What to do about invisible scout

[BobW0]

I am sure this has been discussed many times, but I would like to pose again.

Our troop has a scout who has not attended meetings or outings over the past 2 years. He had been the SPL and when the prior Scoutmaster quit, he dropped off the face of the earth. This LIFE scout is a likeable boy, with a very pushy mother. To my surprise, he emailed me the other day indicating that he wanted to "finish up his Eagle". I mentioned this to several adult leaders and they were disgusted. The boy's mom even sent in the check(via another mom) to reregister him for the upcoming year.

The boy is working on his Eagle project (has been for 2 years) and as a Life scout HAD participated for 6 months in leadership position. I plan to call him and talk with him about his inactivity in the troop and try to get him participating(perhaps, called a SM conference?). Along with this, I would talk with the adults and see if 6 months of full participation would be acceptable to them. I don't want to cause division in the troop. What would you do? By the way, I am the Scoutmaster who took over when the prior Scoutmaster quit, have been trained, and am an Eagle Scout myself, so I am familiar with many of the rules/guidelines/etc. for the trail to Eagle.

[OldGreyEagle]

What if this scout would have completed his project, got his Eagle and then dropped out of sight, would it be any less irritating to you?

 

If he has the qualifications, he has to sucessfully complete his project, he has to have the merit badges, and he has to have record of the 6 months of leadership since being a life scout and he is registered with your troop, then he has the right to be an Eagle.

 

Maybe he took the long and winding road, but if he meets the requirements, the rank is his.

[BobW0]

OGE,

Thanks for your insights, good point. Believe it or not, myself and one assistant are actually the only ones that are on the boy's side. The fact that his mother is a pain in the neck is irrelevant. So far, he has followed the rules. How do I best handle the situation without angering (and possibly dividing) adults in the troop? I started to ask them "Define for me what you want from him that would be acceptable?", but got no response. Should I ask them again?

[le Voyageur]

Best advice...stay the course with the advancement guidelines..as long as you've got all your ducks in a row, then those scouters who are still having heartburn over this issue will have no recourse but to air their complaints to National....

[OldGreyEagle]

Bob, try this:

 

Show your dissenters the scout handbook where it lists the Eagle requirements, show how this scout has met each one of the criteria. Does he have the required meritbadges, yes, Does he have completion of the leadership requirement, yes, has he done his project, yes ( I think, you have to verify).

 

In short, show them the requirements and ask where the scout has fallen short of the stated requirements. Just because it doesnt seem to "be right" isnt a reason to deny Eagle. You are not the one accepting him back, its really not your decision to make, your role, and the troop adult leadeship for that matter, amoung other responsibilities, is to assure the rules of advancement are followed consistently for all boys

 

 

[BobW0]

Their complaint is the lack of Scout Spirit on the boy's account, and in their defense, yes, the boy has not shown any Scout Spirit for the past 2 years. He even dropped the ball in the last 2 months(of a 1 year position) as SPL, but the troop was sort of SM-less during that time and was struggling. He is not showing Scout Spirit is what they are saying, and I have to agree. Maybe I can find a compromise?-I always look for a win-win.

[OldGreyEagle]

If he had sought Eagle after his six months as SPL, would the dissenters have any problems with it? Would they have even been dissenters? Again, if he would have been awarded Eagle and then dropped out, never to be heard of again, how much different would that be from this situation. Just because he dropped and wants to come back is no reason to make it harder for him than someone who stays active until they are Eagle and then goes away never to be heard from again.

 

Now, if he has been arrested for a multitude of things maybe you can claim lack of scout spirit, but living the scout oath and law can be done and not attend scout meeting and functions. You can meet with the boy and tell him your glad he is comming back, and how much his experince will help the younger boys and you'd like to see him on some outings, but in the end, you cant require it from him.

