From: Bruce E. Cobern (bec@PIPELINE.COM)
Date: Sat Apr 29 2000 - 02:18:12 CDT
> From: Scouts-L Youth Group List [mailto:Scouts-L@listserv.tcu.edu]On
> Behalf Of Paul S. Wolf
> Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2000 8:20 AM
> As others have said, If the SM signed off on Scout Spirit, the Board had
> no right to override that decision. They should reconvene IMMEDIATELY
> and approve his advancement RETROACTIVE to the date of the original
> Board of Review. If they fail to do so, your son should contact the
> Troop Committee Chairman and appeal, then go thru the District if he
> gets no immediate remedy.
Gee, I finally get to disagree with Paul. I agree that your son, or even
you on his behalf CAN insist on the course of action above, and that the
decision will be that he is a Life Scout. But, SHOULD he?
I think not. First of all, by the time the district acts more than two
months would likely have passed. AFAIK, the date of the Life rank will be
the date the DISTRICT, acting as the BoR, approves his rank, NOT
retroactively to the date of the original board. So, while he will make
Life, he likely won't make it any earlier, or much earlier. On the other
hand, he will have escalated the situation into one where there will likely
be hard feelings all around and could likely lead to a decision that the
only way he will make Eagle will be elsewhere. I believe that to be a
lose/lose situation.
On the other hand, since what is being asked does not seem to be
unreasonable, will not take a long time, and would likely be easy to
accomplish, I see nothing wrong with just doing what it is that is being
asked. One of the toughest lessons to learn in life is often that we
sometimes don't always get what we deserve when we deserve it. The
"lesser" employee sometimes gets promoted first, etc. The sooner he learns
to deal with disappointments like that the better off he will be later on.
While he shouldn't have to, sometimes discretion is the better part of
valor and you need to decide whether the battle is worth it. It is
sometimes better to go along to get along. This way everyone would remain
friendly, or at least civil, and he will be able to continue on in the
troop, earn his Eagle, get his court of honor, etc.
--
Bruce E. Cobern
Advancement Chairman
Founders District, Queens Council, NY
mailto:bec@pipeline.com
