{"id":2713,"date":"2021-01-26T18:19:11","date_gmt":"2021-01-26T23:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/?p=2713"},"modified":"2021-01-26T18:19:12","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T23:19:12","slug":"january-26-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/2021\/01\/january-26-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"January 26, 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

[ISSUE 663 \u2013 20TH YEAR OF HELPING SCOUTS, SCOUTERS, & PARENTS]<\/span><\/p>\n

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

I\u2019m hoping we\u2019ll be getting back to real hiking and camping in 2021, so when this starts happening, here\u2019s something I had to figure out along the way and wound up pretty successful.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There were times when the ASM or committee member, or\u2014sometimes\u2014non-registered parent chose to bail out at the last minute on being my \u201csecond\u201d when our patrols were going hiking or camping. When this happened and I was faced with two crummy options\u2014cancel the outing or go it alone without \u201ctwo-deep leadership\u201d\u2014I bit the bullet and cancelled the event.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course the Scouts were upset. But so were a lot of the parents, because they\u2019d already made plans of their own for the day or weekend.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is when I\u2019d tell the parents that the best way to keep this from happening is to get involve, themselves. They could sign on as an Assistant Scoutmaster, or troop committee member, or just add their name to a list of \u201cavailable parents\u201d that I kept with my Scoutmaster papers. I\u2019d tell them that this doesn\u2019t obligate them to go on each and every outing, but that they could choose maybe one or two outings that looked interesting to themselves and come along for a good time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometimes this fell on deaf ears, but it worked often enough that we had at least an outing every month and never had the \u201cmissing second\u201d problem again! (Harry Brand)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, that’s a great way to turn an unfortunate situation inside-out! Just as we care for the youth we serve, we need to equally care for ourselves. The added bonus, of course, is that the more parents that are actually involved in supporting the Scouts, the better time their sons and daughters will have in Scouting!
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m still a new Scoutmaster of a Scouts BSA troop for girls. Right now, I\u2019m helping our troop\u2019s advancement coordinator organize a board of review for our very first Scout to complete all the requirements for Eagle!<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve decided to invite her pastor, since she\u2019s a member of the church that sponsors our troop, and also the principal of her high school. Also, I have a friend who\u2019s been a Scoutmaster himself, for years\u2014my two older sons became Eagles in his troop. I\u2019d like to suggest his name, too, also because he\u2019s the one who told me about you. But I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s allowed to be on a board of review, since he\u2019s a Scoutmaster.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So that\u2019s my question: Can a Scoutmaster of another troop be on a board of review? Thank you. (Raven Sherman, SM, Yosemite Area Council, CA)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Boards of review for all ranks except Eagle are typically\u2014and correctly\u2014composed of registered troop committee members. For the Eagle rank, the BSA\u2019s definition for members of the review board states, in parts: \u201cIf conducted at the [troop] level, at least one district or council repre-sentative, who is not affiliated with the [troop] must serve as a member\u2026There shall be no fewer than three and no more than six, all at least 21 years old\u2026they must have an understanding of the rank and the purpose and importance of the review.\u201d The BSA also states: [Scoutmasters] and assistants shall not serve on a board of review for a Scout in their own unit.\u201d<\/p>\n

So not only can this Scoutmaster friend sit on this Eagle board of review, but you have\u2014intelligently\u2014invited two non-Scouters who will be keenly interested in this young woman, her achievements, and her life-goals! In this regard, if she plays an intramural sport or is engaged in the school\u2019s band or choral group, her coach and her music director can also be considered, along with perhaps one of the recommenders she listed on her rank application.<\/p>\n

Congratulations to your troop and your first Eagle Scout!
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve had among our Scouts, one boy who had been pretty un-Scout-like\u2014disrespectful to adults and leaders, and so forth\u2014but who seemed to have settled down after a while. We\u2019ve counseled him numerous times and by now thought he\u2019d outgrown whatever issues he was having, until recently. This is a shame, because he\u2019s super-smart and can probably show you any Scout skill at the drop of a hat, and he seemed pretty enthusiastic about completing the requirements to quickly earn his ranks. And until high school sports started taking up gobs of his weekend time, he was always first to sign up for any outing. But he\u2019s also a classic \u201cclass clown\u2019 to the distraction of anyone around him, and he doesn\u2019t know when to turn it off. When we tell him to cool it, he still gets downright disrespectful to many of the adult leaders.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He\u2019s now up for Star rank, and, as his Scoutmaster, I\u2019ve been asked to give him a Scoutmaster conference. He\u2019s completed all other requirements, so obviously I can\u2019t say no. And I believe he can be a good Scout and has lots to offer. But on the other side, I don\u2019t want to send the message that you can act like he does without consequences and then get rewarded.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So maybe I should grant the conference and get to know him better, learn what makes him tick, what his strengths and weaknesses are, and so on. Then I can figure out if there\u2019s a leadership position that he\u2019d be interested in, that I can let our next Senior Patrol Leader know (maybe giving him a real responsibility would help him, and he\u2019d rise to the occasion and act accordingly). But maybe not; maybe holding back will tell him he\u2019s got to straighten out first.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How have you dealt with challenging Scouts that might not cross the line, but pretty much like to dance right on it? (Joe Sefcik, Connecticut Rivers Council)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scouts with this kind of energy can be an absolute delight…when aimed wisely!<\/p>\n

Yes, of course you’ll conference with him, and you needn’t do this only once. You can conference with him\u2014or any Scout\u2014anytime you see the need and as often as need be! In short, Scoutmaster conferences aren\u2019t just for rank advancement\u2014they\u2019re listed as a requirement to keep Scoutmasters talking to each individual Scout in the troop at least once between ranks!<\/p>\n

You definitely want to get to know him better\u2014especially his life outside of Scouting. Does his “class clown” antics get him in deep do-do at school, for instance? Does he have older brothers or sisters and this is the only way he can get attention at home, for instance? What does he like doing best? Is it theater? Music? Skits and song-leading? Sports? What?<\/p>\n

Because frankly I don’t get this “un-Scout-like” stuff… It seems he’s being exactly BOY-like! And I don’t know what you mean by “disrespectful to adults” because he’s not supposed to be interacting with adults\u2014he’s supposed to be interacting with his patrol members and his Patrol Leader.<\/p>\n

Yes, the Scout Law says “A Scout IS…” But the Scout Oath says “I’LL DO BEST to “obey the Scout Law”\u2014It doesn’t say “I’ll be perfect.”<\/p>\n

Maybe once you can figure out where his interests lie, you can better channel his enthusiasm and energy. If he’s like a wild stallion, you don’t want to “break” him; you just want to get him going in the right direction. This is where true Scoutmastership can shine!<\/p>\n

(BTW, since his upcoming board of review will be with committee members, it’s absolutely imperative that these people review without prejudice. They need to be constructive; not \u201cdisciplinary.\u201d If any one of them sees this board of review as an opportunity to “put this boy in his place,” he or she doesn’t belong. This doesn’t mean “rubber-stamp” but it does mean that they need to understand teen-aged boys and what spins their wheels.)<\/p>\n

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

Andy<\/strong><\/em><\/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.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

[No. 663 \u2013 1\/26\/2021 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 2021 Andy McCommish]<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[ISSUE 663 \u2013 20TH YEAR OF HELPING SCOUTS, SCOUTERS, & PARENTS] Hi Andy, I\u2019m hoping we\u2019ll be getting back to real hiking and camping in 2021, so when this starts happening, here\u2019s something I had to figure out along the way and wound up pretty successful. There were times when the ASM or committee member, […]<\/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-2713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2713","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=2713"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2717,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2713\/revisions\/2717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}