Re: Court of Honor
NeilLup@AOL.COM
Fri, 25 Dec 1998 10:54:18 -0500 (EST)
In a message dated 12/25/98 12:03:30 AM, GWalt27550@AOL.COM wrote:
<<My question is: Was this the correct forum to bring up these topics to the
parents? If it isn't, how can I work with the CC and PLC to prevent a similar
occurance in the future? I should mention that the CC and I are close friends
and I dred trying to bring this up to him myself. His cooking on campouts is
legendary, and I don't want to put myself in a position where I may be cut-
off!>>
Hello Scott,
I hope you are having a wonderful holiday.
I think you know the answer to many of your questions already but
1) Right forum -- not just NO but H#$% NO. The Court of Honor is for the
boys and to make them feel better about Scouting and themselves. Any kind of
long speech is singularly inappropriate.
Most Courts of Honor I have attended range from good through outstanding, but
I have attended some dreadful ones. The worst was one where the Scoutmaster
made two new boys pass all of the Tenderfoot requirements again on stage in
front of all the parents. "OK, bring out the rope now. Tie a bowline around
your waist." Other bad ones involved a soapbox exercise on the part of one or
more leaders.
Having said that, I do have a tiny bit of sympathy for your CC. The proper
place to have these discussions is likely a parent's meeting. But unless
there is some kind of major fight going on, those commonly are as well
attended as a meeting voluntarily to pay additional taxes. I have seen Courts
of Honor where there is a BRIEF parent's meeting before the Court of Honor
begins, sometimes while the boys are preparing for the Court.
The seatbelt issues is certainly worth mentioning, but not beating to death.
Lay out the rules, make sure the parents understand them and the reason for
them, and let it go. The matter of the leader in the adjoining Troop is
simply inappropriate for discussion unless some parent brought it up. But
clearly the matter must be gnawing on your CC.
Second Question -- How to handle. I first am a bit surprised that your PLC
sets the agenda for a Court of Honor; commonly that is a Committee function.
But if your Troop does it that way, good for you.
However, there is NO WAY that disciplining or correcting adults is a matter
for Scouts. You can have an evaluation or reflection on the Court of Honor
and get comments from the PLC on what worked and what didn't. I suspect that
the boys will be quite honest. Take the comments, write them down and save
them.
What to do -- You don't need to do anything immediately. Typically, units
only have Courts of Honor about every 3 months and you don't need to address
the matter until the next one.
Let your CC cool down a bit. If you have another Court of Honor in about 3
months, plan to approach your CC in about 2 months in a very gentle fashion.
Likely, he will then be able to be a bit more objective about what happened
and may even realize that he went a bit overboard. But communicate that while
his comments may have been very important to him, they were out of tone for
the Court of Honor. Express a concern that a similar talk at your upcoming
Court of Honor would risk losing the good will of your Scouts and possibly
some of the parents. Ask that he agree not to speak at all at this Court of
Honor, and agree that his talking at future Courts of Honor be limited to one
minute with a previously agreed script.
In having this conversation, remember "A Scout is Kind" and "A Scout is
Courteous" and "A Scout is Friendly." But as far as the risk of your
relationship with your CC, "A Scout is Brave." There is a risk. But after a
period of time, his emotions may be less strong and he should be more willing
to listen, particularly if you approach with thoughtfulness and consideration.
I hope the conversation goes extremely well.
Best wishes for the holidays,
Neil Lupton
