New Scoutmaster wants to award service hours to scouts that help in the ceremony of upcoming Eagle Scout Court of Honor.

[ParkMan 1293]

It strikes me that when the CC starts overruling specific decisions like this, we're getting into micromanagement territory.  Can the CC - probably yes - the CC leads the Committee which the SM reports to.  Should the CC overrule the SM - probably not unless the CC wants to embarrass the SM.

Much like my earlier comments, I would think the CC/SM conversation is one of general vision and approach.  What kind of troop are we trying to have?  What kind of culture do we want to see?   This seems like a good example vehicle for the CC/SM to discuss - not so much about whether the SM made the right specific decision - but instead why was this a choice in the first place?  

As CC, in key three meeting I would bring up two questions:

1. Did the patrol method fail?  Why did the PLC not discuss the problem and come up with a solution on their own?

Getting Scouts to help at a ECOH seems like a very adult solution to the problem.  Really, this should never have even involved the Scoutmaster at all - let alone bending BSA advancement rules to allow it.  

2. Why are we bribing Scouts to help in the troop?  That suggests that the Troop is doing something unpopular with the Scouts - why is that?

 

[qwazse 4342]

On 3/5/2021 at 3:22 PM, Kamala said:

Usually this is what happens but this happens to be for 7 scouts.   

Thank you all for your suggestions, sources of information and insight.  I really appreciate and I think I have enough information now.

@Kamala I hope it helps. As you can tell, we’ll keep spinning from here. A lot of us come across related issues, and we’ll keep jawing here for a while. There’s no need for you to follow every twist and turn. But, drop a while later and let us know what strategy you all took and how it worked.

[qwazse 4342]

On 3/5/2021 at 9:42 AM, swilliams said:

 At the same time, having specifics laid out helps in a couple ways. Some SMs may not be comfortable telling a scout he doesn’t think they have earned their next rank due to something that would be subjective.  What constitutes enough service?

We as a culture have relied on benchmarks to the point that subjectivity is a scary thing. Meanwhile there are some forms of service that require specific commitments of time. There are others where it’s one small thing done every day.
Say a scout living near a cemetery wants to play taps for a veterans’ family. An SM might think, “Fine, that’s an hour during internment.” But, behind that one hour, there could be practicing that one song 10 minutes every day for months, listening to recordings of ceremonies, attending a ceremony or two, etc ...  Maybe even practicing as an honor guard at a CoH. (See how I folded in the OP there?) The lines between what’s service vs. skill development can blur right quick.

So yes, if so much time needs to be spent to get a decent haul when Scouting for Food, counting hours comes in real handy. But, if a scout is helping grandma navigate getting vaccinated, clocking hours falls by the wayside right quick.