{"id":2710,"date":"2021-01-19T16:17:53","date_gmt":"2021-01-19T21:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/?p=2710"},"modified":"2021-01-19T16:17:54","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T21:17:54","slug":"january-19-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/2021\/01\/january-19-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"JANUARY 19, 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

[ISSUE 662 \u2013 20TH YEAR OF HELPING SCOUTS, SCOUTERS, & PARENTS]<\/em><\/p>\n

Paul Wolf, fellow long-time USSSP.ORG volunteer and our resident expert on BSA advancement (including consultant to BSA National Headquarters folks), told me more about the upcoming \u201cDEI\u201d merit badge. Scouting volunteer Kirk Wood pointed out this BSA post to me also. I\u2019ve included it immediately below, followed by additional commentary by Paul.<\/p>\n

January 7, 2021: \u201cProposed Eagle Scout Required Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Merit Badge Delayed.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe introduction of the proposed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion merit badge is being delayed to allow for the careful consideration and evaluation of feedback received from a wide variety of commenters on the draft requirements. Until further notice, all Scouts working on the Eagle Scout rank should continue to use current rank requirements. Once the Eagle-required Diversity, Equity and Inclusion merit badge is introduced, Scouts in the process of earning the rank of Eagle Scout will be given adequate time to earn it.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cUpdates regarding the merit badge will be shared with councils directly and via Scoutingwire. Specific questions are welcome via email at Officeof.ChiefDiversityOfficer@scouting.org.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Paul adds:<\/p>\n

As for the root question, although section 7.0.4.3 of the GUIDE TO ADVANCEMENT, which talks about “What to do When Requirements Change” is talking about merit badge requirements, it does contain a clue on what happens when rank requirements change:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, however\u2014 especially for more significant changes\u2014the Scouts BSA Handbook, the Scouts BSA Requirements book, scouting.org\/meritbadges, or official communications from the National Council may set forth a different procedure that must be used and may establish a date by when use of the old requirements must cease.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Changing the requirements for Eagle is always considered a “significant change,” and the BSA always announces a specific “date when use of the old requirements must cease.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Had the BSA not delayed the DEI merit badge, and released the requirements by January 1, 2021, then the statement you quoted in your January 12th column would have been the rule, and this merit badge would have been required for all Scouts submitting their applications on or after May 1, 2021.<\/strong>
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong>
\nI feel sorry for that Scout who needs \u201ccamping nights\u201d for First Class rank, especially since there are acceptable and proven methods for safe COVID protocols on campouts. Hopefully the Scout’s troop is already doing this.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So here\u2019s a thought to help \u201cStruggling Scoutmaster\u201d\u2026 Maybe this Scout\u2014and others, too!\u2014could pre-arrange to camp in her back yard? Pitch a tent and then post a video message to the Scoutmaster for proof? This Scout could at least get the 12 camping nights completed, and then hopefully by that time it\u2019s summer and we\u2019re all cleared for activities and the Scout can go to the council’s long-term camp.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last summer, before our council banned all troop camping, our troop held two campouts\u2014our own one-week summer camp and three backpacking trips\u2014and nobody got sick!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also, last month I saw an article in the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) newsletter that validated everything we were doing. Their recommendations are the exact protocols we had developed on our own. (Lee Murray, Troop Committee, Nevada Area Council)<\/strong><\/p>\n

==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong>
\nI\u2019ve been reading your column for a while now. Even though my sons have \u201caged out\u201d of Scouts, it\u2019s still good reading. This got me to thinking. Maybe you\u2019ve answered this sort of question already, but what\u2019s a guy who was a Scout himself supposed to do when his son runs into a “Merit Badge Czar”?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I remember when my youngest son became a Scout, he ran into a jerk like this at his first Camporee. The guy was a counselor for Handicap Awareness, which my son wanted to earn because he had a classmate with a physical challenge and he wanted to learn more about the broader subject.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As they were talking things over, about how to get started, the guy takes a four-inch-long “ball-in-a-cage” wood carving out of his pocket and says, “Tell you what, son… You carve me one of these and I’ll give you the Woodcarving merit badge, too.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

