{"id":2615,"date":"2020-04-28T12:00:02","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T16:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/?p=2615"},"modified":"2020-04-28T12:00:05","modified_gmt":"2020-04-28T16:00:05","slug":"issue-639-april-28-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/2020\/04\/issue-639-april-28-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Issue 639 \u2013 April 28, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

How do I search all 638 of your issues a specific topic without having to open every individual issue? (Tony)<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s deliberately no index. That\u2019s because there are rarely \u201cblanket\u201d answers that will apply to every nuance of every situation folks have been writing to me about these past 19 years! And when there\u2019s a single answer with no nuances (like \u201cWhat do the two stars on the Scout badge stand for?\u201d) my usual answer is \u201cRTFM\u201d\u2014Read The Friendly Manual<\/em>.<\/p>\n

So the best way to get an answer to your question is just write to me and ask. This way, I know what you need and can give you the best answer possible for your question.<\/p>\n

Just so you know, you\u2019ll get a personal answer from me every time, so you won\u2019t have to wait and see if it pops up in a column!
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m almost Eagle, and I\u2019ve run out of time. I\u2019ve done all my requirements, except for my Eagle project report, and my 18th birthday is in two days. I\u2019ve had what my Dad calls \u201cwriter\u2019s block\u201d and just can\u2019t seem to get this done in time. My Dad said to write to you. Is there any way I can get an extension or something? I\u2019ve been in Scouts since I was a Tiger Cub and I\u2019ve worked hard to get here, but I\u2019ve hit a wall and don\u2019t know what to do. (Sean, Life Scout)<\/strong><\/p>\n

No worries! First, writing that report isn\u2019t affected by your 18th birthday. So long as all the project work is done, and you have sign-off that the work was completed before your 18th birthday, the rest is just \u201cpaperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second bit if good news is that you\u2019ve already written ninety percent of your project report already written\u2014it\u2019s all in your project proposal! Think about it. When you wrote your proposal, you used the “future” tense to discuss what you planned to do (e.g., “We will…” and “I will…”). So now all you need to do is change the proposal to “past” tense (“We built…” “We did…” “I did…”) and plug it into the report section. The only things you’ll actually need to write from scratch are whatever may have changed, and why the changes, if any, were made.<\/p>\n

So, knowing that you\u2019re 90% already there, and you can finish it up right after your birthday, go enjoy your party! (And be sure to thank your father for suggesting you write to me!)
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m trying to get some insights on a couple of issues about merit badges that our troop committee has been discussing lately.<\/strong><\/p>\n

One issue is who, besides the Scoutmaster, can sign off on a \u201cblue card.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The GUIDE TO ADVANCEMENT (Topic 7.0.0.3) says that the \u201cunit leader\u201d (in our case, Scoutmaster) can, in certain circumstances delegate this responsibility to others, as in \u201c\u2026should be entrusted to a knowledgeable assistant unit leader.\u201d The use of \u201cshould\u201d is a point of confusion for us. One of our committee members is a lawyer, and he says that the word “should” is a suggestion only, leaving our Scoutmaster open to delegating this to any leader. Is this right? Is it actually okay for a Scoutmaster choose any leader instead of an Assistant Scoutmaster?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The second issue is who is authorized to say that a requirement wasn\u2019t earned.<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the GTE (Topic 7.0.4.7), it is allowable for a requirement to be declared as not having been fulfilled. But the process only mentions the unit leader. Our question is whether or not this must be only the Scoutmaster’s responsibility, or can others be delegated to make decisions about requirements not having been met. For instance, could the troop\u2019s advancement chair or an Assistant Scoutmaster do this? (Puzzled Merit Badge Counselor)<\/strong><\/p>\n

