{"id":2508,"date":"2019-09-10T15:29:54","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T19:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/?p=2508"},"modified":"2019-09-10T15:29:54","modified_gmt":"2019-09-10T19:29:54","slug":"issue-615-september-10-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/2019\/09\/issue-615-september-10-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Issue 615 \u2013 September 10, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

________________________________________
\nNavigating the course to EAGLE \u2013 A Few Hints<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

My column last week apparently struck some chords. Thanks to all of you readers who let me know I was on the right track! Here are a couple of letters from you all\u2026<\/p>\n

Hi Andy,<\/strong>
\n I always look forward to Ask Andy but I loved this issue. I shared it with my troop as soon as I saw it. It\u2019s Eagle Scout broken down into bite-size steps. Thank you. (Edward Steele, Connecticut Rivers Council)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hi Andy,<\/strong>
\n My son just completed his Eagle Scout board of review. He\u2019s 14 years old and just started 9th grade. Eagle is completely attainable and worth all of the hard and fun work. You\u2019re correct; school band, Beta club, Robotics club, and honors classes and homework are very time consuming. Scouting, on the other hand, is pressure-free, except for leading appropriately. My son is now looking forward to earning additional merit badges and enjoying as many activities as possible. (Shirley Pfister)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The course to Eagle is mostly straightforward and clear. Requirements are stated. Timelines are pointed out. Your SCOUT HANDBOOK<\/span> covers most all of what you need for this journey. But there are a few things that aren\u2019t mentioned in your handbook. And there are a few things that sometimes get misunderstood or misinterpreted. That\u2019s what this column is going to be about.<\/p>\n

Scout advancement is definitely not a \u201chairball,\u201d but it may get a bit sticky sometimes, when not everyone understands what\u2019s supposed to happen, and how it\u2019s supposed to happen. That\u2019s why I\u2019ve written this\u2014so that you have a better understanding of some of the lesser-known twists and turns on the pathway before you.<\/p>\n

And just so you know, everything here is based on BSA advancement policies and procedures; when it comes to specifics, none of what you\u2019ll read here is my \u201copinion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s one example: The next-to-last requirement for all ranks from Tenderfoot through Eagle is \u201cparticipate in a Scoutmaster conference.\u201d (For Scout rank, this one is the very last requirement\u2014there\u2019s no board of review for this rank\u2014and it says the same thing.) So here\u2019s the important part\u2014and it\u2019s really important!<\/em>\u2014the Scoutmaster conference doesn\u2019t have to be done after all other requirements are completed! That\u2019s right: A Scoutmaster conference can happen anytime between the day after your last board of review and prior to your next board of review! So don\u2019t wait till you\u2019re at the tail-end of your requirements. If your Scoutmaster hasn\u2019t invited you to have a chat in the past month or so, then you ask your Scoutmaster (BTW, the BSA says specifically that your Scoutmaster can\u2019t refuse or stall your request)!<\/p>\n

Speaking of Scoutmaster conferences, do you know you don\u2019t have to \u201cpass\u201d one, like in passing or failing a test or exam? In Scouting, almost nothing works that way! All you have to do is have a conference. It can last for just a couple of minutes if everything\u2019s okay in your life, or it might be longer if there\u2019s something you\u2019d like to talk over with your Scoutmaster. And it\u2019s definitely neither a review nor a re-test of all (or any) requirements. Whatever the situation, when it\u2019s done you\u2019ve completed that requirement and it should be recorded as \u201ccompleted.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the rank requirements from Tenderfoot through First Class, these also don\u2019t have a time-order\u2014not even across these three ranks. Here\u2019s what I mean\u2026 If you\u2019re a Tenderfoot Scout and you \u201cdemonstrate tying the timber hitch and clove hitch,\u201d then First Class requirement 3b. is recorded as completed, even though it\u2019s two ranks away from where you are when you did it. This means that you want to look for opportunities and take advantage of them. For instance, if your patrol is camping and those two hitches are needed for something in your campsite, and you know how to do them, volunteer to be the one to tie them! Then ask your Patrol Leader to get what you just did recorded as completed.<\/p>\n

Folks often get confused about how many nights of camping you need to be a First Class Scout. The answer is six. First Class requirement 1a says this, and that\u2019s that! But there are two \u201cwrinkles\u201d here. The first wrinkle is that all of this camping is done as a registered Scout and done with your troop or patrol since joining. Camping trips you may have done with your family before becoming a Scout, or camping trips that weren\u2019t with your troop or patrol, even if you were a Scout at the time, can\u2019t be counted. The second wrinkle is that \u201ccamping,\u201d when not specified otherwise and when a rank requirement, means in a tent or other structure (lean-to, snow cave, or tepee) that you\u2019ve set up or helped set up.<\/p>\n

Camping for the Eagle-required Camping merit badge is handled slightly differently. For the merit badge, you can camp overnight \u201cunder the sky\u201d or in a tent you\u2019ve pitched, but not in a cabin, lean-to, snow cave, other anything else that\u2019s not a tent. And, as you\u2019ve probably guessed already, it must be done as a Scout (\u201cfamily camping\u201d doesn\u2019t count). And here\u2019s one fine point: Sleeping \u201cunder the sky\u201d or even in a tent on the back porch of your home doesn\u2019t count, either. Just follow the precise language of the requirements and you\u2019ll never go wrong!<\/p>\n

