{"id":2465,"date":"2019-06-11T10:39:51","date_gmt":"2019-06-11T14:39:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/?p=2465"},"modified":"2019-06-11T10:39:51","modified_gmt":"2019-06-11T14:39:51","slug":"issue-603-june-11-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/2019\/06\/issue-603-june-11-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Issue 603 \u2013 June 11, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

I absolutely love reading everything that\u2019s posted on your online columns. I’m still learning from you. May I share your content on my website? (Achat, Scouts Mauritius)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you\u2014Merci! Yes, you may share any column or comments within columns, and my only request is attribution. Happy Scouting World-Wide!
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Is it OK to have a parent serve on two Scout units\u2019 committees concurrently? One of our \u201ccrossover\u201d parents has a younger son in Cub Scouts, where he is the pack\u2019s treasurer. He\u2019d like to continue serving in that capacity until his younger son graduates to our troop and joins up with his just-joined older brother, and he\u2019s expressed interest in our troop\u2019s committee too. We\u2019d like to have him on the committee, but want to be sure this is acceptable under BSA rules. Thanks. (Mike Koubek, CC, Patriots\u2019 Path Council, NJ)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, this is perfectly okay. While it’s not permitted to hold more than one registered position in the same unit (see page 2 of the adult application), no worries about multiple positions in separate units.
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

A few columns back, you mentioned that a Scout can attend council-level NYLT (National Youth Leadership Training) courses without having attended ILST (Introduction to Leadership Skills for Troops), which is, as the title says, carried out at the troop level for skills development and also plays a big role in bonding the elected leaders of the patrols and their troop. But according to the BSA\u2019s NYLT website, ILST is now an NYLT prerequisite. I\u2019m wondering if this may be having an effect on NYLT attendance, which\u2014at least in my own council\u2014has fallen off in recent years. (Ed Colaianni)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks for the update. I\u2019ve double-checked and ILST has indeed been made mandatory for NYLT participation. I continue to consider this a strategic mistake (one of the very few times I\u2019ve expressed an opinion counter to BSA policies or procedures). My reason is simple. While, up to recently, the Scout could decide to attend NYLT and do so by simply receiving the endorsement of his or her Scoutmaster, now all Scouts must rely on the initiative of their Scoutmaster. To actually prepare and run ILST training for a troop\u2019s youth leaders is definitely not a walk-in-the-park, and this assumes that Scoutmasters even know they\u2019re responsible for doing this. If Scoutmasters don\u2019t roll up their sleeves, the Scouts are the ones who lose out on the NYLT opportunity. I\u2019m also quite certain there\u2019s a ripple-through effect that has a further negative impact on NAYLE (National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience). Moreover, with the replacement of NJLIC with NAYLE, and observing that the NAYLE challenge is essentially for individual self-development rather than providing youth leaders more knowledgeable and skilled to run their home troops, crews, and ships, I\u2019m concerned that home Scouting units, receiving no direct benefit from NAYLE, will be less than enthusiastic about encouraging this program.
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our troop\u2019s committee is wondering about Scout attendance and “active participation” in our troop\u2019s meetings and activities, especially as these relate to rank advancement. Our troop provides a large number of opportunities for Scout participation, including service projects, regular weekly meetings throughout the calendar year, monthly camping and hiking trips, and lots more. We\u2019re of a mind that it\u2019s not unreasonable for our Scoutmaster and assistants to start tracking each Scout’s participation, with a standard of 50% required for them to be approved as “active” per rank requirements. We do understand that young people\u2019s lives\u2014just like our own\u2014extend well beyond Scouting, especially including sports, band or orchestra, and other school-related commitments; church and church youth groups; as cadets with a local rescue squad or fire department; part-time jobs, and caring for younger or elderly family members. Some of our committee members think 50% is too lenient\u2014that the standard should be no less than 65% of all troop meetings and activities, and treat all participation below this the same way a student would get an F on a subject in school and have to repeat. On the other side of this, we\u2019re getting push-back from some of our Scouts\u2019 parents, who are saying that a 50% standard is too strict.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all taken the time to read the GUIDE TO ADVANCEMENT on \u201cactive,\u201d but it seems to be more subjective than objective and the authors seem to be mainly ducking rather than addressing this \u201cGordian\u2019s knot\u201d head-on. In short, it hasn\u2019t helped us resolve this issue.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a teacher, I lean toward \u201cobservable,\u201d \u201cmeasurable,\u201d and an \u201cequal standard for all.\u201d Others on the committee\u2014people in businesses\u2014follow similar standards: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. And, to be fair, most of our Scouts are already at a 75% or higher participation level.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What do we do to keep the \u201cactives\u201d active and bring along those that aren\u2019t (we really aren\u2019t crazy about \u201cdinging\u201d them when their participation\u2019s below par, but it does negatively affect performance of the patrols they\u2019re in!). (MaryAnn Fabian, Laurel Highlands Council, PA-MD-WV)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, being active is important\u2026 Unless you jump into the shower, you\u2019re not gonna get wet! The GTA does assert that assigning a specific percent is definitely “measurable and observable,” but it doesn’t factor in the fact that Scouting’s very first volunteers are the youth themselves. Scouting’s primary mantra in this regard is flexibility. Number two in this arena is Program Produces Participants.<\/p>\n

Your troop sounds like one I’d like my own grandsons to be members of! It’s active and has an ongoing program for day outings and weekend campouts. Terrific!<\/p>\n

