Intentionally being held back from Advancement

[Hula 10]

It is with great sadness that I must report that my son has after being denied a SM conference for Star rank last year, because the SM's son would have been outranked, is now (in a new troop) being denied hist BOR for the same reason! I have found that this problem of "Boy Scout Nepotism" is wide spread, and in clear and blatant violation of the code of ethics of the BSA. This problem is a hidden dirty secret that goes un-reported and is a major reason for many boys at the rank of 1st Class or Start to become disenchanted and demoralized with the Scouts. As a former scout, I had hoped that my son (Who is the ASPL, earned JTL, is in the OOA, and a Den Leader)would be able to learn about what trusworthyness, and honor were all about first hand. Unfortunatly what he has learned is that a few leaders in the BSA today are teaching our boys an ugly lesson in betrayal, mistrust, and dishonor, that doing your best to do your duty isn't enough all the time. A Boy Scout who completes all the requirements for a rank advancement, and completes his SM Conference, should be scheduled for his BOR before the next Court of Honor. In My sons case, the sons of the Dad's who are Asst SM's were all given their BOR's and promoted at the COH, and two weeks later he is still being promised a BOR only to be denied for something more important.

 

This is in it purest form nothing but corruption and an outragous disrespect to the proud history of the BSA, and all the Scouts and Leaders who have worked hard to follow and apply the rules or advancement fairly regardless of color, race, religion, or if your father is a troop leader or asst. leader.

 

Disgusted in Florida!!

 

[Bob White 20]

Hula I am sorry to hear of your son's delay, and as much as I feel for your frustration I cannot help but think that taking two experiences and turning into "Scoutings's dirty secret" amy be a bit melodramatic.

 

A number of the facts you offer us do not make sense. As a former scout you know that ranks are signs of individual achievements and not ranks of authority over other scouts. So who gets a rank first has no relevence to the program. JTL is not an award I have ever heard of (if you mean JLT that is a course one takes and not one that is earned. OOA I'm guessing is OA (Order of the Arrow), and Den Leader is an adult position in Cub Scouts.

 

Considering all those confusions is it possible that you are misunderstanding what is happening.

 

 

This doesn't sound like corruption or disrespect of scouting's history...it sounds like bad unit leadership.

 

I hope your son gets the advancement opportunity he has earned.

 

 

 

[Prairie_Scouter 10]

Hula,

 

As an SM, I'd have to say that the actions of the adult leaders in your troop are, well, reprehensible. But, to be fair, we're not all like that. Yes, there are leaders out there who shouldn't be leaders, but for the most part, they do the best they can and try to treat all of the Scouts fairly; I think it's pretty safe to say that we consider all of our Scouts to be part of an extended family. In most troops, I think you'd see a flurry of activity as a COH approaches to help those Scouts that are "close", to finish their requirements for the next rank, not try to delay them. The actions you're describing are really abnormal.

 

So, here's what I would suggest.....

First, if you think your SM is approachable, talk to him/her, and tell them your concerns. It's just possible that the SM is just being kind of dull-witted about this whole thing. You might explain to them how this all "looks".

 

If you don't think the SM is approachable, how about the CC? Typically, the CC doesn't get involved much in Scout-related matters, but if you think that the SM is hurting the troop, then the CC should be interested.

 

I think you need to try one of these routes first, but if all else fails, you can call your district office and talk to them. I'd avoid that if you can, but if you think your troop is treating the boys unfairly and won't correct their actions, the district should know about it. Personally, if I were to find out that they were knowlingly delaying the advancement of other Scouts to keep their own boys "ahead", I'd lower the boom on them.

 

 

[jr56 92]

I agree with previous posters. Talk to the Scoutmaster about your concerns first. Your next step would be to talk to your troops Advancement Chairman. If that fails to get results, talk to the troop Committee Chairman. After that, your next step would be the District Advancement Chair, Council, Regional, and National. This is all laid out in the Advancement Procedure Manual you can purchase at your local council office. Since there is an appeal process already in place for you to follow, I really doubt there is a hidden dirty secret to deal with. Good luck, hope you can get your issues resolved to your satisfaction.

[Torveaux 10]

I guess I'll play devil's advocate here.

 

It sounds like there may be some big voids in information here.

