Eight BORs last nite

[CherokeeScouter]

Last nite was a bear. Eight BORs run by two panels of adults. I conducted one group and unfortunately, we weren't able to devote more than 15 minutes to each Scout. We had just conducted PLC elections and I hate to take Scouts out of meetings for their BORs. Yet, if you do them after meetings, the Scouts are often getting home at 9:30 or later. Fifteen minutes seems like such a short time to cover BOR ground, but maybe not. I try to organize them so that we can spend a little more time with First Class, Star and Life BORs (Life especially). Moving to another night is out of the question. We have very good dad-Scout attendance on campouts so that may be an option, but we try to reserve campouts for advancement and SMCs - and fun.

 

How long are your BORs running? BTW, I'm not committee chair. I'm just a dad volunteer who has gone through the adult training and I fill in the for CC when he asks me to.

[Stosh]

After 25 years as either a SM or ASM, I've never sat in on a BOR.

 

One would think that it might be possible to schedule them over the course of multiple weeks. By scheduling them out one might also be able to put together a third or fourth board to handle even more boys. It would also curtail the wait-until-the-last-minute kind of stuff most boys try and pull.

 

Stosh

[qwazse]

15 minutes is more than most younger scouts can stand! And that seems to be the average length of ours.

 

A scout may request a BoR any time three committee members are available. (We use the term loosely to be sure to include "off-roster" folks such as yourself!) Obviously, he is more likely to get one if he requests a week in advance. Generally there is no problem take a scout out of a meeting ... especially if he has made arrangements with his patrol in advance.

[SeattlePioneer]

Ummm... Are you not holding BORs often enough, allowing them to bunch together?

 

That delays boys from getting their new rank. If this is happening very often, I'd look at scheduling BOR more often.

[scoutergipper]

As an SM, I don't sit on Boards either. We never hold Boards of Review on Troop Meeting nights. The committee arranges either other weeknights or on weekends. We also do them on campouts, when we have sufficient registered Adults along. Generally speaking, the Boards take between 20 and 30 minutes. This usually depends on how talkative the Scout is. Scouts are rarely more than a couple of weeks away from a Board.

[jpstodwftexas]

After 25 years as either a SM or ASM, I've never sat in on a BOR.

Stosh

 

And You Should not have.. [h=3]8.0.0.3 Composition of the Board of Review[/h] A board of review must consist of no fewer than three members and no more than six, all of whom must be at least 21 years of age. For further specifications, see"Particulars for Tenderfoot Through Life Ranks (or Palms),"8.0.2.0, and "Particulars for the Eagle Scout Rank,"8.0.3.0. Unit leaders and assistants shall not serve on aboard of review for a Scout in their own unit. Parents or guardians shall not serve on a board for their son. The candidate or his parent(s) or guardian(s) shall have no part in selecting any board of review members.

 

In my Youth we had to request a BOR by Committee and Show up. BOR never were done during scheduled troop meetings. In the Last Unit I was in...The SM selected the Members who Sat on BOR..needless to say I was not with them that long

 

 

[Stosh]

Thus it should come as no surprise that I am fully aware of the restriction on unit leaders that's why I commented as such, it's an area I have no experience in because of the rule.

 

It's been an unwritten rule in all my units that the SM/ASM's don't mess with Committee responsibilities and vice versa.

 

Stosh

[fred johnson]

10 to 20 minutes. 15 average sounds right. Some more. Some less.

 

The important part is that the key topics are covered. For us, one is discussing the purpose of the scout badge and what all the parts mean and what that means for the various scout ranks. It's not a key point, but it's fun and nice.

 

We also try to do them as soon as possible after the scout asks. Ideally, the same night (or day) if possible.

[allangr1024]

When backpacking I have heard the advice that you get a small backpack and fill it with just the stuff you really need. If you get the 70 gallon backpacks you will fill it with all kinds of stuff you don't need and that weight you down.

 

It is the same thing with a meeting. Set a time that will let you get the business done, and then finish the meeting. I think for the average scout's advancement, 15 minutes is adequate. You are not testing the scout on his skills, you are trying to find out if his scout spirit is developing and you are trying to encourage him to continue on his scouting journey.

 

In my experience, the thing that takes the longest time in a BOR is the adults trying to wax eloquent. Some of those guys can talk and talk, and some BOR chairmen do not keep the meeting on track to its desired conclusion. The BOR is there to have the scout do most of the talking so the board can tell f the troops program is succeeding.

