5yearscouter

We've "failed" a scout for a BOR when the board looked at the date of last rank and realized it hadn't quite been 4 most or 6 mos etc.

or that they hadn't actually been in their POR for long enough.

or they really didn't have enough merit badges, or enough eagle required merit badges.

or that they hadn't been on 10 outings or whatever.

or that something in their book wasn't signed as completed even though the sm did the sm conference. 

GTA says SM conference doesn't have to be the last step, so BOR needs to check the book carefully for the things that they can enumerate to see they were done.

In our troop the Troop Guides sign off books, and that can be hard to tell signatures.  Signatures come down to scout's honor so we don't question signatures often.  one TG signs his initials so it looks like a Paw print, so at least that one we know and recognize. lol.

We did do a BOR training, basically going over what the GTA says a BOR is, and example questions you might want to use.  Tricky questions you might want to avoid or reword to be more open to those not exactly like you are (like do you believe in God, when we have scouts from non-Christian religions- maybe how do you show reverence would be better.) We focus mostly on getting scouts used to being interviewed and answering clearly, give them pointers on not fidgeting too much, and what they have found good and bad about our troop so we can try to improve.

This one is similar to

http://www.eaglescout.org/finale/coh/template07.html

this one

http://www.eaglescout.org/finale/coh/template06.html

we used one similar to the second for my oldest's eagle ceremony.  All of his prior scoutmasters (4 different ones) were involved in some way, but the OA ceremony team did most of the ceremony including starting a ceremonial fire at the beginning.  As a vigil member and member of the ceremony team for 6 years, he felt they were a huge part of who he was and a huge part of his Scouting career. 

So he chose it and that's what was done. He made some changes added in additional people's parts that he wanted included, troop flag ceremony, troop chaplain, all the scoutmasters, eagle's nest and included people so it wasn't just the OA team doing everything and excluding the troop.

Let your son take the ceremony and add in parts he likes from other ceremonies to make it his own.  It doesn't have to be like any other ceremony, it should be his.

since people like to worry about breastfeeding and inappropriate attire/showing skin/what can the boys see kind of protectiveness,

what would you do if a teenaged lady comes in to the scout meeting and the boys start oogling and eyeing her with interest? 

You'd tell them to treat her with respect and knock it off. 

Similarly if you go to the pool as a troop and someone's mom or sister comes to enjoy a swim at the same place,   or if there is a woman as lifeguard or other staff at boy scout camp.  sometime somewhere your scouts are going to see the female form in some not completely covered up with a mu mu status.

Doesn't really matter what the woman was wearing or how much the boys can see or want to see, or what the women was doing,

they should still treat her with respect and courtesy and act like gentlemen. The adults should too.

My worry would be getting into and out of sleeping bag and tent.  Wall tent with cots, probably doable.  Smaller tents on a sleeping pad on the ground, might be horrible.

With the old belt loops we would write out the award card and then paperclip the belt loop to the back of the card keeping flat edges together. does that make sense?

Our district used to require a Statement of Faith if you weren't a member of a church.

Then they were called on it as adding to the requirements and now they just follow the BSA application & requirements so parents do the letter of reference and that's it.

I'm old with old eyes and have my browser window up at 150-200% most of the time.  On the my.scouting.org site if your screen is set too large, some of the stuff on the page won't show up at all.  no scroll to the side or anything, just not there, cut off.  So I have to make it 100% and then look for missing stuff.  on training validation page, you highlight what you want to print, and use print preview, there isn't a print button.

Holding you, your whole troop, your scouts and their families in the light. 

We have some webelos who crossed over before the end of their 5th grade year without Cyber Chip.

They need to earn Cyber Chip in order to get Scout Badge.

If they earn the Cyber Chip for their grade in school, isn't the 5th grade cyber chip curriculum linked to the blue cub scout Cyber Chip card with appropriate pledge on the back?

But it has a spot for the cubmaster to sign off not unit leader. 

If we award the green Boy Scout Cyber Chip card, it is designed for the 6-12 grade and has different words in the pledge from that level of online curriculum.

So What do you think, which cyber chip should we award them?

This is a fluffy question, I'm really not thinking this hard about it. lol

The summary listing of the requirements were available early, although there was some editing supposed to have happened before they were actually printed into the handbooks and there were the warnings that requirements were subject to change.. I haven't compared to see how large the differences, but a lot of packs held off on making plans until they could read it in the handbooks for themselves. And I don't blame them. Like the print of the requirement changes for boy scouts, there were more than one edition of that out on the interwebs for a while which can make it confusing until you actually see it in print. 

