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Boards of Review - more
Sarah Nunez (trinoaks@FLASH.NET)
Mon, 26 Jul 1999 16:28:14 -0500
I just got off the phone with the recent past Council Advancement
Chairman for our council, who is currently serving as a District
Commissioner. He's very knowledgeable and very experienced, especially
in the area of advancement. I summarized for him the thread regarding
what sorts of questions are appropriate for a Board of Review. He
basically told me that the Board of Review is to review the *troop*, not
the Scout. The questions we ask at a BOR are supposed to be designed to
find out how well we are delivering the promise, especially to *that*
Scout, whether or not the troop is teaching the correct methods of
knot-tying, first-aid, etc. (NOT how well the Scout learned them), and
what things he is getting out of the troop. We don't ever ask the Scout
to demonstrate anything at a BOR. We ask him what he learned, but only
with a view to finding out what the troop leadership is teaching and how
well they are teaching it. The only circumstances under which a boy
would *not* pass a BOR are if something wasn't signed off in his
handbook or the SM conference hadn't been conducted. In other words,
the whole focus of the BOR is viewing the troop and its leadership
through *that* Scout's eyes.
Everything this man told me supports what I have been posting here and
preaching to my MCs: You may be as rigorous as you deem prudent in
testing the Scouts BEFORE a requirement is signed off, but once it's
signed off, THERE IS NO RETEST, not at the SM conference, and not at the
BOR. If the Scouts aren't retaining what they've learned, then you need
to look at your outdoor program, your implementation of the patrol
method, and the opportunities you provide the Scouts for leadership
development. For instance, if they don't remember how to tie a
taut-line or do a square lashing or what they're used for, maybe your
camping equipment is too high-tech. If they've forgotten the rules of
safe hiking, then maybe your troop isn't doing enough hiking. If they
don't remember the safety procedures for using a cooking fire, maybe
they're not getting to do enough of the cooking on campouts. They will
learn and retain these skills and procedures through repeated practice,
not through a cram session before an inquisition.
For my part, the conversation I had strengthens my resolve. I'll do my
best to teach this to my MCs and train them the BSA way, but if one of
my MCs insists on testing a Scout at a BOR, I just won't ask him to sit
on any more BORs.
Sarah Nunez
trinoaks@flash.net
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