He and I had attended lots of trade-o-rees and swap-meets when he was a Webelos, so even at eleven years old, my son proved pretty savvy when it came to \u201creading\u201d people. So as we\u2019re driving home, he turned to me and asked, “Can we find a different counselor, Dad?” Of course we could! He went to his Scoutmaster, got the contact information he needed, and everything went smoothly for him after that.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But I\u2019ve always wondered if I should have done something myself. Do you report a jerk like this to the council office, or a commissioner, or someone else? Or do you just leave it alone, like I did? (Former Scout Dad)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well the best news is that your son read that guy right. And you spotted the nonsense too, which is part of a Scout-parent\u2019s \u201cjob.\u201d We want to keep our sons and daughters safe, and I\u2019m sure you would have had a chat with your son if he hadn\u2019t had sharp \u201cradar.\u201d But beyond that, it\u2019s a personal call; not some sort of mandate. I\u2019d say a quiet conversation about this guy with your son\u2019s Scoutmaster would be enough\u2014there\u2019s now a sort of alert to send Scouts to a different counselor. (In fact, this is just one of the good reasons why Scouts should always go to their Scoutmasters before starting in on a merit badge.)
\n==========
\n(This is a \u201cpre-Covid\u201d Q&A\u2026)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Hey Doctor Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

My son\u2019s troop hikes and camps pretty regularly, but spends only one wee at our council\u2019s summer camp. I know for attending Roundtables that that\u2019s pretty much the norm for troops around here. Works fine, except my Scout son absolutely loves Scout camp in the summer and wants to do more than a week!<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve heard about other councils\u2019 summer camps\u2014they\u2019re not too far away\u2014and my son would really like to go to one of these, too. It\u2019s okay with my wife and me, and it\u2019s affordable, but when I\u2019ve brought this up at troop committee meetings and at Roundtables, interest in the idea is zero.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I know there are \u201cprovisional\u201d troops, made up of Scouts from different troops, and my son\u2019s okay with that, but we can\u2019t even get any \u201cpatrol buddies\u201d of his to show any interest\u2014and it\u2019s not a \u201cmoney\u201d issue because there are \u201ccamperships\u201d readily available in our council and beyond.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But the bottom line is that, locally, there\u2019s just no real interest in experiencing the richness and fullness Scouting can offer via out-of-council experiences.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don’t want my son\u2019s troop to consider his “on his own program,” but at the same time, I\u2019d like him to be free to explore possibilities beyond our home council\u2019s camp. Would I be making a mistake if I let my son go to an out-of-council camp, so long as he attends his troop\u2019s one-week also? (Puzzled Pop)<\/strong><\/p>\n

All Scouts are “free agents”\u2014In fact, they\u2019re Scouting’s FIRST VOLUNTEERS! There’s no “mandate” that they participate only in their own council’s (or troop’s) events. If you son goes to camp with his troop (which I’m sure he’d want to do), and then also finds another council’s camp that he’d like to go to, that’s perfectly okay.<\/p>\n

(Maybe I should add that, as a Scoutmaster back when Dinosaur-Spotting was a merit badge, our troop alternated summer camp between three different councils\u2019 camps!)<\/p>\n

Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay positive!<\/em><\/span>
\nHappy Scouting!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Andy<\/span><\/p>\n

I personally answer every message I receive. There\u2019s no \u201cwriting staff\u201d\u2014just me. When writing, please include your name & council. If you\u2019d rather be anonymous\u2014if published\u2014just tell me and I\u2019ll honor that. Although these columns are copyrighted, you have my okay to quote or reproduce any column or part, so long as it\u2019s attributed: \u201cAsk Andy\u201d by Andy McCommish.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

[No. 662 \u2013 1\/19\/2021 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 2021 Andy McCommish]<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[ISSUE 662 \u2013 20TH YEAR OF HELPING SCOUTS, SCOUTERS, & PARENTS] Paul Wolf, fellow long-time USSSP.ORG volunteer and our resident expert on BSA advancement (including consultant to BSA National Headquarters folks), told me more about the upcoming \u201cDEI\u201d merit badge. Scouting volunteer Kirk Wood pointed out this BSA post to me also. I\u2019ve included 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-2710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2710","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=2710"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2714,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2710\/revisions\/2714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}