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Re: Advancement Transfer Question
Bruce E. Cobern (bec@PIPELINE.COM)
Mon, 19 Oct 1998 16:10:50 -0400
> From: Ron Raab-Long <raablong@dmv.com>
> Date: Monday, October 19, 1998 12:28 PM
>
> Several times we have had Scouts come to our meeting to see about
> transferring into our troop. On one occasion the parent cornered me and
said
> that his son had completed ALL of his Life requirements and was looking
for a
> troop to give it to him. His old troop, local and well respected in the
area,
> denied his Life until he showed Scout Spirit (another Hot Button topic)
> because of some behaviour and leadership problems they had had with him.
>
> I tried to clearly explain to the father (who incidentally, wreaked of
liquor)
> that our Scoutmaster could not sign off this boy until he knew something
about
> him. The father demanded a time frame and I refused. I did not feel
the
> Scoutmaster, who was absent that evening, could be held to an arbitrary
time
> line by me, the then CC. I told the father that his son was welcome in
our
> troop, and would advance with us if he chose. But it would be "awhile"
before
> it happened. We never saw him again.
I can readily imagine that happening. However, the idealist in me, and
the part of me that believes I am good at accomplishing results in
situations like this, tell me that, had I (or you or the SM for that
matter) had the opportunity to sit and counsel with the SCOUT rather than
with his father the result might have been different. Otherwise, this
might just have been an example of the boy being in Scouting so the father
could relive his childhood.
>
> Another time a Scout and his father, who was a SM at another troop, left
their
> troop to join ours. He also had finished the work for a rank, but I
can't
> remember which one. This young man came into the troop and made an
immediate
> impression on the SM. At our next COH (about two months later) he
received
> his rank advancement.
I think this is the most common scenario. It doesn't take long for the
new SM to develop an opinion about the new Scout. It is much fairer to
both the Scout and the SM if this takes place BEFORE the SM is asked to
sign off on Scout Spirit.
>
> Another time I was contacted by the SM of a troop just to the south of
us.
> One of our Scouts, whom we had recently disciplined for cheating on a
merit
> badge exam at the Naval Academy, had joined his troop. This Scout
passed him
> three completed Eagle merit badge blue cards. Two had my name as
counselor,
> one had the name of one of our AS's that had been transferred to Germany
a
> month before. The SM asked me if I had indeed signed them. I was sorry
to
> have to tell him I hadn't seen those cards, nor was I even registered to
> counsel those subjects.
A perfect example, unfortunately, of why we can't just "take the Scout's
word for it" until we have developed a personal faith in the truth value
of that word, no matter how long he has been in Scouting.
>
> I tell this to show that, as much as it hurts to admit, not all youth
members
> can be trusted. Is it adding to the requirements to get to know a Scout
> before we advance him? I don't think so. The SM has to know something
about
> the boy before he can recommend him to a BOR. The SM who signs off on a
Scout
> he doesn't even know, IMHO, has shown poor judgement and cheapens the
program
> for the rest of the boys.
Amen.
--
Bruce E. Cobern
mailto:bec@pipeline.com
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