Quality Unit award a farce

[CNYScouter 46]

I think that the Quality Unit award is a farce. Every unit in our district last year earned the Quality Unit award.

When I asked why the Troop had received the award, as I did not think we had meet the requirements he remarked, Well, we didnt but they give it to us every year anyway.

 

When I took over as the CC of a crew, the first thing I had to deal with was recharterng. I met with our DE to turn in our charter, he asked why I did not turn in the Quality Unit form. I told him we did not earn it. He then pulled out a form and began going down the list.

Here is how the conversation went:

 

DE: Did you have 4 committee meetings last year?

Me: We had only one.

DE: Close enough.

 

DE: did you do a super adventure last year?

Me: We had only one overnight this year due to no one wanting to go on any.

DE: Close enough.

 

DE: did you conduct a crew officers seminar?

Me: Not this year but we had one last year

DE: Close enough.

 

DE: well you met 3 other so you are now a Quality Unit.

 

From what I gather one of the DEs performance is rated on is the number of Quality Units in their District.

How can we judge how well our unit is doing when this kind of stuff is happening?

 

The BSA is heading down a slipper slope with this kind of activities.

When I see that the FBI is getting involved with the inflated numbers, as this being fraud (boosting numbers to receive more money), we will have a tough road to hoe in the next few years.

 

CNYScouter

 

 

 

[scoutldr 732]

"Row" to hoe.

 

Did you sign the QU form? If not, then the award is not authorized and you should refuse to wear the patch. If the DE wants to lie and forge your signature, then I would have a very one-way discussion with his boss (SE).

[Trevorum 24]

There are some really good histories of the various BSA quality programs. (for an example, see http://users.aol.com/randywoo/quality/evolution.htm)

 

Your case sure sounds like abuse of the program by the executive. I was not aware that executives are judged by the percentage of their units that make the grade. It makes sense if you are their supervisor, but none at all if you are actually delivering the program.

 

If I was going to create from scratch a Quality Unit program, I would craft it around the eight methods:

Ideals

Patrols

Outdoors

Advancement

Personal growth

Adult association

Leadership development

Uniform

 

Some of the current Quality Unit requirements relate to some of these methods of Scouting (like #3 outdoor activities; #7 Advancement; #10 Patrol Method), but others are purely management controls (like #4 On-time charter renewal; #8 Boy's Life; and especially #9 membership). Those last don't help the unit at all and in no way assure that the unit is delivering a quality program.

 

[Sir_Scoutalot 10]

I think the award does have value in that it establishes criteria and goals that when met generally reflect a unit headed in the right direction.

 

Story is disturbing from the standpoint of the professional. I hope they are not evaluated on number of quality units as most tend not to be involved in the weekly/monthly operations of the packs, troops, etc.

 

I immediately thought of how sad it would be to be a scout who continued passing scoutmaster conferences and boards of review based on "close enough", only to discover at his Eagle board he was not prepared.

[CNYScouter 46]

Hi scoutldr,

 

Did I sign the form?

No, as CC I am not required to sign. The Quality Unit form is signed by Advisor/SM/CM.

Did the DE get the Advisor to sign or forge.

I don't know.

The Crew disbanded (most of the members quit) before recieving the award due an Advisor verbally abusing one of the members on a outing.

 

CNYScouter

[SeattlePioneer 144]

Interesting observation. I was somewhat suprised to discover that the Troop I work with earned the Quality Unit Award, but didn't inquire into the reasons more closely.

 

But what you describe stinks. It's not only dishonest, but fails to use this program as a way to encourage good Scouting practices and to separate quality units from those that are or perhaps will be struggling units begfore long.

 

I'd begin by discussing this issue with your District Commissioner and District Committee Chair, and this is the right time to do it. The idea would be to revamp expectations regarding the Quality Unit Award when rechartering training is provided, with an emphasis on deciding whether units have fairly met the requirements.

 

Talking to the DC and DCC ought to be easy enough to do ---they ought to be pretty accessable. An alternative would be to attend your monthly meeting of District leaders and raise the issue there. At least in our District, District leaders meet once/month, beginning as a group and then breaking up into specialized groups. You'd be welcome to raise such issues there, I'd suppose.

 

Personally, I wouldn't attack the DE. I'd simply point out that there is a failure to emphasize the need to fairly meet the QU requirements, and suggest that this be emphasized when rechartering is discussed. I'd emphasize that QU points units in the direction of good Scouting practices, but not if its claimed or awarded regardless of the program content. I'd also emphasize that QU ought to be a useful guide to identifying which units have a healthy program and which need help.

 

In other words, there are good, practical reasons for the District to emphasize that units honestly evaluate whether they have met QU standards.

