{"id":2479,"date":"2019-07-09T16:28:44","date_gmt":"2019-07-09T20:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/?p=2479"},"modified":"2019-07-09T16:28:44","modified_gmt":"2019-07-09T20:28:44","slug":"issue-607-july-9-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/2019\/07\/issue-607-july-9-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Issue 607 \u2013 July 9, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

I\u2019ve been a committee member for my son\u2019s troop for several years, mostly handling campsite and summer camp reservations. I\u2019ve just been asked to be the troop\u2019s advancement coordinator, and I agreed to handle this. But I need some advice about courts of honor for our Eagle Scouts.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re a solid and successful troop, and have anywhere from three to six new Eagles every year. In addition to our regular courts of honor, which are always very well attended by our Scouts and their parents, we also have courts of honor for our new Eagles. Mostly these are one Eagle at a time, and in some cases the Scouts want to share the ceremonies, so we may have two to four Eagles all at one time at the same Eagle court of honor. The problem, which I\u2019ve been watching for the past several years, is that these Eagle ceremonies are\u2014and I hate to say this but it\u2019s just true\u2014very poorly attended. We\u2019re lucky if a half-dozen or so Scouts show up, which is pretty awful for a troop with well over four dozen Scouts! And parents? Just about the only ones who come are the Eagles\u2019 parents (and sometimes grandparents if they live reasonably nearby).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our regular courts are on Tuesday nights four times a year; they replace regular troop meetings. Our Eagle courts are usually on Sunday afternoons, and email invitations are sent to all Scouts\u2019 parents well in advance. Even though Tuesdays are nearly one hundred percent \u201cschool nights,\u201d and Sunday afternoons are usually wide open, we struggle every time to have folks show up for our Eagles! (We even offer cookies and soft drinks following Eagle ceremonies, but this has almost no impact at all on attendance!)<\/strong><\/p>\n

So what do we need to do so that we get more Scouts and their parents to show up for our Eagle courts of honor? Help! (Glen Watkins, MC, Hudson Valley Council, NY)<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve attended literally hundreds of courts of honor\u2014a combination of troop-wide and Eagle only\u2014over the past several decades and four different councils from coast-to-coast; I can safely say I\u2019ve \u201cseen it all.\u201d The most successful I\u2019ve seen have invariably been those courts that include Eagle Scouts as well as all other announcements of ranks achieved and merit badges earned, on \u201cschool nights\u201d replacing regular troop meetings\u2014in short, full-troop courts. I\u2019ve also seen lots of Eagle-only courts, and I\u2019ve very often seen exactly what your troop is experiencing. So let\u2019s analyze why this happens…<\/p>\n

Scouting is, of course, a volunteer movement. And the very first volunteers are the Scouts themselves! They don\u2019t come to meetings out of a sense of \u201cduty.\u201d They show up because they get something out of these meetings! For regular troop meetings, fun and (intra-patrol) competition and patrol team-building are just a few of the things that bring them out. For courts of honor, the opportunity to be recognized for their accomplishments brings them out. Same with their parents: When you know your kid\u2019s going to be recognized for his accomplishments (and the troop is wise enough to provide \u201cKodak moments\u201d for each Scout) you\u2019re going to show up!<\/p>\n

Besides, if you\u2019re the parent of a brand-new Scout, wouldn\u2019t you want to see what the \u201ctop of the mountain\u201d looks like? That\u2019s the Eagle Scout who\u2019s being recognized at the same time your own son or daughter is called up and congratulated for earning the Scout badge.<\/p>\n

All of this means the answer to your dilemma has been right there all along! Take a few moments to share this with your Committee Chair, Scoutmaster, and \u2013especially\u2014your Senior Patrol Leader<\/em><\/span>. You four can change the game overnight! (And don\u2019t bother \u201cannouncing\u201d it\u2014just Do It!)
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our troop takes some pride in keeping our older Scouts active up until they turn 18. We may lose a Scout somewhere in the high school years, but that\u2019s pretty rare. I\u2019ve enjoyed being their Scoutmaster for the past six years, with lots of successes. But, right now, we have a Scout\u2014I\u2019ll call him \u201cSean\u201d\u2014who was active with the troop and his patrol up to about three years ago\u2014a year after his older brother earned Eagle rank and then turned 18.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sean earned Life rank three years ago. Following this he served as Historian but in his six months of tenure didn\u2019t do the job. Next, he was elected Patrol Leader, but never held a single independent patrol meeting in the six months he held that position. And for the past year-and-a-half Sean hasn\u2019t shown up at a single troop meeting or outdoor activity, and hasn\u2019t attended Scout summer camp for the past two summers. Then, last week (now just four months away from his own 18th birthday), Sean showed up and asked me to sign off on his Eagle Scout Service Project proposal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you have suggestions on how to address this long-lost Scout as he attempts to finish up his Eagle Scout requirements after having been gone from the troop for so long? (Greg Sanderson, SM, North Star Council, MN)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yup, I definitely have some suggestions for you; they\u2019re all based on the Scoutmaster\u2019s responsibility to be not a \u201cgatekeeper\u201d but a gate opener<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the requirements (1 and 4) to be active and to hold a position of responsibility for, to quote these requirements, \u201csix months as a Life Scout.\u201d We already know that Sean may well have fulfilled both of these within 12 months.<\/p>\n

Regarding \u201cactive\u201d: Unless expectations were specifically set at the beginning, and Sean was subsequently counseled when he failed to show up, and he still fell short of expectations and was informed of this at the time, Eagle req. 1 can\u2019t be withheld retroactively.<\/p>\n

As for req. 4, unless expectations for the Historian and Patrol Leader positions were specifically described to Sean when he took on these roles, and he was counseled along the way, and he was specifically informed that he didn\u2019t meet expectations (although he only needs one of them for rank advancement), neither of these can be denied at this late date.<\/p>\n

Req. 3 is about the merit badges required. As Scoutmaster, you\u2019ll want to review where he is right now in both \u201crequired\u201d and \u201coptional\u201d merit badges, and, if he still needs any of the 3-monthers (Family Life, Personal Fitness, and Personal Management), give him his \u201cblue cards,\u201d and counselors\u2019 names and contact information right away.<\/p>\n

(By the way, this conversation can easily count as his req. 6 Scoutmaster conference\u2014it may be the most important conversation you two have ever had!).<\/p>\n

This leaves the service project. If, in addition to yourself, your troop has an \u201cEagle project coach\u201d or the equivalent of this, then the three of you can review and talk over Sean\u2019s proposal, and you can guide him toward getting approval from the district or council volunteer who also signs off on these.<\/p>\n

Like the \u201cprodigal son,\u201d Sean has returned to the fold and, it seems to me, is prepared to rise above. You have two responsibilities \u2013 Welcome his return and mentor his success.<\/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<\/span>. 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. 607 \u2013 7\/9\/2019 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 Andy McCommish 2019]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi Andy, I\u2019ve been a committee member for my son\u2019s troop for several years, mostly handling campsite and summer camp reservations. I\u2019ve just been asked to be the troop\u2019s advancement coordinator, and I agreed to handle this. But I need some advice about courts of honor for our Eagle Scouts. We\u2019re a solid and successful […]<\/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-2479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2479","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=2479"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2483,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2479\/revisions\/2483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}