What is Appropriate at a Court of Honor?

[Beavah]

In the parent thread, I expressed my firm opinion that a Court of Honor was no place for a disciplinary lecture and presentation, eh?

 

One of our other regulars felt that a court of honor was a time for a group meetin' with parents, to address such things as "Youth Protection, Summercamp promotion, annual program plan, popcorn kickoff, certainly health and safety concerns, etc." Yah, and disciplinary stuff.

 

Now of course I couldn't find any references in da BSA literature that would suggest that's what a Court of Honor is for. At the same time, I've certainly seen CoH's and especially Pack Meetings used for this kind of stuff. FOS presentations also.

 

And I hate 'em all.

 

I think Courts of Honor are award ceremonies for kids, by kids. They should be our focus, and the event should be for them. Co-opting it to do fundraisin' or "Announcements, announcements, announcements!" while leavin' our honored guests bored is truly a horrible way to die.

 

From what I've seen, this sort of thing happens in more adult-run units, where an adult feels a need to stand up and blah blah blah... I can't imagine youth leaders and MC's doing this on their own. IMO, there's lots of other ways and places to handle parent communication.

 

What do da rest of you see/think out there?

 

[OldGreyEagle]

I understand your sentiment Beavah, but Courts of Honor are when more parents are in attendance than any other time, hence the FOS, Camp Promotion, Popcorn, etc.

 

The COH is a time to directly reach more adults than at any other time I can think of, it may not be a great answer, but its accurate for the unit I serve/

 

[msnowman]

My biggest pet peeve for a CoH is the "PBS Pledge Drive", AKA FoS. I realize that it is important for Council and District, but since they have little-to-no interest in our unit until it is time for FoS I'm not very excited to see them at a CoH. (The same peeve holds true for Cub Scout B&G).

 

Otherwise - I hate seeing/hearing SM lectures about "his" adventures. You want to excite the new scouts about things they can do? Let the brimming with enthusiasm 15 yo Life Scout tell them how fabulous Jambo was and how excited he is to be going back in 2 years.

 

It will be interesting to see what peeves others about CoHs.

 

YiS

Michelle

[BrotherhoodWWW]

Let me preface my reply with my current duties in Scouting. I'm a Troop CC, an OA Ass. Chapter Adv., and a Unit Commish. Two different district level assignments and one unit level assignment. I live in a smaller council in a geographically detached far part of a bigger district.

 

I know a bunch of Scuters and parents that do not like to see FoS happen at courts of honor or blue and gold banquets. This year for my unit's FoS campaign I keep it real low key. I personally spoke with parents and other leaders on a one to one basis and posted a couple of announcements on our unit website. I know of exactly one contribution turned in. The simple fact of the matter is that CoH and B&G are the few times when there is potential to contact most of the parents.

 

I truely wish it were not so. Those of you that do not like to see fundraising and other promotions done at these award ceremonies perhaps you could share your methods to get parents to come to a strickly fundraising function, in a spin off thread of course.

 

I see this as a monkey brige that keeps being traversed. I mostly agree that we need to concentrate and focus our energy on the youth at advancement ceremonies.

[John-in-KC]

My experiences are rather similar to BrotherhoodWWW's. Sad, but true. Parents in general (vice unit serving Scouters) don't show at most Committee meetings nor most Troop meetings. Most CC's are reluctant to call an all-hands parents meeting simply for an FOS pitch.

 

One time, I was told by a CC I was going to have 40 boys' parents at a parents meeting. He delivered on 5.

 

In a perfect world, I'd love to have FOS off the table at Courts of Honor.

[Venividi]

Tangential to the current direction of this thread - how about program related presentations? Anyone do them at COH's? I have seen a COH where a scout provided a demonstration of packing for a backpacking weekend. Brought his backpack, pulled out all the gear and showed it, explained weight distributution, etc. The sort of thing that could also be done at a regular troop meeting. In this instance, it gave the scout a larger audience, with adults attentively giving him attention, and provided an insight to parents of scouting skills that their sons were learning. I think the benefits were worth having more than awards & recognition on the agenda.

[OldGreyEagle]

Well, if we take a page from Lemuel Siddons, the greatest scoutmaster who never lived, a troop could always have a parents night You know, where he doesnt tie the sheep shank corectly, foreshadowing future tribulations? But even if you have a "parents night" to show what the boys are learning and how the troop operates and end with an FOS presentation, how many parents come back next year?

