LanceEagle

Someone mentioned this in a previous post but I don't think the link was shared. Really hits the nail on the head without any semantics. http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/matt-walsh-goodbye-boy-scouts-of-america-you-spineless-cowards/

Thanks Stosh!

Thanks everyone

Does a MB Counselor need to be chartered to a specific troop or unit? Or do they only need to be registered through the local council, with Youth Protection of course.

Well said Walk!

How typical. This is not about discrimination, It's about the safety and well-being of the scouts. Again, the BSA's new political correct move caters to special interests at the expense of the actual protection of youth. Like it or not the history and facts of the perversion files cannot be erased.

The sheer insanity of political correctness is beyond measure.

We'll said Scouter99

Fungi, I feel your pain. I made the mistake of registering my sons with a troop whose SM saw himself as the second coming of Baden Powell and who indirectly imposed his own unique interpretations on rank advancement requirements. Both of my sons compete in sports year round, so there were very few camping trips that did not conflict with games, so they were not able to make as many camping trips as they would have otherwise liked to. They were very proactive with regard to advancement though and diligently worked on requirements, however, they were often held back by the SM refusing to grant a SM conference and subsequent BOR because, even though they had met the camping requirements for the rank, they had not met the SM’s own self-imposed, subjective, camping requirements. I brought my concerns to the SM and then later to the Troop Committee and with no action finally went to Council. SM got a small slap on the wrist from Council and I then became public enemy number one within our Troop. Despite this, my sons stayed with their original troop for some time because this was where there friends were. As my older son progressed though, it became evident that this troop would never be fair to him with regard to advancement given his involvement with sports; to the point that I could not see him earning Eagle within that troop. We ultimately ended up transferring into a new troop. It was a tough adjustment and they did miss their friends from the old troop initially, but they made new friends and they’re now able to advance without any BS from a sanctimonious, self-righteous SM and his band of adult followers, who are oblivious to actual BSA guidelines and advancement requirements. My advice to you would be to find a new troop or leave scouting altogether. For the SM to say that you should look into other troops is a very harsh statement. He’s more concerned with serving his own agenda than he is in helping your son in any way. If you and your son would like to try to stick it out with your current troop, you may want to try talking with the troop committee. Chances are that they’ll be of little help, but talking to them would be the first step towards addressing your concerns.

Get rid of him

Momleader, I believe I have a very real sense of what you're referring to and have experienced passive aggressive leader vs. leader bullying. You may wish to see my post from a few months ago on unethical conduct of leaders. Ultimately, the BSA has no rules or policies regarding any level of unethical, immoral or bullying (whether direct or in an indirect/passive aggressive manner) when it comes to adult leaders. When I brought issues of concern to my local council the council listened and empathized but basically said that there was nothing that they could do. It's sad and unfortunate that there are BSA leaders who lack integrity, do not live by the principles of the scout oath and law and who ultimately choose to run their units a an autocracy, or something very close to that.

I'm wondering if anyone may have experienced any level of unethical (but not illegal) conduct on the part of Scout Leaders (SM, ASM) or Troop Committee members within your unit? How was this addressed?

This seems to be a case of a Scouter putting himself, and his personal views, ahead of what's best for the scouts. I agree fully that scouts who proactively, plan, prepare and complete the necessary advancement requirements should be permitted to advance without having 'roadblocks' placed in their path by SM's who are of the belief that a boy should not be allowed to advance too quickly or achieve Eagle before a certain age. I also could not disagree more with those Scouters who insist that all scouts who have a sincere desire to advance are somehow not enjoying their scouting experience because they are focusing on advancing. Ultimately all boys should be allowed to advance based on their own willingness to do so. A scout who is active and who rightfully takes the necessary steps to successfully complete the requirements needed to advance in rank, should have that opportunity and should not be held back based on a personal opinion of a SM. There's simply no basis for that within the BSA program and within the requirements as outlined. By the same token, if a scout chooses to take it slow or perhaps not focus on advancment at all, then that's completely fine as well. Let each scout choose his own path. Spur those who may want and need extra support, but don't penalize those who have the initiative and drive to achieve ranks on their own. I would recommend talking with you SM first, one on one, as a courtesy. If no resolution, and it sounds like that is likely, bring it to your TC and then, if necessary, to Council.

Earning the rank of Eagle Scout is one of the accomplishments that I am most proud of. It was not an easy road by any means, and like many scouts, when faced with competitng priorities for my time, I questioned whether "Eagle" was really worth it. I decided it was and continued and did what I needed to do to earn the rank. Simply giving out ranks to boys just for 'being there' would completely undermine the value of all ranks. The ranks only mean something as long as they're actually earned.

Thanks to all, lots of great information and feedback.The contentious issue within our Troop is the fact that our SM is not willing to accept any service oriented activities for the purpose of advancment; that's about a third of all activities that we do. The scouts are participating just not getting credit for it because of the SM's view on this matter. What this boils down to is that, in most cases, only camping trips count for advancement, so for a. boy to earn Second Class he must have five overnight camping trips and similarly ten overnight camping trips for First Class. As a result of all of this, advancement within our Troop is very slow. To date, none of our scouts who just hit the one year mark (after crossing over Feb. 2011) have earned the rank of Tenderfoot. Of the boys who just hit the two year mark this month (crossed over Feb. 2010) none have advanced beyond Second Class; and to be clear the vast majority of these boys are active. Yes, there are most definitely weaknesses to our program that we are trying to address