 

I am aware of some situations wherein a boy is too busy to actually perform his leadership duties, but still wants the SM to accept unperformed duties for leadership toward rank advancement. In at least one of these situations, the family decided to move to a different troop in the hopes that they could push around the new SM.

 

I am not accusing anyone here, it just seems like if the same thing is happening in two troops, perhaps there is some communication problem between what is being said by the SMs and what the Scout is hearing and bringing home.

 

In my son's case he moves along faster than his peers because he is the brainy nerd type (and I say that as a proud father) that spends more time on Scouting than on club sports. I would have no interest in seeing my son achieve rank first unless he earned it first. The fact that I am his den leader only means that I am more aware of what he needs to do than the average parent. I also expect more from him than his peers' parents expect from their kids.

[EagleInKY 14]

I'm with Torveaux on questioning this. I've been around scouting for more decades than I want to admit, and I have run across a few scoutmasters ("few" meaning "less than five") that put their own son's interest ahead of others. A much greater number not only require their son to stand on their own, but are often harder on their son than they are with others. The thought that Hula has run across two selfish SMs in a role makes me scratch my head and have a little doubt.

 

On the other hand, I have run across many parents who think their son is being picked on when things don't go their way. Often, they are not aware of the reasons that a SM may deny an SM conference, why a boy doesn't get the POR he wants, why a MB counselor doesn't sign off, etc. They are usually hearing "Johnny's" side of the story. And Johnny can make it sound pretty unfair.

 

Hula needs to talk to the SM and find out the truth. I have a feeling this will differ from what they have heard from their son.

[FScouter 24]

"Often, they are not aware of the reasons that a SM may deny an SM conference, ...".

 

I can think of only one (very obvious) reason why a Scoutmaster would deny a Scoutmaster conference. Are there other reasons?

[SR540Beaver 116]

hula,

 

Take heart, what you describe is not the norm. I'm an ASM and my son is the SPL. Our SM's son was his ASPL. The ASPL's son acted extremely bad on a campout a couple of months ago. When I say extremely bad, I mean extremely bad. He was very uncooperative and disrespectful to boys and adults alike.....repeatedly. Our SM was unable to attend this particular campout which could have been the reason his son felt free to act as he did....or he could have just been having a bad weekend. Long story short, he was removed from his position of ASPL by agreement of the SM and committee. The committee chair is the boy's mom. Not all SM's grease the skids for their sons. Some hold them even more accountable than the other boys.

[Lynda J 10]

This almost killed our troop several years ago. There were several boys that left and went to another troop because it became obvious that the SM's son and nephew were the only ones were were going to make Eagle. Everyone else was being slowed down. With our new SM things are totally different. My Kevin just turned 12. He is working on Star and has completed everything except the time in a positon. The SM came to him a couple of weeks ago and informed him that on June 6 he would do his SMC and on June 13 his BOR. SM put him arm around him and said "this way when we get to summer camp you will be Star."

 

At that point he will outrank the SM's 15 year old son.

So not all leaders put their sons first. Most of us put "the boys" first. I feel that each and every boy in the troop is "mine". I am responsible in seeing that they all advance at the rate they are ready for.

 

My suggestion on your son would be if the CC does not help you I would suggest you contact either your Unit Commissioner or your Your District Advancement Chairman.

 

[dan 10]

FScouter

I guess I am dense. Why would a SM deny a SM conference?

If a scout asks for a conference, should not the SM go ahead and have a conference, and explain to the scout why he is not ready for the BOR?

[FScouter 24]

I was responding to the guy that implied there were reasons (plural) to deny a conference ("... the reasons that a SM may deny an SM conference").

 

The only reason I would use is that the boy had not completed the requirements for the rank. If he asked, I'd look at his book and point out the requirements remaining that he needed to get completed and signed off. I guess that discussion could even be considered a SM conference, so I'll change my statement to say there is never a reason to deny a conference.

[Sturgen 10]

I'm going to have to go with Torveaux on this one, admiting that the troop I earned my Eagle in, and currently act as an ASM in isn't exactly by the book (a completely different thread long ago).

My view is that both the SM conference and BOR are not a "you go and you pass" kind of thing. Obviously some parents are not going to be happy with this, but rank isn't everything, in reality it isn't much, it is the skills and experience that count.

In Hula's case, their is obviously some confusion, this along with a lack of information, most of which would apear to be second or third hand, makes me suspect that the leaders cannot be condemned right out.