Board of Review for bouy's not belonging to ourTroop

[Crossramwedge]

Over the Last month we have had 2 request by boys outside of our Troop asking us if we would hold a BOR for their advancement . One for Eagle and one for Life. Get this, both boy's Dads are SM's of the boy's troop and the Dad's who along with the boy's are the ones who requested it. One of the Troops is a very young Troop, that split from another Troop with very young leaders and the Dad wanted more "Seasoned" Scout Leaders putting his son through a BOR and said that this would be a one time event. I do not really know the reason for the second request because that boy does belong to a "Seasoned" Troop. We honored the one from "Young Troop" (Life) but we also have requested that if they do not know how to do a BOR or need pointers in giving a BOR to come and sit in on ours. The young man seemed very respectful, did not seem to have an attitude and was very knowledgeable and had his signed off book with him. He did a good job.

 

If a boy is a good and honest boy and you pretty well know he is on the up and up and not trying to pull a fast one, then under what circumstances would you give a BOR to a scout of another Troop? We questioned from the start what was going on here. One of our leaders, the one who was approached by the Dad , is a very honest steadfast scouter of 15 or more years and assured us that the Dad only wanted the boy to go through a BOR that was "Challenging" rather than one that was a little "Weak" so to speak. What do you think?

[Gunny2862]

I don't know the regulations yet but my understanding is that when my son needs a BOR and if I am the SM then I simply setp out and let Committee members, other Scouting adults and possibly even the ASM's sit the BOR. I intend to have the ASM's do my son's SM conferences to avoid the appearance of impropriety. But I can't see going to another troop unless you can't even raise enough adult help to run the BOR.

I can see asking to sit in on someone elses BOR process as a non-voting member for exposure to different methods though.

Surely there is something else going on here?

[ScoutNut]

I do not recommend doing a BOR for a boy who is not a member of your Troop.

 

The BOR not only tracks a Scouts progress and reviews with him the requirements for his current (and next) rank, but it is also a review of the Troop itself. The Scout should feel able to discuss his feelings about his Troop and it's leaders (this is the reason SM and ASM's are not allowed to sit on BOR's).

 

How is this going to work if the members of the BOR are not in the Scouts Troop and have no interest in how the Troop is running it's program?

 

How will the BOR have any idea of what this boy is like? They don't know him at all.

 

If the Troop is short of Committee members, they can ask for one of yours to sit on their BOR. However - BOR's should be done by the Scout's OWN Troop.

 

The Eagle BOR is especially troubling. Something is up there. Tell them to go with a District EBOR.(This message has been edited by ScoutNut)

[acco40]

BORs for Tenderfoot, 2nd Class, 1st Class, Star, Life and Eagle palms are to be held with a minimum of three and a maximum of six members of the Troop Committee (not the Scoutmaster, Assistant Scoutmasters, relatives nor guardians of the Scout being reviewed). The Troop Advancement Chairperson typically acts as the chairperson of the Board of Review.

 

For Eagle BORs, the rules are different and many districts have their own unique rules. For example, in my council, a district representative must sit on the EBOR. However, for all EBORs, it is open to all adults except for relatives and guardians of the eagle candidate, the Scoutmaster and SAs of that troop. Therefore, in my position as a Scoutmaster, I can only sit on EBORs for Scouts outside of my troop.

 

So, if a boy requests a BOR to adults outside of his troop, something is not quite right. The BSA Advancement guide, a must for all advancement chairs and Scoutmasters, details this out quite nicely. Read it!

 

 

 

[FScouter]

Considering that a troop must have a minimum of 3 committee members to charter, they should never not have enough for a board of review.

 

To avoid the "appearance of impropriety", only troop committee members should serve on a board; assistant Scoutmasters are not permitted, nor are relatives, nor the Scoutmaster, nor Scouts, nor the general public.

[dan]

Fscouter

You stated that relatives are not allowed to set on BOR, are you sure? This goes against what I have been told.