For cubs with the whole do your best thing, work hard to do it the way written, make minimal changes to make it happen. if it says 'do this achievement with your den' and that is absolutely impossible figure out how the cub can do it with another group, family members, neighbors, friends etc.  This is no different than the requirements that would say 'do this with your family' and den leaders for years had been doing it in the den with a parent present (hopefully) and the other cubs acting as your 'scout family.'

National says cub scouts go to the next rank on June 1.  Fudge that date a little bit maybe til the end of June and get it done.

Just don't award the badge if they missed the meeting and then didn't do their best to make it up, or if the den as a whole skipped the topic completely. 

Yeah more crafts!

Hey leather work is a merit badge and a lifelong hobby.  It's not "just crafts".

I know a lot of DE's personally and their job depends on their fundraising numbers being high as possible, donations from businesses and Friends of Scouting being primary sources.  The paperwork all says they do this other stuff too, but if you don't make your FOS goal you won't work for that council for very long.

Hold a special Saturday day at the park and crank out as much of the stuff as you can,

then go til the last minute working to try to finish the rank

send a list home with parents to see what they can accomplish.

Cub Scouts move up to the next rank in BSA scoutnet records automatically on June 1st for traditional units.

Packs could probably continue along to finish up a few stragglers up til the point you want to count the summertime activities for the NEXT rank.  So maybe July 1st or some other date.

Then graduate them to the next rank and give them the book, hat, necker and/or slide for the next rank so they'll be looking toward new adventures and not being sad about old incomplete adventures.  Maybe make them a leather book cover (let them help) or a book mark for the new rank.

The DE's primary job is fundraising

and then getting new units

and then growing membership

Anything else like support for volunteers or units comes after that.

You going to Camp Raymond this summer?

If he wants to go do the SM specifics training and the IOLS overnight training, then hopefully the troop will accept him as an ASM.

We have 18 year olds who don't have time with all the school stuff going on to go take those trainings.

We register them as Unit college scouter reserve, and nobody ever asks them for a copy of their college id. You could also choose to register as unit scouter reserve if you don't like the college word in the title.

We use those as positions for those adults who want to be registered, and do some stuff with the troop but who can't commit to being an asm and showing up all the time.  It also allows us to get a background check and covers them with bsa insurance for the dads that are always wanting to hang around on campouts but aren't really committed to being an asm or a troop committee member

http://scoutingmagazine.org/2016/04/survival-strategies-help-escape-forest-fire/

How to escape a forest fire.

Suggestions like don't go where the fire danger is too high, see a forest fire and walk into the wind to get away from it, look for an area with no vegetation and stuff like that.

Ends with this "In a situation where you cannot escape the flames and cannot make it to a safe location, your best option is to locate a trench or deep gulley. Dig a hole in the side, cover the opening with a tarp or blanket, and then crawl into the hole. Alternatively, dig a trench and lie down in it with your feet facing the direction of the flames, and cover yourself with dirt. Make sure you can breathe, and wait for the fire to travel over you."

This makes me think of scouters telling scouts to dig a hole and bury themselves. If you have something to dig with and time to dig a hole wouldn't it make more sense to find an area clearest of vegetation you can find and try to start digging a fire line around you? There should be at least four of you if you are hiking in a scout situation in the backwoods, right?

 "well trained Eagle asm", 

 

 

One may be physically present without having understood the training. I wouldn't call it well trained. 

 

For a lot of folks (myself included), I had to unlearn what I had learned as a Scout. I needed to open my mind to the fact that how it was done when I was scout was not perfect (and was often wrong.) 

 

I think a potentially useful way to get this ASM's meddling to stop is to figure out WHY he's doing what he's doing. Clear up misconceptions or fears he might have. 

 

Sentinel947

There is a reason why "well trained Eagle asm" was in quotes. 

Eagle 94 said himself that "he should know better and in fact does".  But knowing and doing are two different things. 

Mentoring youth in the boy scout program doesn't come automatically.  Parents need a new parent orientation of some kind. 

A reminder that they shouldn't do anything for a boy scout that they can instead just teach the boy to do for himself.  Teach a man to fish and all that.

Unfortunately our current scoutmaster is a bit of a meddler himself.  I'm always trying to figure out how to get him to help me move a table.