 

 

Seattle Pioneer

[Backpacker 11]

CNY

 

I agree that that quality unit award doesn't really mean that much since it is so easy to earn. Think how much money National would lose from all the patch, pin and plaque sales every year, probably the reason it is so easy to obtain.

 

I would rather see a quality program award specialized to each branch of scouting that takes some effort to receive and shows a unit progress by things like advancements, types of outings, community service,levels of training, etc. An award for quality should mean above and beyond the usual routine.

[John-in-KC 311]

Trevorum,

 

Not a bad idea...

 

Strike uniform from the list for Venturing Crews, though. Uniform is *NOT* a method for them

 

 

[scoutldr 732]

CNY:

 

Looks like the DE got his come-uppance anyway if the unit disbanded. Now he needs to form 2 new ones to make up for it and get ahead. Of course, he could keep the unit active on paper...I've seen that done as well.

[jkhny 10]

About the whole "character" issue..... Isn't this just one more sign of the "moral malaise"

 

Quoting a DE, BSA is preoccupied with superficial measures of success - enrollment numbers, money and "quality" measures

 

Hence the scandals over enrollment numbers.

 

A SE is expected to achieve Quality Council status, so DE's are under pressure to get "Quality District." To get Quality District, you have to have "Quality Units."

 

Even when caught fudging all this there's no consequences. Our DE lied about the numbers in our District - by a large factor. You can see where numbers were changed on his worksheet - they were so blatant they didn't even care how transparent this was.

 

One of our local units makes a great deal of their "Quality Unit" status - yet their leaders routinely ignore BSA rules on all topics - notably on safety. But they raise money for Council and help boost numbers. They claim 50 kids but had 8 visible at a local event. Another unit - with less on the roster had 3-4 times more boys there. Makes you wonder.........

 

[SeattlePioneer 144]

Perhaps it's like at Lake Woebegone ---

 

All the Units, Districts and Council are above average.

 

 

 

Seattle Pioneer

[Fuzzy Bear 12]

Quality Unit is not a quantitative award. It does not measure one group against another and rank order the units. It merely means a unit has met criteria that approximates a quality standing. A Quality Unit could possibly fold within a week of that review without surprise. The criteria for achieving Quality Unit status is insubstantial and cannot possibly reflect the most important elements of a strong program. It is confusing because the idea of Quality infers unit strength but that is not the goal.

 

Try this:

 

If you were in charge of judging which elements a Unit should have to meet the minimum needs for Rechartering for the next year, what would be your top ten requirements?

 

If you wanted to judge the overall strength of a unit to know where you best leaders and resources are located in the district, then what ten elements would you use?

 

The criteria one uses to judge should be based on what one expects to achieve with the results. Naming an award and its' definition is not always compatible with the criteria for judging that award and its' outcome. Possibly the QU award would be better named the Mediocre Unit Award or the Barley Making It Unit Award. The D.E.'s main job is to have units and numbers even if it means they are just above the level of paper. The Commissioner's job is unit health. More failure can be accounted for by the lack of Unit Service than an award that means little more than Just Getting By.

 

 

FB(This message has been edited by Fuzzy Bear)

[madkins007 10]

At one time in recent history, the number of units earning the QU Award helped a DE earn the Quality District Award. This award usually meant some form of bonus to the DEs. A certain number of distrcts have to earn the QD Awards for the Council to earn it's Quality Council Award, which also carries perks.

 

With the scandals starting to show up in inflated numbers, it is very possible that this has or will soon change.

[bbng 10]

I think that the Quality Unit award is a farce. Every unit in our district last year earned the Quality Unit award.

When I asked why the Troop had received the award, as I did not think we had meet the requirements he remarked, Well, we didnt but they give it to us every year anyway.

 

The problem is not the award; it is the away the award has been handled by some, certainly not all. I know of units that have worked hard to earn QU; I know of units that are active and fun and close but fail to meet it for a particular year and don't fudge the forms; I know of units that are loosing kids but still meet the requirements and can honestly sign that form. Knowing something about our district and council, I know that paperwork isn't fudged, nor would that attitude/action be supported or swept under the rug. One of the things learned from the QU forms is that many of those not making it weren't doing so due to the training reqts. Therefore, there is now an effort underway to address training needs. Clearly, though training was available, people weren't attending, so this is now a much more important issue. To get QU? No, to have trained leaders because that's how best to serve the youth. However, I suspect that QU will go up as more leaders are trained, but I don't see the harm in this but rather the good that comes of this when QU is not abused.

[SemperParatus 1]

The QU award is not a farce, your District Executive is.