Is it differnt for an Eagle BOR verus other ranks?

[CNYScouter]

I wouldnt run a BOR for a Scout not in my unit.

I would offer to work with his units committee to help them learn how to conduct a BOR.

I just doesnt make sense to hold a BOR for a Scout in another unit as the BOR is a way to help judge a units program.

 

Red flags would be going off if a SM came to me and asked if we could do an Eagle BOR for their son.

 

Our currently the Ship only has one youth member that is registered only as a Sea Scout and is working on Boy Scout advancement.

When it came time to do a BOR for him, none of the Ships Committee had any idea of how to conduct one.

I contacted my DC and asked if someone from the Commissioner Corp could come and show our committee how to hold a BOR.

My DC came and ran the BOR, instructing the committee on how to hold a BOR.

A young unit will never get experienced at doing these if every time one comes up they get someone else to do it.

 

FScouter writes - Considering that a troop must have a minimum of 3 committee members to charter, they should never not have enough for a board of review.

 

I could see where a unit that only has 3 committee members not have enough people to do a board of review if one of these is a parent to the Scout and a relative should not be on a BOR.

 

[OldGreyEagle]

on page 29 of the BSA publication "Advancement Committee Guide, Policies and Procedures" BSA Document 33088E it states in Bold priint in the section titled "Review for Tenderfoot through Life Ranks and Eagle Palms" the following:

 

"Unit leaders, Assistant unit leaders, Relatives, or guardians may not serve as members of a Scout's board of review"

 

on page 32 of this publication under the section titled: The 12 steps from Life to Eagle under section 8 it states "Unit leaders, Assistant unit leaders, Relatives, or guardians may not serve as members of a Scout's board of review"

 

thanks to my guardian angel for the catch!(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

[FScouter]

"Unit leaders, assistant unit leaders, relatives, or guardians may not serve as members of a Scout's board of review." -- Advancement Committee Policies book.

 

Yes, if the troop committee is only 3 persons and includes a parent, that could be a problem. The committee then would need to be expanded to 4 members. The point I wanted to make was that it is not appropriate to go outside the troop committee to convene a board. If troop committee members can't commit to serving on boards of review, then the committee needs to be expanded.

 

The [Eagle board] members do not have to be registered Scouters, but must understand the importance of the rank and the Eagle board of review. -- Troop Committee Guidebook.

 

These [Eagle board] members do not have to be registered in Scouting, but they must have an understanding of the importance and purpose of the Eagle board of review. Advancement Committee Policies book.

[Aquila]

It's entirely possible that the SM felt that his son would be automatically passed because of his position, and wanted reviewers who would be more rigorous. If it's a troop that we're familiar with and there was a valid reason, I wouldn't have a problem with it. It is the best way to do it? Not at all. But I can conceive of situations it would be valid.

 

Doubt that I'd EVER do an Eagle for someone outside the troop, though.

[dan]

Thanks OGE

 

 

[FScouter]

"It's entirely possible that the SM felt that his son would be automatically passed because of his position, and wanted reviewers who would be more rigorous. "

 

Maybe he is afraid his son will will have a tough time with the troop committee and is looking for an easy way out with strangers that don't know him. Either way, it is insulting to the troop committee to be bypassed by the Scoutmaster. If the SM has no faith that the committee can't do a proper job, perhaps the committee needs to be replaced.

[John-in-KC]

The Eagle Board is the one puzzling me. By the time most young men are arriving at Eagle, they've developed special relationships with people. If you ask the Scout himself for input, I would hope he has plenty of folks who meet qualifications to sit an EBOR in his mind as special people!

 

I guess this is why some districts use district level EBORs.

 

As far as the other circumstance goes, I'd honor the request in a different way: I'd send over an experienced Scouter who runs a good BOR to train the unit leaders. The new unit has to learn sometime, now is better than later.