Eagle rank & unit leader assigned leadership projects

[fred johnson]

I just noticed this when looking at Eagle rank position of responsibility requirement. 

 

• "Likewise, a unit leader–assigned leadership project should not be used in lieu of serving in a position of responsibility."

I swear this was an option before.  It still says "should".  Outside pontification and painful debates, does anyone have specific knowledge on using a unit a leader assigned leadership project?

[Krampus]

We use them very sparingly. We had a young man (Life) who moved away from the troop. Despite there being several troops around him, he still commuted to our troop for meetings and events. All this while still keeping a high GPA, playing football and being a competitive target shooter (shotgun). I let him do a leadership project in lieu of a POS. We searched all the usual BSA publications to find advice on how to implement this but did not find anything very useful. The scout developed his own plan and got it approved by the SM. The end result was a punch list (think pilot pre-flight manual) that was spiral bound, the size of an iPhone (the small ones before the 6 came out), which outlined all the things a PL should do at various events such as camp outs, service projects, etc. VERY cool project.

The young man used that as an example at his Eagle BOR. Impressed our district guy so much they wanted to use them too. Just to make the POS official, we assigned the project under the role of Troop Guide and revised the position description accordingly. The district rep at the BOR said that the leadership project would have been enough; that we didn't need to assign the POS too.

 

Not sure if that was true or not, but since this young man was close to 18 at the time, we were not taking any chances with this grey area.

[fred johnson]

Good advice.  Our scout was sick for awhile and might be a few weeks short on leadership since Eagle.  We'd like to make it as simple as possible and would rather not go yet again for another advancement exception.  We already had to do one for him for a merit badge that everyone agreed (doctors, family, etc) he just could not do.  That took a bit.

 

The other alternative is what someone else suggested.  Just back date the position a bit.  I guess scout leaders do that at times.  I'm just not sure how comfortable I am with it. 

[Krampus]

@@fred johnson, I should note that the one reference we did find is below. It is from the Guide to Advancement.

"For Star and Life ranks only, a unit leader may assign, as a substitute for the position of responsibility, a leadership project that helps the unit. If this is done, the unit leader should consult the unit committee and unit advancement coordinator to arrive at suitable standards. The experience should provide lessons similar to those of the listed positions, but it must not be confused with, or compared to, the scope of an Eagle Scout service project. It may be productive in many cases for the Scout to propose a leadership project that is discussed with the unit leader and then “assigned."

 

I agree that back dating something make one feel uncomfortable. But then again, I am not sure I could live with myself by denying a good scout who was taken ill the chance to make eagle. I am sure you will make the right decision.

[qwazse]

@@fred johnson, I'm with you in wanting to remove the BS from the BS of A. But the interpretation of "should" vs "must" is very much a semantics game that you don't want to play unless the boy understands it might not fly in your district.

 

Get your council advancement chair on the line, and start the paperwork for the extension. Worst case, national denies it, and you're back to parsing words. Best case, your scout can devote his remaining time to his project and his assigned PoR, knowing that nobody had to stretch the requirements to fit his circumstances.

 

In the future, you can join me in pontificating about how 18th birthday deadline undermines good scouting.

[fred johnson]

Thank you for the useful comments.  I appreciate them.  

[ZScout5]

This may be used for Star and Life, but not Eagle.

[Krampus]

This may be used for Star and Life, but not Eagle.

 

Unless you are a Lone Scout, or if there are extenuating circumstances. Both need council approval.