How do I point out to the SM that his actions are questionable?

[Armymutt]

I'm an ASM and one of the things I do is track our Scouts below Star to provide a resource for planning to the PLC.  I was updating my tracker last night and noticed a Scout that needed to fulfill Second Class 8c and 8d on Tuesday night was signed off, along with the SM conference.  I distinctly remember this Scout needed those because I counseled him on it on Tuesday night toward the end of the meeting.  I pointed out to the SM today that me may have mismarked it in SB because it wasn't done on Tuesday.  He said that he met with the Scout this weekend and completed the requirements then, along with holding a SM conference.  Contrast this with another Scout who completed all of the requirements for Second Class short of a BOR, was denied a BOR for November due to Veterans Day falling on our meeting night.  He finished up First Class, minus the SM Conference before the end of November.  Our BOR night is normally the second week of the month.  For some reason, the CC decided to move BOR night up a week.  The Scout was denied a SM conference that night before the BOR, so he could only complete the Second Class BOR that night and had to wait another month for First Class.  Never was an SM conference offered on a weekend.  No public announcement of offering to complete any requirements was made, other than swimming, this past weekend, and the SM was not in attendance at that event.  The optics are really poor here.  The troop was accused of favoritism under the last SM.  It feels like the Scouts from this family are being favored over the rest of the troop.  The Scout's older brother was slammed through rank progression as fast as they could.  The excuse being that he is 15 and has a short timeline.  Meanwhile, the Scout lacks the skills his current rank indicates that he should possess.  

So how do I tell the SM that this is an unacceptable way to do business?  At this point, I'm ready to move to another unit, even if it adds another 15 minutes to my drive.  Between the CC and SM being married and unwilling to relinquish either role and a complete lack of transparency on the troop finances, it's frustrating.  

[skeptic]

In regard to the Youth, my only counsel is to keep them in focus and do not let adult things interfere.  Every unit is different and has myriad issues and personalities.  None of us can "fix" things all the time.  IF the adult leadership is an issue, and you cannot work within it to the benefit of the youth, then perhaps that decision to find another option for yourself is viable.  As often noted; all units would be great if we could keep the adults in the background.  Scouting is still one of the most shining options for the malaise of America, or the U.S.  We do what we can and pray a lot.

 

[Tron]

I would just raise the issue as is. Hey SM, the last SM popped smoke after being accused of favoritism, etc ... what you just did screams favoritism and we need to address it before the unit gets hurt. 

What's the SM and CC going to do? Kick you out of a troop you're already thinking about leaving?

[fred8033]

I am always a fan of a friendly conversation.  Scouting should NOT be complex.  Scouts should not have BOR deadlines, etc.  If a scout is ready, have a BOR.  If a scout is just missing a SMC, then have the chat.  

[Armymutt]

1 hour ago, fred8033 said:

I am always a fan of a friendly conversation.  Scouting should NOT be complex.  Scouts should not have BOR deadlines, etc.  If a scout is ready, have a BOR.  If a scout is just missing a SMC, then have the chat.  

That's a separate issue altogether.  I agree with you, however, this troop, and others in the area, seem to believe that BORs are on the adults' schedule, not the Scouts'.  Makes no sense to me and doesn't jive with the servant leadership idea.  

[qwazse]

Having been raised in a troop that had BoRs monthly, I don’t see that as a problem.

But, if they flex their schedule, they really should flex with scouts. Does a month here or there really matter? Probably not. But if it doesn’t, then setting aside time for 2nd BoR shouldn’t matter either. On the other hand, you’re stuck with the culture you have.

Leave a little grace to consider that the SM may have acted the way he did with this scout because he wasn’t pleased with how things went down three months ago. He knew he couldn’t adjust the BoR schedule, so the path of least resistance was to be available on weekends to conference ambitious scouts.

[Tron]

I don't get the BOR thing. Scouts should lead the meetings. Adults don't have to be registered to sit on a BOR. Adults should be in the back/outside/under a rock STFU. That means if a scout needs a BOR, there shouldn't be a problem grabbing 3-6 adults and doing a 15min BOR at any moment. 

[Armymutt]

50 minutes ago, Tron said:

Scouts should lead the meetings.

That would be great.  It would also be great if 75% of the troop actually wanted to be there rather than being forced to be there by their parents.  Most of them want to be on their phone or running around.  We've tried to give them ideas for games, given them resources, even conducted a game or two to show them how to play it.  They always move back into some "game" that has no apparent rules.  The rest want to sit on their phones and play games.  They have no desire to be good at Scout skills.  No desire to plan or prepare for the campout that is coming up.  We've given them guidance on what to practice for the camporee because their skills across the board are not up to snuff.  Half the Scouts First Class and above can't tie anything other than a square knot.  We have 3 PLs that have no interest in the job.  Our SPL was elected for some reason that escapes the kids who actually want to be there.  He's constantly lost, does no prep work outside of Scout meetings, and has to be constantly reminded about everything.  He was teaching lashings last week and taught them incorrectly.  The ASPL was the previous SPL and he acts like an 11 y/o most of the time.  The SM told me last week that it would be great to put together a patrol of kids who actually want to be there and put the rest into two other patrols.  Then we can just let those two patrols do whatever while the rest actually do the program.