Quality A Measure For Promotion?

[Eamonn]

Some years back there was a musical adaption of Charles Dickens Nickolas Nickleby, Smike.

(Music and lyrics by Roger Holman and Simon May. Book by Simon May and Clive Barnett)

This would be a great production for a crew.

At times I see our District as Dotheboys Hall, with the DE as the tyrannical headmaster Mr. Squeers.

Sure we see the need for what we do, we understand why. But every year it seems to become harder and harder to sell people the idea of making Quality. To be very honest, we will and would do our best without the big Quality District hanging over our head. We would do just as good a job. I really don't need to throw yet another Quality District Plaque in the filing cabinet, I don't add the Quality Patch to any of my uniforms.

It seems that Quality has become the measuring stick for the professionals.Pay increases and promotion seem to rely on meeting the goals. Sad to say at times rules are bent, creativity? And just down right cheating creep in.

No I know that not everyone engages in this practice. But I believe that even the guys at National are aware that there is a lot of unethical stuff going on. It is my opinion, which isn't backed up with any fact that I can say is a fact, that the 2% growth was done away with because of cheating. I heard rumors that National was doing an audit in one Region, looking at the Super-sized Venturing Crews, that seemed to have sprung out of no where. As I say it was just a rumor. I did however hear it from several really good people -Maybe someone can tell me if it was true or not.

When I look at the requirements for Quality District, I'm always a little upset that there isn't more program type stuff there. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a requirement that has something to do with getting more Scouts to camp or Crews to hold super activities?

As I have posted so very often. I believe that if we can or could get every meeting, every camp, every activity that our youth members attend to be the best show in town, we wouldn't have any problems with membership or finance. If we were to spent more time doing program type stuff everything else would fall in line.

I was talking on the phone today to someone and we said about Finance Directors, we both wondered how many days this guy has too work just to raise enough cash to pay his salary? Maybe someone who is skilled in the art of Grant Writing might be able to raise the money in less than a week?

I can't help thinking that the requirements for Quality need to be looked at and revised.

Eamonn

 

[dsteele]

Eamonn, my dear friend:

 

What, specifically, do you propose?

 

Unc.

[Eamonn]

I was hoping to get away with talking in broad terms.

Still, Unc being as you asked, we need to look at some of the other things that a District does, not just dwell every year on Membership and finance.

We could ask to see a percentage of Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts attend camp.

We could see about having trained commissioners not just number of commissioners.

Maybe have each District have an up to date Merit Badge List.

Maybe a goal of selecting new non unit affiliated District Committee members.

We could have districts do studies on identifying areas where Scoutreach might be needed and make plans to find youth members and get them into the program. This might mean starting new units but could be looked at with some "Out Of The Box" ideas.

Councils and Scout Executives could and more than lightly would still have the much dreaded Critical Achievement's that could be used to bring home the money and the membership. In our council making Quality District is expected performance for DE's anyway.

I think we could still reach un-written goals that would bring home the bacon, with goals that have something to do with any area. For FOS, instead of the goal being bring in X amount, it could be recruit so many new workers.

I kinda like the idea that the requirements could change every year, maybe even not announced till about May the year before. This would keep everyone on their toes and add a little more excitement to the dull and dreary lives of the people who sit on the District Committees. It would give National, the regions and maybe even the Councils the flexibility to really focus on areas that might be weak or in need of special attention.

Districts need to see that they play a vital role in the long term plan that each Council has.

A couple of years back I was serving on a Wood Badge course that was hosted by a Council in our cluster. The camp site had over a very short period of time undergone a lot of improvements. New buildings, new trading post and all that good stuff. It was clear that a lot of money, time and hard work had gone into this camp. I along with the Scout Executive had sneaked off for a smoke. I was congratulating the Scout Exec. On having done such a great job. He thanked me for my kind words, but said it was a shame, that National didn't give a fig about all the improvements, none of what they had done was covered in the requirements for Quality Council. He was a really nice guy. While I really never got to know him that well and of course not being in that Council, I don't know all the details. I really did feel the pain in his voice and I wasn't that surprised when I heard a short time after that he had quit being a professional Scouter.

The quest for Quality seems to have got out of hand. The need for making sure that we are moving ahead, bringing new members in and having enough money to pay our way is never going to go away or disappear. We do however need to take a long hard look at the requirements. We need to really make sure what we are doing is channeling our time and energy into doing what is really needed and will result in better and improved programs for our Units.

National or the Regions could come up with some sort of point system that would grade their employees. We have a lot of very talented people in our National and Regional offices, I'm sure they could come up with something.

Change is never a fast thing in an organization as big as the BSA. I have no idea how long the requirements for Quality District or Quality Council have been around. I have seen enough rule bending and cheating to make me think that the guys at the top are aware that this is happening. They have to see that we have created something that needs changed. I also feel that we are seeing a change in the people that are now serving on District Committees and Council Boards, these new generation whatever they are? Really do want to trust the people at the top. They have seen Watergate and what happens when well meaning people with good intentions are taken over by wanting to reach "The Goal" and these well meaning people cross the line.

I do again really want to say that there are still a lot of Professional Scouter's at every level who are great hard working, ethical people, in fact these people are still in the majority. Scouting is still alive and well and I believe that the few rotten apples will see the harm that they are doing and will either stop doing what they are doing or will get caught and be asked to leave.

Eamonn.