boy troop you’re presently associated with needs make no changes.<\/p>\n

There is absolutely no rule whatsoever that two female adults must be present per the BSA proviso on “two-deep leadership” for an all-girl troop. At least one: Yes. But that\u2019s it.<\/p>\n

Finally, on the subject of “backing out” (whether men or women\u2014doesn\u2019t matter)… I once was Scoutmaster of a troop that had prepared to go on a day-hike, and my ASM had signed up to be the second adult. On the morning of the trip, he backed out. With no fill-ins for him, I canceled the hike and sent all Scouts home (or in some cases called their parents to come pick them up from our jump-off point, where they had been dropped off a half-hour earlier). The Scouts were rightly disappointed, but the parents were furious…with me! “You should have gone anyway!” and “You ruined our Saturday plans!” were just a couple of the less visceral complaints I got. My reply was simple. “I’m not about to endanger your son, and if that’s a problem for you then you need to go find a troop that disregards fundamental safety policies.”<\/p>\n

Happy Scouting!<\/strong><\/em><\/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. 571 \u2013 7\/23\/2018 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 Andy McCommish 2018]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

________________________________________ \u201cIf you\u2019re out and about some morning and you run into a jerk; okay, so you met a jerk. But if you keep running into jerks all day long\u2026 you\u2019re the jerk.\u201d \u2013 Raylan Givens ——————————————————————— Couple of weeks ago, Scouter Joe Martinez, who had just completed YPT, asked about the \u201cno more than […]<\/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-2353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2353","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=2353"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2356,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2353\/revisions\/2356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}