Advancement after bankruptcy and virus

[InquisitiveScouter]

32 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Sadly, in my experience that is the exact opposite from what I am seeing. 

Concur.  In my tenure, I can remember only one Scout who ever took a class a second time because it was something he really enjoyed (Small Boat Sailing).  He was surprised that this was actually "allowed."  I think part of this misperception is in our advertising.  Scouts do not understand that repeating a merit badge is just fine.

Perhaps this discussion should be moved to a new/existing thread?

I also, am a Merit Badge Counselor who demands the requirements, and nothing more...the requirements, and nothing less.  Scouts tell each other who the "easiest" counselors are.  Most choose the path of least resistance.  Usually, my repeat customers are the Scouts who are "switched on."

Most first timers seem to expect a meeting or Merit Badge session with me where I talk a lot, and then they get the badge.  My first question to them is usually, "Have you read and understand the requirements for the merit badge?"  I would say, over 90% of the time, the answer is "No."  So that is where we start.  We review the requirements together and discuss how the Scout will complete those requirements.  This is where guiding and mentoring pays off most.  We also determine which requirements will require some teaching/learning/practice.

Scouts also seem to get flustered when I don't give them the answer to a requirement, and then let them regurgitate information right back to me.  For example, with Canoeing MB, one requirement says "Name and point out the major parts of a canoe."  I usually start this one with "Show me what you know."  Which is usually followed by, please review your Scout Handbook on page 174, and let's go over this again so you can "Name and point out the major parts of a canoe."  I have had Scouts (and parents) ask me to tell them what the parts are then and there, and then they want to repeat that info then and there, only to RAM dump it and move on to the next requirement.  I do not see that as an acceptable way for a Scout to complete a requirement.

I do not do the heavy lifting for the Scout...  (btw, on this specific requirement, I'll even let the Scout refer to his Scout Handbook, or the MB book, or other source while pointing out the parts.  I do not require them to memorize, nor repeat from memory, unless the requirement specifies that.

[dkurtenbach]

Most telling, I think, is when a Scout wants to go to a merit badge clinic without knowing what merit badges are being offered.  Or, just as often, when a parent wants the Scout to go to a merit badge clinic without knowing what merit badges are being offered.  A close runner-up is when a Scout or parent expresses a goal for how many merit badges the Scout should earn at summer camp -- not which badges, but how many badges.  Then there is the Scout with a goal to earn every merit badge available.  The only saving grace there is that the Scout is actually trying to do something that is hard and takes a long time.

[dkurtenbach]

1 hour ago, qwazse said:

Skill mastery in a wide range of areas is definitely BSA's most valuable asset.

I think if skill mastery was really important to the BSA, the rank requirements would be written to ensure mastery, and re-testing of any and every Scout-through-First Class skill would be part of advancement through Eagle Scout rank. 

Edited April 18, 2020 by dkurtenbach
hyphens added

[MattR]

Hi everyone, I just split this off from the chapter 11 thread, per @InquisitiveScouter's suggestion.

Maybe we could talk about ways to improve the focus of advancement to support the aims of scouting rather than be the aims of scouting.

[InquisitiveScouter]

1 minute ago, dkurtenbach said:

I think if skill mastery was really important to the BSA, the rank requirements would be written to ensure mastery, and re-testing of any and every Scout through First Class skill would be part of advancement through Eagle Scout rank. 

This is where I wish we would go...  not for MB's, but definitely for all skills up to and including First Class.  When a person says "I am a Scout", that conjures up a paragon or archetype in your head about what a Scout knows/does/is.  You have expectations of what their capabilities are.  We need to collectively define (or redefine) that paragon/archetype, describe those standards, and adhere to them.

The current codification of what a Scout knows/does/is does not accurately measure or adhere to the standard of the archetype most of us conjure.

Should it??

[InquisitiveScouter]

moved to new thread...

Edited April 18, 2020 by InquisitiveScouter
Moved to new thread

[qwazse]

 LCD = lowest common denominator scouts (and parents, and some scouters). Focusing on them, disappointment is certain.

At WSJ one day our scouts scuttled off leaving their dining area littered. There was an LCD scout in camp slumming in front of his tent. I approached him, and asked (in that ASM-ish way of asking that is basically an order) to police the boys' dining tarp, count the pieces of litter that he picks up, and be sure to tell his fellow scouts when they returned how much their mess he cleaned up for them. The scout looked at me, and seeing that I was indeed talking to him, got up and proceeded to clean up camp while I returned to plunging my laundry in my 5 gallon bucket. He did a find job, so I thanked him. Then he said, "My home troop doesn't give ask me to do much because I've got a reputation for not being very responsible."

I told him that if the SM and I waited for someone responsible to come along, nothing would get done.

I could spend all day fuming over scouts like that. Or, I could ask them one favor (give them one order) after the next, until they started acting like the 1st class scout who I expect them to be.

And there is no mistaking the skill differential of a scout from a troop or crew and other fine young men and women of this community. On average, they seem to have done more, interacted with more people, cooked better food, and generally navigated college or military better. So, weather it seems like bean counters at National notice it or not, once again I will repeat, without reservation:

Skill mastery in a wide range of areas is definitely BSA's most valuable asset.