Re: Awards Chairman Woes
Susan Ganther (susan@GIBBS.OIT.UNC.EDU)
Thu, 4 Aug 1994 09:26:36 -0400
On Wed, 3 Aug 1994, Anne Koppa wrote:
> other boys do know that they did not really earn the awards.
> There is probably nothing you can do about this mom. She knows she's been
> cheating and she knows it's wrong.
Maybe not.
As Cubmaster for a new Pack, thankfully small at first, I had to do
almost all of the advancement with the Cubs because the parents did not
realize it was OK for them to sign the boys off on things they had done.
Almost all of the boys thought that it was OK to be signed off on a
camping trip, museum visit and so forth, that they had taken with their
parents before they joined Cub Scouts. Unless you tell them that the
requirements must be completed while a Cub Scout at the present rank, how
are they supposed to know.
I am appalled at how quickly we are willing to judge someone as a liar
and a cheat when we know so little about the situation. I think that the
Cubmaster should tactfully approach the individual and explain that the
camping trip cannot be credited because it has to be taken after the boy
has joined or after graduating into Bears. Give the person the benefit of
the doubt and explain, don't confront. Let them know that as advancement
chair, they really need to get to know the policies so that they can
ensure that the Cubs get the true benefit of the program, then sit down
and explain those policies to them.
Some policies vary from Pack to Pack. Within our own district I can find
as many advancement policies as I can find Packs. Some allow a Cub to
work on Wolf achievements after becomming a Bear. Some allow a Cub to
stay a Wolf until they earn the badge regardless of age, others say it is
time to start working on Bear and you can go back to Wolf only if you
complete Bear first, while others do not allow anyone to go back to
finish at all.
The Cub in question may have worked very hard with a parent who cares
very much and is willing to give extraordinary amounts of time to help
him advance quickly. I know, I have seen it happen. Just because they did
not understand about the camping trip having to happen during his tenure
as a Bear Cub, that does not mean all of the other requirements were not
completed within the Packs policy guidelines. If you do not have written
policy guidelines for this person, then I suppose as Advancement Chair
she is responsible for making the guidelines, in which case, the
advancement is automatically correct isn't it?
Please don't make judgements, communicate and make adjustments if necessary.
Making a kid feel like his parent is a cheat can't be meeting the
organization's purpose of bringing familys together.
YIS, Susan Ganther
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