Speaking of \u201cthe language of requirements,\u201d do you know that nobody\u2014nobody!\u2014can change a requirement? That\u2019s right\u2014nobody can say to you \u201cin addition to the two hours of service you just did for Second Class (req. 8e) I\u2019ve decided you need to do another hour (or another minute).\u201d That\u2019s absolutely not allowed\u2014ever! It\u2019s the same thing with \u201cslicing-and-dicing\u201d requirements. No one can say \u201cwell, you hiked four-and-a-half miles and the requirement says five, but that\u2019s close enough.\u201d Just like no one can say (see Communication merit badge) \u201cthe requirement says \u2018give a five-minute speech\u2019 and yours was seven minutes, so I guess that\u2019s okay.\u201d Requirements are requirements, period.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlue Card\u201d\u2014that\u2019s the usual name given to the record you\u2019ll use when earning a merit badge, instead of its more formal name: Application for Merit Badge.<\/p>\n

For each merit badge you\u2019d like to earn, go to your Scoutmaster first, and tell him of your interest. After a brief chat with you, your Scoutmaster will give you a signed Blue Card along with the name and contact information for at least one registered Merit Badge Counselor. Now some Scoutmasters may think they can \u201capprove\u201d your interest in earning a particular merit badge, but that\u2019s not how it works. The BSA specifically tells us that any<\/em> Scout can work on any<\/em> merit badge that the Scout wants to. Period. And\u2014with a few special situations when safety is involved\u2014there are no restrictions on your merit badge selection\u2026not age or rank or anything else, except for when a Merit Badge Counselor needs to have special additional qualifications.<\/p>\n

Next, let\u2019s talk about merit badge \u201cpartials.\u201d Sometimes a Scout runs into a problem completing all requirements for a particular merit badge with their initial counselor. A fairly frequent example of this happens at summer camp, when weather forces the waterfront to shut down before the Scouts earning Swimming merit badge can finish up, so that by the time the sky is clear again it\u2019s time to leave camp and go home. When this happens, all Scouts in this situation are given \u201cpartials\u201d\u2014a written, dated, and signed document that states what requirements have been completed as of that date.<\/p>\n

The first thing to know is that \u201cpartials\u201d are good right up to your 18th birthday\u2014that\u2019s their only \u201cexpiration date\u201d! Scouts with \u201cpartials,\u201d once home again, can get a registered counselor\u2019s name for that merit badge from their Scoutmaster and then finish up what\u2019s remaining with that counselor, so that no Scout is ever required to do a full \u201crepeat\u201d of the requirements that are already shown as completed. Done is done!<\/p>\n

Finally for today, your Eagle Scout Service Project<\/span>.<\/p>\n

The first bit of great news is that you absolutely don\u2019t have to wait till you have all other requirements done before you start in on your project. (This is BSA policy, so you can ignore anyone in your troop who says differently and you district\u2019s Advancement Chair will defend your position on this.) This means that the very day after your Life rank board of review you can start writing down your ideas on the kind of project you\u2019d like to do; use the Project Proposal section of your workbook to describe the nature and purpose of your project, work together with your project\u2019s beneficiary till they approve your ideas; and get sign-off on your beneficiary-approved proposal by your Scoutmaster, troop committee chair, and your district or council project approval representative.<\/p>\n

Yes, you can have a \u201cproject coach\u201d or \u201cEagle advisor\u201d (different titles are used by different troops, but the job\u2019s basically the same: to help Life Scouts navigate the Life-to-Eagle process, as needed) guide you with your idea and proposal, if you want, but this person can\u2019t in any way \u201cdictate\u201d to you either what to do or how to do it. (This last part\u2019s important because sometimes\u2014and this is horribly unfortunate\u2014some misguided adults in this role think they\u2019re the \u201cEagle Czar\u201d of the troop.) So here are three actual BSA quotations on this, from the BSA GUIDE TO ADVANCEMENT\u20142019<\/span>:<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though the [Eagle] project coach may provide guidance critical to success, final design issues are ultimately between the Scout and the beneficiary.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c[Eagle Project] Coaches do not have approval authority. Instead, they serve to encourage\u2014not direct\u2014the Scouts to make the kinds of decisions that will lead to successful outcomes.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cEagle service project coaches do not have the authority to dictate changes.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The BSA does stipulate that you use the EAGLE SCOUT SERVICE PROJECT WORKBOOK<\/span> (BSA publication No. 512-927). Happily, this workbook is available online and it\u2019s in \u201cfillable\u201d PDF format. This workbook makes life soooo much easier for you, because it\u2019s already constructed in exactly the order you need\u2014Proposal-Plan-Report\u2014so that all you need to do is \u201cfill in the blanks\u201d and you\u2019re all set! And, in case you\u2019re wondering if you need to fill in every single dialogue box, or all three sections, here\u2019s what the BSA has to say:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the use of the workbook is required, this does not mean that every line or even every form must be completed. In most cases, Scouts should fully complete the proposal<\/span> and project report<\/span>, and be strongly encouraged to complete the project plan.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> [Underlines<\/span> mine]<\/em><\/p>\n

Well this is probably a good place for me to stop. So if you have a question about anything I\u2019ve said here, write to me. You\u2019ll get your answer directly from me in a reply email\u2014no waiting!<\/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. 615 \u2013 9\/10\/2019 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 Andy McCommish 2019]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

________________________________________ Navigating the course to EAGLE \u2013 A Few Hints My column last week apparently struck some chords. Thanks to all of you readers who let me know I was on the right track! Here are a couple of letters from you all\u2026 Hi Andy, I always look forward to Ask Andy but I loved […]<\/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-2508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2508","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=2508"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2511,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2508\/revisions\/2511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}