Re: Life rank requirements HELP (long)

<QUOTE> >2. Demonstrate Scout Spirit....
This is where you can enforce your requirements for #1. How can a Scout be
helpful and loyal if he never shows up. Be sure, however, that your
expectations are clear. Also, don't let a good Scout advance who doesn't
attend meetings due to an "approved" absence, and hold back the bad Scout
because his absences are not approved. Make sure that as the boy completes
his merit badges, he knows that his performance on Scout Spirit and other
items are not adequate to advance.
</QUOTE>
Randy, I don't wish to pick nits, but...
You asked how a Scout can be helpful and loyal if he never shows up. My
answer to that question is that he can do it in several ways. The Scout
Spirit requirement pertains to the Scout's everyday life, not just his
Scouting life. If I were to do as you propose, I would not be able to sign
off on several of my Scout's requirements simply because they have part-time
jobs, participate in school athletics or other activities, or simply have
family obligations.

Being loyal means being loyal to your family as well as your troop and
patrol. If a Scout has several "approved" absences due to family or work
obligations, is he not deserving of advancement just like the Scout who
simply doesn't show up because he doesn't feel like it? I realize that the
Scout Spirit requirement is subjective and based entirely on what we know of
the Scout, but it is not the proper requirement to be used to stop a Scout's
advancement.

<QUOTE> Ah, don't forget, any of the 15 Eagle badges count towards the total
of seven required for Life. The restrictions of Swimming/Sport/Personal
Fitness and Lifesaving/Em. Preparedness are not in place until the Eagle
rank is requested.</QUOTE>

I'm not sure what you mean by this. If you mean that both Swimming and
Sports count as required merit badges for Star and Life, I would ask you to
read the requirements once again. The restrictions on these merit badges
pertain to all three ranks (Star, Life, and Eagle). This is very clearly
spelled out in the Eagle requirements where it discusses earning a total of
21 merit badges. If a Scout earns both Swimming and Sports while Star, he
can count only one of them as required. (Quoting the Scout Handbook now:
"You must choose only one merit badge listed in items g and j. If you have
earned more than one of the badges listed in items g and j, choose one and
list the remaining badges to make your total of 21.")

<QUOTE> I asked our District Adv Chairman about a hypothetical case wherein
a boy due for a District Eagle Board of Review in two weeks was arrested for
alleged vandalism at a major scout function. His answer basically was as
follows:</QUOTE>

This is a very interesting concept. Evidently your District Advancement
Chair. forgot that a BOR wouldn't have been scheduled until AFTER the
Scoutmaster's Conference. How can a Scoutmaster add tasks to a rank that he
has already approved the Scout for?

I also don't understand how he can justify adding to the requirements for a
rank. Simply put, in your hypothetical situation, the BOR can deny
advancement. More appropriately, they would suspend the BOR (or you could
rescind your recommendation) until the situation was resolved since the
Scout is innocent until proven guilty. If he is proven guilty, the BOR can
deny advancement which effectively nullifies the Scoutmaster's Conference
(since a new one would be required before another BOR is scheduled). If the
BOR denies advancement they're expected to explain their reasons to the
Scout and the Scoutmaster so the discrepancies (or problems) can be
resolved.

In denying advancement, the BOR spells out where the Scout's activities or
attitude does not meet their requirements (or expectations). The Scoutmaster
can then sit down with the Scout and figure out a way to meet the BOR's
expectations. In this particular situation, the Scout may agree to paying
for damages or to volunteering his time to fix the vandalized property, but
expecting him to spend another six months as a Life Scout would be
inappropriate. As you mentioned, the principles of repentence are sorrow,
restitution, change and forgiveness. All of these things may be revealled
during a Scoutmaster's Conference.

<QUOTE> As an example of this principle, a boy who brought pornagraphic
material on a campout, could be required to write a letter of apology to the
troop and the charter organization, to have a monthly interview with the
charter representative, and to perform some hours of service to the troop or
the charter organization. The principles of repentance are sorrow,
restitution, change, and forgiveness.
</QUOTE>

Pardon me, but how does THIS situation pertain to a Scout's advancement?
Bringing pornography on a campout certainly doesn't show the Scout is living
up to the Scout Oath and Law, but that sort of thing is best taken care of
immediately. The punishment you suggest for this lapse of reason seems to me
to be a bit harsh. Furthermore, why would this even be a subject of
discussion at a BOR? Surely you would have councelled the Scout upon
catching him with the materials. It would have been clear from that
councelling session that the Scout risked hurting his chances at
advancement. When the Scout comes to you for an advancement Scoutmaster's
Conference, you can use the incident to determine whether or not the Scout
has changed his conduct etc. If the subject has to come up at a BOR, then
the Scoutmaster was wrong for giving his recommendation in the first place.

Personally, I believe that the Scout Spirit requirement should be an
indicator to the Scoutmaster of how well of a job he is doing with a
particular Scout. It's not supposed to be a catch all requirement for
punishing Scouts who act inappropriately. Conduct problems, as well as
attendance and attitude problems, are best left for the Scoutmaster's
Conference where the Scout can have a chance to explain himself or make a
goal to do better.

YIS
Anthony J. Mako, ajmako@apk.net Scoutmaster, Troop 381
http://members.aol.com/Scouts381/ "Home of the Unofficial Boy Scout Desktop
Theme!"
Great Trail Council - Akron, Ohio
"I used to be an Eagle (C-7-97), but I'll always be an Eagle (1981)"

• Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]
• Next message
• Previous message
• Maybe in reply to
• Next in thread