Advancement Resources
Scouting ranks, merit bades, and the advancement programs
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LATEST POSTS
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The metriics in the performance evaluation of the DE are what the DE will focus on. Until and unless the items we discuss as important are the primary measure of a DEs performance, they will never get done. -
You have a lot of good points. Who is your Comissioner? Very easy to see at my.scouting. Login, go to your unit, click on organization manager, then unit dashboard. The dashboard should really be the landing page and get rid of the menus. -
I think the big one here is actively recruiting district level volunteers. The average volunteer obligation is 2-3 years; BSA has a policy statement that a volunteer obligation is 1 year (membership renewal to membership renewal). If the DE is not actively recruiting district members it just falls apart and then the DE ends up doing everything, and doesn't have time to recruit district members. Every subcommittee at the district level should have 7-9 members. I think off the top of my head the advancement committee is literally dictated in the GTA to have 12 members; my entire district committee is 8 (including the paid members). How does anyone run an affective district without opening the door and inviting in people to help? Is everyone in BSA a 90 year old bachelor fighting to open a pickle jar, too proud to ask for help? This is all tough right? I read this, I immediately pictured this as a few different units in my district. What I have seen is that they have a couple of bad leaders, they are clinch positions, they do it their own way without regard to the BSA way, without regard to safety and ypt, because of connections they never get hit with the naughty stick, and when they move on the unit is in such shambles, all of the other leaders have been taught to hate and distrust anyone outside the unit, and then the unit implodes due to all of the bad habits and insular paranoia. -
By InquisitiveScouter · Posted
A good start! Now, how do we make the Unit Commissioner role effective? If you look at the job description... https://www.scouting.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/NCST-Unit-Commissioner-Job-Description.pdf ...it assumes some key conditions - that Commissioners integrate into the unit rhythms, and that units can access the Commissioner's Assessment and will follow the guidance of the Unit Commissioner. The many Unit Commissioners I have talked with express frustration over the following things: 1. The unit leadership views them as an outsider, with bad intent. Word on the street is, you never see a Commissioner unless there is a problem in the unit. That is, they are harbingers of an illness in the unit. This is probably a result of #2... 2. Commissioners wear more hats than that of Unit Commissioner, and this detracts from their being able to spend the time it takes to build solid relationships so that a unit will listen to what you have to offer. IMO, Commissioners should be attending unit meetings about monthly, and a unit outing about every quarter... (no, they don't have to camp out overnight, but they should have that opportunity!! Cannot do this under current policy unless they are on the unit roster. And, although I cannot find this in writing at the moment, I believe Commissioners cannot be members of units they are assigned to,. Catch-22.) (No, they should not be counted as adult leadership for supervision requirements.) 3. No one knows who their unit commissioner is. Where can I find this info? You should be able to see it in your unit info on my.scouting. Good luck with that. And on that line of thinking, where is my Commissioner's Unit Assessment? The succession of Unit Leaders should be able to readily access these for several years. Good luck with that, too 😜 Bottom line: lack of transparency does not engender trust. 4. There is a culture of "we're gonna do it our way" I have seen in many units. This first comes from an ignorance of BSA policy. Then, once finding out they are doing something not in accordance with BSA policy, an arrogance of maintaining that posture because "that's the way we have always done it, so that's the way we are gonna continue." What carrots does a Commissioner have to offer a unit? And what sticks? That is, when the Commissioner (tactfully) informs the unit they are doing something awry, there is no repercussion unless it is a YPT violation (see #1.) Here's an example... a Commissioner visits an Eagle Project in progress to lend a hand and build relationships with the unit. He sees a youth using a battery powered skill saw (and with no hearing or eye protection). https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/healthsafety/pdf/680-028.pdf When the Commissioner discreetly points this out to the unit leaders on hand, the unit leaders take no action to inform the Eagle candidate running the show, nor do they take any other action to correct the situation. Should the Commissioner employ a "stick" here and tell the unit leader he will report the matter to the Chartered Organization Rep, or the District Executive, or the Scout Executive? Should the Commissioner note this in a Unit Assessment Report? Should he file a "Near Miss Report"??? https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/680-017_fillable.pdf See how we are going down the road of point #1?? (BTW, yes, this has happened, and nothing came of it, except the Commissioner was re-assigned to a different unit at his request. Do you think that UC felt supported by the DE or council leadership??) Overall, I find the attitude of self-policing, improvement, and a desire to know the right way to do things and to do it generally lacking in most adult leaders. Is a UC gonna be the one to change that culture in a unit? -
Thanks all for the thoughts and comments - they are greatly appreciated. I'm wondering if I'm seeing something of a trend here. People don't feel that councils are investing in Commissioners and other district volunteers. As a result, People are not motivated to volunteer and so you end up with a small group of "the faithful" who will volunteer. We think there could be more success if: - It was clear councils appreciated and recognized these district level vounteers. - councils invested in training and development of these district level volunteers. - council professionals placed a priority on recruiting district level volunteers. It sounds like some districts may be doing an OK job at this and as such some districts are fielding more complete and happy teams. Does this feel like something of the right direction?
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