First let’s take care of a definition. The GTA regularly refers to the term, “unit leader” because Scouts can earn Scout ranks and merit badges while members of BSA units other than troops. In the case of Sea Scouts, for instance, they\u2019re members of a ship instead of a troop and the key adult leader is a Skipper (the Skipper\u2019s \u201csecond\u201d is the Mate). In Venturing, the corresponding positions are Advisor and Associate Advisor. So, rather than continually saying “Scoutmaster, Skipper, or Advisor, the shorthand chosen by the BSA is simply “unit leader.” Therefore, since you’re affiliated with a troop, you\u2019re correctly translating “unit leader” as Scoutmaster, and any “assistants” referred to in the GTA or elsewhere will be Assistant Scoutmasters.<\/p>\n

With that out of the way, yes, in certain circumstances such as those the GTA describes, the Scoutmaster can delegate \u201cblue card\u201d signing to a qualified Assistant Scoutmaster. Here, the key isn\u2019t this \u201cshould\u201d issue; it\u2019s the \u201cqualified\u201d issue, and it\u2019s not the \u201csigning\u201d that\u2019s the important part; it\u2019s the quality of knowing the Scout.<\/p>\n

If the \u201cother leader\u201d (whether Assistant Scoutmaster or not) doesn\u2019t know the Scouts as individuals; doesn\u2019t know where they are along the advancement trail and what\u2019s coming up next for them, doesn\u2019t have an inkling of their other interests and their family background, and doesn\u2019t know what their general strengths are, then they\u2019re not \u201cqualified\u201d to have an informed conversation with a Scout who\u2019s interested in a particular merit badge.<\/p>\n

A qualified Assistant Scoutmaster is the obvious choice, because members of the troop committee don\u2019t have regular and ongoing contact with the Scouts of the troop. Committee members are a support group for the troop and the \u201cdirect contact\u201d adult leaders: The Scoutmaster and any assistants. (In actuality, committee members are support staff that assist in providing the underpinning and financing for the Scoutmaster and assistants to deliver the Scouting program to the youth members.)<\/p>\n

About this “should” vs. \u201cmust\u201d issue, your lawyer committee member is certainly correct: they have different meanings. But this difference isn’t intended to provide “loopholes” through which a troop’s adult volunteers can act in some willy-nilly fashion that disregards to purpose and intent of Scouting\u2019s merit badge program.<\/p>\n

On to your second issue, about who is authorized to say that a requirement wasn\u2019t earned, the best answer to that is: nobody. Once a registered Merit Badge Counselor has signed a Scout’s “blue card” signifying that the Scout has completed all requirements, that signature will stand except in highly unusual instances\u2014instances so rare that one can devote decade upon decade to Scouting and never once encounter a problem in this arena. This is why the Scoutmaster’s second signature, when the Scout gives the Scoutmaster the two remaining segments of the blue card, does not signify “approval” but simply (as stated on the blue card itself) that the Scout’s completion of that merit badge has been recorded by the troop.<\/p>\n

Since you\u2019re asking your questions as a Merit Badge Counselor, keep in mind that you’re the “final word” on a Scout’s completing a merit badge\u2019s requirements. No merit badge can ever be “taken away” from a Scout by anybody. If you say the Scout completed all requirements as written, then that’s that!<\/p>\n

Till next week, please stay safe, stay healthy, and stay positive!<\/strong>
\nHappy Scouting!<\/strong><\/span><\/em>
\nAndy<\/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><\/em><\/p>\n

Although these columns are copyrighted, any reader has my permission to quote or reproduce any columns or column parts so long as you attribute authorship: \u201cAsk Andy\u201d by Andy McCommish.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

[No. 639 \u2013 4\/28\/2020 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 Andy McCommish 2020]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

________________________________________ Hey Andy, How do I search all 638 of your issues a specific topic without having to open every individual issue? (Tony) There\u2019s deliberately no index. That\u2019s because there are rarely \u201cblanket\u201d answers that will apply to every nuance of every situation folks have been writing to me about these past 19 years! And […]<\/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-2615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615","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=2615"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2621,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2615\/revisions\/2621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}