Our old scoutmaster had this thing that he did whenever the new parents were in the scout's hair too much.

It was almost always "Hey Mr. xyz I need some help moving this table." and then he'd spend 10-15-30 minutes having the guy move the table all.over.the.place all the while talking about how the scouts are learning so much as they do thru the motions of doing yadda yadda yadda today without adult intrusion.  We started to occasionally suggest that so and so needed to go move a table whenever they were being too involved in the youths activities.

A few adults it had to  also involve some could you help the advancement chair fill out these advancement cards and then file them, or would you help us out cause we need 25 feet of rope out of the attic in one of the boxes up there, not sure which box (while youth quartermaster had already gotten out all the rope he needed). 

There was also, for a "well trained Eagle asm", the Hey Mr. XYZ could you explain and show to these other adults how the patrol method works and tell them how much fun you had in your patrol as a scout.  And on campouts suggest that he help the adults could set up our camp like an old goats patrol as an example to the youth of the proper way to set up a camp. (let him get out his OCD tendencies for perfection on the adults who are very capable of standing up for themselves if is he's too bossy).

And when at camp and he's wandering towards the youth campsite to meddle, a bit of hey we need to lash our own camp tool or pioneering project to show the boys how much fun it is.  Can you help? (This is where the adults would lash together a  swing and then take turns pushing each other like little kids.)

In other words, put that adult to work doing something that isn't being soooooo involved with what the youth are doing and bonus points if he feels useful and has a little bit of fun.  Then afterwards show him how successful the boys were without too much help

This is what is used and is referenced on our council Eagle scout page where scouts download their eagle packet and eagle project workbook.  But it's a national form

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/58-709_WB.pdf

The date awarded for advancement in ranks and palms is considered as the date of the board of review.

The next eagle palm has to be three months since the awarded date for the last eagle palm not just 3 months of service at some time after earning eagle. And scoutnet won't let you enter if it's 90 days but not 3 actual calendar months.

We don't care so much about the eagle palm application being done or not done, but the BOR has to sign some kind of advancement form/internet advancement paperwork and date it.  I don't believe it is adding to the requirements to ask for the Eagle Palm application since many of the awards (and palms are just an award, not a rank) in scouting have separate application forms

The BOR chose to date his scout book and the advancement form as 3/28.

So as advancement chair, I don't get to change the date to some other date because it suits.  And neither does the Scoutmaster or Committee Chair.  Or even council cause there is no appeal for Eagle Palms.

Excellent insights, Krampus, thanks.

 

"...huge warning sign down the road."   I concur--the first time Johnny Scout gets a "C+, needs more work" on one of his term papers, he won't believe it.   And we'll have to stage an intervention for momma bear before she calls the prof, the dean and an attorney....

He's homeschooled so mom has always been in control....

ok I have to stop

I'm being a little too judgmental and I have to face them tonight with calmness & sweetness and give clearheaded answers.

Troop BOR member/chaplain says I've known scouts who missed Eagle by two days and we didn't change the date for that, why should we change the date for this which is an award not a rank.

You've got to be kidding. 

 

Mom is complaining that he won't be able to earn his 9th palm, when he's on his first palm??? 

 

I think this is actually an excellent opportunity for the CC and SM to sit down with Momma Bear and explain the importance of a young adult setting their own goals, because this sounds like momma's goal, not Scout-Son. 

yeah it is momma's goal, not the scout's goal.

Sorry, I hate to be the hard nut here but I'd have done the same thing!

 

It's his NINTH PALM!!!! For crying out loud, if the kid is 17, an Eagle with 8 Palms he knows DARN WELL (or should) what the process is!!

 

All of my guys know by the time they are Second Class EXACTLY what is required for EVERY rank. They know the SMC is the last step before the BOR. They know they contact the advancement chair for their BOR. They know how to follow up if they don't hear back, or if Mr. Smith verbally promised to schedule a BOR and didn't.

 

This kid was seemingly able to manage himself though high school without mommy getting in the way. He supposedly managed his homework, test schedule, sports events, project due dates, college applications, etc. The small process of doing something for the NINTH time should be autopilot by now!!!

 

Hold your ground. He's got enough palms. Maybe he will learn a lesson from this that mom can't bail him out of everything!

He's earned his FIRST palm

they are looking 2+ years into the future.  He ages out in may 2018