[ASM7]

Bob

It's always hard to make decisions like this. About the Scout Spirit issue, has the requirement already been signed off? If it has, you can't undo that, however you may talk to the family and describe your concerns about it and maybe he will return to give leadership to the younger Scouts. It will also get him ready for the upcoming Eagle Board of Review. Some Scoutmasters interpret attendance as part of the Scout Spirit requirement. Baden-Powell said something to the effect that, you don't really know a boy and what he goes through unless you know about his home life. Communications between Scoutmaster and the whole family is always helpful in maintaining Scoutmaster relationships. By the way, does your committee do the Eagle BOR or does the Council or District? In the end it has to go through the District Advancement Committee. When thay ask about is recent involvement with the troop, he won't have a very good answer. Getting back to the troop would be the best bet for him all the way around.

[BobW0]

Thanks to you all for your collective wisdom. This situation has been eating at me and I need to let it go. My gut feelings are in support of him. I guess I need to handle the situation with the adults, and you all have given me some ammo - thanks. I'll "forewarn" the boy that they are going to ask him what he has done lately with the troop in the Board of Review and maybe this will get him a little more active. Also, few of the Scouts know him, so few would be inclined to help him on the Eagle project - another reason for him to get more active.

Thanks again for all of your suggestions.

[Bob White]

Bobwo,

Scout Spirit is not about troop participation. Certainly the Board of Review should ask about Scout Spirit but in the proper context.

 

According the the Boy Scout Handbook, Scout Spirit is about how the scout lives the ideals of the oath and Law in his everyday life.

 

I have seen lots of scouts that make every meeting that are terrors outside of the troop meeting. They do not have Scout Spirit irregardless of perfect attendance.

 

For all you know this young man, as he goes to school, work and in his family, is a living example of the ideals of scouting. THAT is Scout Spirit.

 

You need to inform the Board members of what the handbook says so that they ask the question correctly.

 

Bob White

[YoungBlood]

Unfortunately, there is no real way to stop this from happening. I too get very frustrated when I see these older scouts come back just in time to finish off the eagle rank. In my opinion, there should be a requirement that ensures these boys are active in the troop for a solid six months before they can have a scoutmaster conference. Any time a boy goes inactive he should have to start his six months again. Earning your Eagle should show dedication to the program.

[acco40]

What some "wish", a la Youngblood, and what are BSA regulations sometimes are much different. As SMs, we have to be sure we do not fall in the trap of making the BSA what we want in our (our?, try the boys) troop and follow BSA rules.

 

I am amazed at the long hair, pierced body parts, tatoo, maturity, and on and on discussions with respect to rank advancement. None of those issues have anything to do with rank advancement! We should be encouraging boys who return to Scouting, not discouraging them.

[YoungBlood]

acco40,

First of all, when I speak of what I want for BSA in my troop, I do not speak as a SM, I speak as a boy in the troop. I have now just recently become an ASM. The frustration that I spoke about was watching many young men, many of them my friends, and many others that I once looked up too, abandon our troop and then return just a few months before they were 18. Yes, you are right, we should encourage boys who return to scouting, but we shouldn't give away eagle badges to do so. Nor is it unreasonable to ask that scouts who want eagle to remain active in the troop for a set time period of around six months!

 

[OldGreyEagle]

Youngblood, I have often asked this question rhetorically, but now I direct it to you:

 

A scout earns Eagle at 15, attends two meetings and is literally never seen again. When you see him at school and ask why he abandoned the troop he says that other things occupy his time now. He earned his Eagle and shall have it forever.

 

Another scout earns Life at 14 and earns all his merit badges except one, finishing his project and gets his leadership in before he is 15 and no one sees him until his 17th birthday when he says he wants to finish his Eagle. You are going to deny him getting his final meritbadge and his chance at Eagle? He fulfilled the same requirements the first guy did, he just did them on a different schedule. Requirements, you cant take them away and you cant add to them

[red feather]

One of the saddest things is scouting is to talk to an adult ( of any age) and hear them say that they wish that they could of finished their Eagle. But were not allowed to because of the troop they were in.

 

Cannot deny a young man the opportunity to earn a once in a lifetime award. His Eagle. If the scout is showing interest in coming back to earn his Eagle and has fulfilled all published requirements, he cannot be denied.

 

yis