Failing BORs

[Bob58 10]

I firmly believe that the BoR should help the scout focus (evaluate?) the role of scouting in his life & give insight into the troop.

 

My favorite questions for Scout to Life Boards of Review are...

 

What was the most difficult requirement(s) to meet while working on the _______ rank?

 

What was the most fun?

 

These both usually elicit strong responses & can lead to good discussion about youth & unit expectations.

 

A quick one... wel maybe not that quick!

 

We have a recheck due Wed for a very A quick one personable (and usually "Slick Willy") 8th grade Tenderfoot. He's desparate to catch up w/ 2 classmates who rarely miss a meetng & always make at least part of any outing or service project. No so for this young man, any sport takes precedence over scouting.

 

At his BoR before summercamp he slipped on both the Oath & Law (So much for breaking the ice!)

 

He mistakenly reported that his last BoR had been 4 months ago (It was over a year.)

 

When asked how he was thrifty in daily life he said that he didn't know what that meant. Reminded that it was part of the Scout Law (& he did get that one - just missed a couple on the way!) he "guess(ed) that he didn't know that one" and declined "to take a shot at it" or check his hand book (on the table.)

 

And yes he couldn't come up w/ anything worth mentiuning re fun or frustration while working on second class.

 

This young man claims to be emulating his cousin. We hear it all the time from him & his Mother. (The cousin was an exceptional Eagle scout in a unit that prides itself on service & spirit. Unfortunately the youngster wasn'tin the unit when said cousin was active & the potential mentor has moved on to grad school 3-5 hours away, 2 hours closer than college!

 

He was asked to prepare for a recheck based on his Scout Spirit; we spoke w/ him re attitude, attendance & the fact that advancement is earned (and is not, never has been automatic.) Mom remarked that she had encouraged him to review only the 2nd class requirements.

 

Wish us luck.

 

 

[EagleInKY 14]

Bob58 -

 

I've seen similar situations with some of our BORs. I'm glad I'm the SM and not the person responsible for making those decisions. It gets into one of the true gray areas of advancement (IMHO).

 

For the record, our BORs never use the world "Fail". They ask the scout to come back and finish at a later time.

 

I can think of a couple of BORs that were treated this way. Typically, the scout either couldn't remember the Oath and Law, thus couldn't talk about what it means in their life. One Scout pretty much froze upon entering the room. He went into a total brain freeze, I don't think he even remembered his name. He came back a week later and did fine.