But I’m going to recommend not establishing a hard-and-fast percentage that doesn\u2019t take individual circumstances into account. Instead, treat participation on a case-by-case basis (regardless of troop size) and rely on The Patrol Method to encourage participation. In fact, The Patrol Method is Scouting\u2019s linchpin: Without patrols, there\u2019s no troop and\u2014larger\u2014there\u2019s just no Scouting! Scouts have better Scouting adventures when they\u2019re responsible members of their patrols. Patrols attend meetings together and stand together, they compete together, they attend Camporees and summer camp together\u2026and, for all outings, they\u2019re responsible to one another. This means your best bet is to try to do as little as possible to formalize “troop” events in favor of full and intact patrols as possible, with the Patrol Leaders responsible for their patrol members to show up, and with each patrol member having a specific \u201cjob\u201d\u2014from a rotating \u201cDuty Roster.\u201d Make sure this includes all meal planning, all food purchasing and packing, cooking gear for all patrols, tenting by patrol, and\u2014critically\u2014even transportation patrol by patrol. In short, except for paperwork like medical forms and such, everything is done by patrol!<\/p>\n

Think of meetings committee members like yourself attend in the workplace\u2026 If six or eight of you are supposed to show up, you\u2019ll be there because\u2014among other reasons\u2014your absence will be instantly spotted; but if several dozen of you were called to a meeting, and you duck it, it\u2019ll more than likely go unnoticed. Same with Scouts! This is why\u2014when attendance at troop meetings and other activities is taken\u2014checking off who\u2019s there and who isn\u2019t is the responsibility of each Patrol Leader\u2019s appointed patrol scribe, who turns these notes in to the Senior Patrol Leader (not the Scoutmaster!).<\/p>\n

The Senior Patrol Leader and Scoutmaster review these notes, so that they both can have a chat with the Patrol Leader of a multiply-absent Scout, and, if necessary, the Scoutmaster can plan for a brief conference with any Scout who\u2019s missed three or more events in a row. (For one or two, the Patrol Leader has a chat with that Scout and goes to the Senior Patrol Leader if there\u2019s any sort of issue.)<\/p>\n

Each individual Scout is going to be a bit different from all others. Some will have mandatory “band camp” the same week as the troop is supposed to be at summer camp. Others will have football practice on the same Saturday as a planned hike. Still others will have after-school jobs that push homework to the evening hours\u2014sometimes on the same night as a troop meeting, especially if it\u2019s prep time for a test or exam. Then there are piano lessons, Little League, traveling soccer or baseball, church youth group mission trips, and certainly the family responsibilities you\u2019re already sensitive to (and more power to you for this!), and so on.<\/p>\n

The GTA is crystal-clear on two key points: “Ultimately…youth should be allowed to balance their lives with positive activities outside of Scouting” and “If a (Scout) has fallen below their (troop’s) activity-oriented expectations, then it must be due to other positive endeavors\u2014in or out of Scouting\u2014or due to noteworthy circumstances that have prevented a higher level of participation.”<\/p>\n

This is where GOOD sense trumps “common” sense, and this can be easily determined in Scoutmaster conferences with each Scout. Remembering that such conferences have less to do with being about advancement requirements than being opportunities for the Scoutmaster to get to know more about each Scout’s life OUTSIDE of Scouting! This is where the Scoutmaster learns about each Scout’s involvement in the kinds of activities you and I have just talked about, and a lot more! This is where a Scoutmaster learns there’s an absent parent, or a disabled sibling, or an invalid grandparent, or a part-time job for which the money earned helps support the family, and this list is infinite as well.<\/p>\n

We adult volunteers are giving generously of our time, talents, and treasure to the youth of our nation\u2014our nation’s future, in fact\u2014so let’s be equally generous in understanding that while Scouting is an important part of a young person’s growing up, it’s hardly the most “demanding” and that’s as it should be. Scouts aren’t Scouts because they’re compelled to; they’re Scouts because THEY WANT TO! And we aren’t “gatekeepers”\u2014we’re gate OPENERS! We\u2019re not here to find ways to trip up the Scouts we\u2019re here to serve, or to create arbitrary roadblocks; but neither are we here to bend standards or carry kids across finish lines. Scouting is THEIRS, the \u201ctroop\u201d belongs to the PATROLS, and we\u2019re here to make sure they get Scouting as it\u2019s intended\u2026 As one wise reader once told me, \u201cWe\u2019re here to PRESENT; not INVENT.\u201d<\/p>\n

I believe you\u2019re all going to be just fine! Happy Scouting!
\n==========
\nHey Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been a Scoutmaster for 14 years. In addition to retiring, I\u2019m moving to a new town. I don\u2019t want the full-time responsibility being a Scoutmaster demands, since my wife and I will be doing a bit of traveling. How would you suggest I approach a new Scouting community and where might I best help? Any suggestions welcome! (Bill Daniel, Gulf Stream Council, FL)<\/strong><\/p>\n

With your experience, you’d likely be a wonderful Unit Commissioner! Contact your new council and track down the District Executive for the area you’ll be living in, introduce you, and ask to be put in touch with the District Commissioner. Meet over a cup o’ coffee and find a troop that could use some hands-on guidance-with-a-feather.<\/p>\n

Being a UC is a great opportunity to help, and you’re not committed to a weekly schedule. I’ve been a Unit Commissioner for over 20 years, and I wouldn’t trade that position for all the tea in China!<\/p>\n

Happy Scouting!<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/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. 603 \u2013 6\/11\/2019 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 Andy McCommish 2019]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi Andy, I absolutely love reading everything that\u2019s posted on your online columns. I’m still learning from you. May I share your content on my website? (Achat, Scouts Mauritius) Thank you\u2014Merci! Yes, you may share any column or comments within columns, and my only request is attribution. Happy Scouting World-Wide! ========== Hi Andy, Is it […]<\/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-2465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2465","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=2465"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2469,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2465\/revisions\/2469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}