Should the BOR test a scout on skills?

[goodscout 10]

No. That is what the signoff in the book is for and the SM conference, to make sure the boy has completed the requirements before going to the BOR. The BOR can ask when he would he use a clove hitch, or how many times he has participated in a flag ceremony etc. etc. and get the same conclusion as retesting the scout.

 

 

[Beavah 205]

Hiya goodscout.

 

I agree with your first bit but not your second, eh? I don't think askin' a lad a "when he did something" question is the same as asking him a skill question.

 

I have sat on BOR's where we asked "what would you do for a really deep cut" and gotten a response like "Immediately put on a tourniquet." That just happens when a SM or ASM hasn't brushed up on his civilian first aid skills recently. But it's useful information, eh? Useful, because it's somethin' the committee can fix to improve the program - by getting the SM some first aid training and by makin' sure the scout re-learns his first aid before he starts throwin' tourniquets on his buddies!

 

It all just depends how much a unit cares about its boys really learning stuff well (as part of character growth).

 

In a strong program with good board members, skill questions can "break the ice" since they are easier and make scouts less nervous than open-ended questions about "values." A successfully tied knot, a "great job", and a big smile does a lot to put a Tenderfoot candidate at ease in ways that "What does Thrifty mean to you?" just can't.

 

I think Irving went the way of social promotion just to avoid the fights. Nothin' like parents yellin' at you all the time and threatenin' you with more legal costs. They aren't that big an office, eh? And to be sure, I've seen some really odd adult behaviors on BOR's. Comes down to the same thing as acco's Michigan bureaucrats. Yeh just can't write a policy that is proof against the people in it. Better to quietly "fire" a poor board member by never usin' him again than dumb down the system for everybody.

 

Beavah

 

[acco40 95]

goodscout - the first word in your reply was "No" and I assume that was in response to my post (not Barry's).

 

Don't confuse asking a Scout to tie a knot (allowable) with the purpose of a BOR is not to retest a Scout.

 

A Board of Review should provide "quality control" on advancement within the unit. The Board of Review should NOT be a retest; the Scout has already been tested on the skills and activities required for the rank.

 

I don't interpret the above to mean the board may not ask a scout to demonstrate a Scout skill. They just may not use the result of that request as a "test" for the scout. They may use it as a quality control data point. For example a Scout going in for his 1st Class BOR may have no idea how to orient a map, tie a bowline or demonstrate the Heimlich but could easily pass his BOR.(This message has been edited by acco40)