 

Drizzle Drazzle Drussle Drone, time for this topic to have a thread of its own(This message has been edited by OldGreyeagle)

[msnowman]

Venividi - sounds like Nephew's at CoH. The troop doubled in size with winter Crossovers, and 2 weeks before the CoH was a rain-soaked camporee....and almost no Scout bothered with raingear. So - SM used one of the older boys as his "model" and outfitted him in 1 - make shift raingear (socks for mittens, grocery bags on his feet in place of boots, etc, you get the picture). Then he re-outfitted the boy in the correct gear (the point being how much more fun you can have if you have the right gear and aren't wet, cold and miserable. The new boys laughed and pointed saying "oh, yea, I did that", etc. The parents got a chance to see how important the right gear can be. It was great!

 

That kind of stuff is perfect for a CoH.

Michelle

[evmori]

Good question beav!

 

I don't feel a CoH is for handling disciplinary matters. A CoH is a time to recognize the Scouts in front of mom & dad & grandma & grandpa & Aunt Suzie for what they have accomplished & earned. I would be highly offended if I was invited to a CoH & all of a sudden an EMT walked out & started a talk about the dangers of kids horsing around with motor vehicles! What would be next? An Amway presentation?

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[CalicoPenn]

I have no problem with announcements for parents at a COH (though I do dislike the FOS presentations at a COH). But the key is HOW they are presented. The best COH's I've seen are those where a "normal" Troop meeting agenda is "adapted" so that the COH fits in.

 

Take a look at how your regular Troop meetings run - most of the time, you'll have an opening, a closing, a brief time for announcements, time for skill work, time for planning for an upcoming event, time for some kind of physical activity, etc.

 

Now think of how and where COH activities can work in this agenda. You still have your opening. You use "brief announcement" and "planning time" to hand out awards. When it comes time for skill work - you send the Scouts out to set up some kind of demonstration for the parents - a pioneering tower, a model campsite, a short orienteering course - use your imagination. While the Scouts are doing that, the Adult Leaders can be doing the "boring Adult announcements". Then during activity time, the adults go to the Scouts to view their handiwork, or to learn something themselves (such as going through the short orienteering course just set up while being taught by their sons). BTW - during the "Boring Adult Announcement" and "Scout Skill Demonstration set-up", you might consider releasing your non-Patrol affiliated youth (or even better, your Den Chiefs - even if they are part of a patrol) to bring the Scouts younger siblings in attendance somewhere for some kind of organized game/activity from the Cub Scout handbooks.

 

Do a quick transitional clean-up, and head in for a closing ceremony - and DON'T FORGET a memorable Scoutmaster's Minute just like any other Troop Meeting. Add an after meeting cracker barrel and you have the makings of a great COH (in my opinion).

 

Calico

[Venividi]

This keeps getting referred to as a disiplinary lecture. I dont think it needs to be. Bringing in a guest to talk about injuries from horseplay with cars need not be disiplinary. It can be positioned as public service.

[Bob White]

Along with youth and adult recognitions a court of honor is an excellent time to share important Unit information with parents and scouts alike on a quarterly basis.

 

As a Scoutmaster I routinely had guest speakers at our COH, local juvenile court judges, paramedics, State Representatives, Military officers, Mayors, police and fire fighters. We had 4 scheduled meetings a year when we had parents undeided attention and we made the most of that opportunity.

[evmori]

There is nothing wrong with guest speakers at a CoH. I have done this in the past. But to spring a speaker with the intention on having them address a disciplinary situation should not be done at a CoH. It is not the proper venue.

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[Bob White]

Why have a guest speaker unless they have a meaningful message to share.

[BrentAllen]

If you don't like having announcements as part of the COH, then have them right before or right after it. I've never read anything that says the entire meeting must be devoted to the COH. The MC could conclude the COH and then ask if there are any announcements to be made, or get them over with before the MC opens the COH. It is one of the few times you get most of the parents together in an organized setting.

 

My ideal COH would be MC'd by a youth. It would start with the lights out, opening with an impressive candle ceremony. MB Counselors would be called up to present MBs, with some of the Scouts describing what they had to do to earn them, hopefully including either a funny story or memorable event that happened during the process. The MB Counselor heaps praise on them for working hard and describes some of the more difficult requirements.

 

ASMs and the SM are called up to award rank advancements. Again, the Scouts talk about the skills they learned, and how and where they learned them. They talk about their favorite and funnest skills, and the hardest. The ASMs and SM heap praise on them for a job well done, and challenges them to earn the next rank, and to continue to be a strong part of their patrol and their troop.

 

We finish with a slide show of each camping trip and outing since the last COH, with a different Scout providing some narration. Or, if they want to put the slides to music and just let them run, we do that. The parents get to see what we've been up to, and the boys get to do a little bragging. This part of the program is only limited by the Scouts' imaginations.

 

A SM Minute will close the COH, with a cracker barrell afterwards.