[perdidochas]

I agree with Allan, at least for the lower ranks. Maybe a Star or Life needs more than 15 mins, but for the lower ranks, 15 mins is usually adequate. That is the only part of being an AC that I miss--BORs. I'm an ASM now.

[CalicoPenn]

If you're running First Year First Class and have a bunch of Scouts going through it at the same time, I can see where you might have 8 BORs in one night.

 

We always hold BOR's on Troop Meeting nights - there is no issue with a Scout leaving a meeting for a BOR.

 

The amount of time needed? 15 minutes - tops - for every rank except Eagle Scout. Yes, even for Life Scout - heck, especially for Life Scout - by the time a Scout is coming up for Life Scout, the Troop should already have a pretty good idea about who this lad is and you should be spending more time talking about future goals (Eagle Scout?) and less time talking about what he did at summer camp.

 

Heck, my annual job performance review takes less time than the average BOR.

[NJCubScouter]

15-20 minutes is about right for a BOR, other than Eagle. Traditionally our BOR's for Tenderfoot are much shorter, about 5-10 minutes. Boys going for their first one are generally nervous and we spend just enough time with them to show them there is nothing to worry about.

 

We do BOR's during the weekly troop meetings, so the Scouts are pulled out of whatever other activity they would be doing for a short period. I think that over the course of a Scouting "career", missing 15-20 minutes of a meeting five times is not very much. (Well, if you add in the Scoutmaster Conferences which are also done during troop meetings, it is a little more than that. But advancement is part of the program at meetings, and SMC's and BOR's are part of advancement, so it's not like they are missing a meeting, they are just doing something different than the other Scouts for a short period. The same applies to meetings between Life Scouts and Eagle mentors during troop meetings.)

 

We hold BOR's on an "as requested" basis, which in practical terms means one week (or at most two) after the Scout's SMC. Sometimes it will be the same night, if the SMC has been held near the beginning of the meeting and enough Committee members happen to be at the meeting.

 

 

[CherokeeScouter]

Good advice. We are on a target for First Class within a year, plus we have 80 registered kids, which is a lot to try and oversee.

[NJCubScouter]

CherokeeScouter, you mention that you are not the Committee Chair but "just a dad volunteer", which makes me wonder, are you registered as a Committee MEMBER? You should be; not only are you serving on BOR's, you are running them. And is there an Advancement Coordinator in there somewhere? (Meaning, a Committee Member other than the Chair who, among other things, schedules, serves on and often runs BOR's. I have held that position. Our Committee Chair rarely gets directly involved in the advancement process, other than to occasionally serve on BOR's as a fill-in when we need three people.)

[CherokeeScouter]

NJ, I'm not registered as a Committee Member but I have done the adult-leader training as well as BOR training that we do at the troop level. As an Eagle Scout, I also serve on Eagle BORs at the Council level. I guess that is why the Committee Chair feels comfortable delegating that stuff to me when he is out of town. Also, our Committee meetings are open to all (I know it sounds crazy, but it actually is OK) and I occasionally sit in on those and try to help when needed.

 

I reconnected with Scouting two years ago when I volunteered to go with a group to summer camp in my son's first year. So rather than sit around all week, I did the adult leader training, which if I remember correctly consisted of Scout skills stuff and troop administration. It comes back pretty quickly (I was the only one in the class who knew the knots). Troop Advancement Chair is new-ish and doing an excellent job. His job is not to organize BORs, but he does serve on them when needed, as do the other committee members. Each fall, we do a BOR training session for adults who want to help out and we use the suggested questions and tips as a guide. I think our adult leadership is doing an excellent job as a whole. No power trips or overly large egos. The adults work well together. We could always do better at having a Scout-run troop following the Patrol Method. But we are better at it this year than last year and we were better last year than the year before that. Son is Star and making steady progress. Into mostly Eagle MB now and those are a lot more demanding, as you know. Son loves Scouting and outdoors, not yet grooving on backpacking and high adventure.

 

Also, maybe I misunderstood, but I thought that BORs were one of the main responsibilities of CC.

 

Also, keep in mind we are a troop of 80 solid. Think about that. Assuming two ranks a year, that is 160 BORs a year. There is just no way with a Committee of five or six. We are active and slammed, so we rely heavily on trained adult volunteers who are not on the Committee and not ASMs. We have a good half-dozen dads who are trained but not serving in an official capacity.