{"id":2644,"date":"2020-07-07T14:18:14","date_gmt":"2020-07-07T18:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/?p=2644"},"modified":"2020-07-07T14:18:16","modified_gmt":"2020-07-07T18:18:16","slug":"issue-647-july-7-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/2020\/07\/issue-647-july-7-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Issue 647 – July 7, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

In your column last week\u2014June 30, Issue 646\u2014you talked (accurately) about \u201cdark\u201d troops and tenure-in-position. I\u2019ve done some further checking and there\u2019s an even more COVID-19-specific reference that includes the GUIDE TO ADVANCEMENT you mentioned for the Scout who is Senior Patrol Leader of a presently \u201cCovid-dark\u201d troop. The BSA’s online COVID-19 FAQ page says this:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Q: May time missed due to canceled unit meetings count toward active participation requirements?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Yes. If youth are registered and in good standing, a disruption from COVID-19 virus can be the \u201cnoteworthy circumstance\u201d that prevents participation. This policy has been in place for many years and is explained in GTA Topic 4.2.3.1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Q: May time missed due to canceled unit meetings count toward position of responsibility requirements?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Yes. If youth are registered and unable to meet the expectations of their positions because of COVID-19 disruptions, then units may need to waive or rethink the expectations. Just as youth must not be held to unestablished expectations, they must not be held to expectations that are impossible to fulfill. See GTA Topic 4.2.3.4, \u201cPositions of Responsibility,\u201d with its six subtopics.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

(In Service, Dave Klein, District Advancement Chair, Orange County Council, CA)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks much, and if you take a close look, you’ll see that both of your valuable references point to the particular quotation I chose. Keep on keepin\u2019 on!
\n==========
\nGood morning Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

After several months of Zoom meetings, we held our first face-to-face (or is it mask-to-mask) meeting this week. Our youth leaders did some brain-storming and planning, and decided that they want to recruit 10 new Scouts! So here\u2019s a question we need to handle right away\u2014We have one Scout who has a ten-year-old brother who\u2019d like to join up. If he\u2019s finished 5th grade, can he join our troop? Thanks and stay safe. (John Burnham)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yup! If he’s a rising 6th grader, he’s all set! Thanks for asking and happy trails to your troop’s newest Scout!<\/p>\n

For all readers, there are three ways to be eligible to join a Scouts BSA troop, and these apply equally to boys and girls: Be 11 years old (or older, up to age 18), OR have graduated from 5th grade, OR have earned the Cub Scout Arrow of Light. Any one of these does the job!<\/em>
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

While looking for guidance on \u201cprohibited sports\u201d that the Sports merit badge mentions in req. 4 (sports that are \u201crestricted and not authorized by the BSA\u201d), the only thing I found online is on this link:<\/strong>
\nhttps:\/\/stason.org\/TULARC\/recreation\/scouting\/BSA-Unauthorized-or-restricted-activities.html<\/strong><\/p>\n

What I\u2019m trying to find is whether or not wrestling is allowed or prohibited. I know that contact sports like Karate and boxing aren\u2019t allowed, but I\u2019m not sure if wrestling falls into that category. Is there some other list that the merit badge is referring to?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also, I didn\u2019t see golf on either the approved or restricted lists, so I\u2019m also wondering about that sport too. Can you help? (Name & Council Withheld)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Online or otherwise, the easiest to find and vastly most appropriate resource is the BSA\u2019s GUIDE TO SAFE SCOUTING. Pages 39-43 give you exactly what you\u2019re looking for and it\u2019s a primary\u2014not a secondary\u2014source.<\/p>\n

If you recheck Sports merit badge req. 5 in the SCOUTS BSA REQUIREMENTS book, you\u2019ll find wrestling listed on page 234. As for boxing and Karate, these are unauthorized not because they are \u201cbody contact\u201d sports but because they are based on the hitting or striking of another person.
\n==========
\n(THIS NEXT QUESTION PREDATES COVID, BUT CONTAINS AN ISSUE EVERY SCOUTMASTER WILL COPE WITH AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER\u2026)<\/em><\/p>\n

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

I\u2019m a pretty new Scoutmaster, and I really like my \u201cjob\u201d\u2014that isn\u2019t really a job at all! We have a good troop of mostly new Scouts and my predecessor made sure all patrols were in place and a new troop election had been held, so we have brand-new Patrol Leaders and Senior Patrol Leader, just like me, even though the troop is now about a year old.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I want to do the best job I can, but I\u2019m getting a bit overwhelmed and I\u2019m only in my third week! These Scouts\u2014we\u2019re a troop of about thirty girls, a lot who were Cub Scouts plus a bunch of new recruits\u2014and even with their prior experience they have a whole bunch of questions\u2014everything from how to roll their neckerchiefs to what patch goes where, to what\u2019s the date of our next outing, to how do they qualify for completing a rank requirement.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want to pass the buck\u2014that wouldn\u2019t be setting a good example\u2014but if I stop to answer every question at every meeting, I\u2019ll never get anything else done! What do I do? (Josie O\u2019Malley, SM, Iron Mountain Council, SD)<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019re not alone. Every Scoutmaster learns the answer to this one, and sooner is the way to go, so thanks for writing!<\/p>\n

Bottom Line: It’s okay for Scoutmasters to “pass the buck” when it comes to Scouts\u2019 questions. Any question by a Scout, including the ones you\u2019ve mentioned, can and should be redirected.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you checked with your Patrol Leader?” is always the place to start with a Scout. This helps strengthen The Patrol Method and\u2014without having to say it\u2014tells the Scout who his direct leader is.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you checked with our Senior Patrol Leader?\u201d is always how you reply to a Patrol Leader, Quartermaster, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Scribe, etc., etc. You do this for exactly the same reasons.<\/p>\n

The only youth leaders to whom you\u2019ll respond directly are your troop\u2019s Junior Assistant Scoutmaster(s) and, of course, your Senior Patrol Leader\u2014these are the two Scouts you\u2019re there to coach, mentor, guide, teach, and correct if necessary (but, for this latter, always in private).<\/p>\n

If you have one or more Assistant Scoutmasters, they are to do exactly the same as you except for those who are guiding one or more Troop Guides; in this case the ASM is the TG\u2019s direct coach.<\/p>\n

When you\u2014to use your words\u2014”pass the buck,” you subtly encourage and focus the Scout you serve on how to get the answer for themselves, from the right place, instead of just throwing a question at the first available adult! This becomes a “teaching moment” without ever “moralizing” about it.<\/p>\n

Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay positive!<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\nHappy Scouting!<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\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. 647 \u2013 7\/7\/2020 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 Andy McCommish 2020]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

________________________________________ Hi Andy, In your column last week\u2014June 30, Issue 646\u2014you talked (accurately) about \u201cdark\u201d troops and tenure-in-position. I\u2019ve done some further checking and there\u2019s an even more COVID-19-specific reference that includes the GUIDE TO ADVANCEMENT you mentioned for the Scout who is Senior Patrol Leader of a presently \u201cCovid-dark\u201d troop. The BSA’s online COVID-19 […]<\/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-2644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644","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=2644"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2648,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2644\/revisions\/2648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}