Should my scout contact the MB counselor?

[karunamom3]

My son is taking a virtual photography MB. They need to upload their worksheet and images into folders in a Google classroom. He looked at the folders of 2 other scouts in his troop to see their pictures. The counselor has shown other scouts work in their online meetings so my son felt confident that it was ok to look at other scouts pics.

The 2 scouts in his troop are brothers. It was obvious to my son immediately that his troop mates did not take the pics in their folders. Most of the pics are of themselves! They are pics their mom took for the most part.

My son was not happy because he put a lot of work into it. He noted that the MB counselor will not know that the pics in scout A's folder are pics of him so obviously not taken by him. If this was an in person class this would not be an issue.

My son wants to contact the MB counselor to let him know. I am on the fence myself because their mom is always looking for the short cut and trying to get things done the easy way. I talked to my son about the fact that the others are really not learning what they should be and they will have to live with that. He needs to consider his options. Maybe even talk with the scouts directly. He knows the mom pulls the strings though and a talk with them won't help much.

How should I direct him? Any advice?

Edited to add that I am the advancement coordinator and the CC of the troop. It will be tough for me to enter those MB's into Scoutbook knowing they really weren't earned.😔

Edited May 2, 2020 by karunamom3

[Liz]

Can you talk to the Scouts directly before their MB is completed and they turn in the card? 

How do you know that these Scouts didn't set up the photos using a tripod and a remote shutter? 

[SSScout]

2 hours ago, Liz said:

Can you talk to the Scouts directly before their MB is completed and they turn in the card? 

How do you know that these Scouts didn't set up the photos using a tripod and a remote shutter? 

Ditto.   There are too many ways this could be done.   There are diplomatic ways to approach this, but your Scout should not be seen as accusing another Scout of not really "doing his best".   If the MBC is worth his/her salt, they will ask the proper questions of the candidates.   MBs are supposed to be a learning experience, yes? Once the blue card is signed, the MB is passed, no further discussion is proper. 

I would counsel my Scout to do HIS best , and be proud of his accomplishment.  Maybe he will see his Scout buddies later and, around the campfire so to speak, discuss their techniques and approaches to the requirements.  

Encourage him to study the work of other successful photogs, Mathew Brady,  Margaret Bourke-White, Edward Steichen, Ansel Adams come to mind.

Edited May 3, 2020 by SSScout

[karunamom3]

2 hours ago, Liz said:

Can you talk to the Scouts directly before their MB is completed and they turn in the card? 

How do you know that these Scouts didn't set up the photos using a tripod and a remote shutter? 

It may be hard to talk to the scouts before the counselor approves their work.

The pics their mom submitted are pics she took of them at the Klondike Challenge in January.  I have seen them before as they were posted on social media and I was with her when she took them.

I wish you were right.

[T2Eagle]

it would not be wrong for your son to raise the issue with the MBC, since he is part of a class where these photos are available to the members of the class.  the key to this is to do this very diplomatically, make sure he frames this as a matter of bringing information to the MBC, not a matter of being accusatory.  provide the facts, don't characterize what the facts might mean or what conclusion someone should draw from them.  Further he needs to understand that the decision about what to do about it is with the MBC and not with anyone else, and that neither he nor you will likely ever know what the MBC says to the other scouts.  

[SSScout]

1 hour ago, karunamom3 said:

The pics their mom submitted are pics she took of them at the Klondike Challenge in January.  I have seen them before as they were posted on social media and I was with her when she took them.

Aha...   this changes things.  The mom submitted the pics, not the Scouts?  I am not familiar with some of the technology involved, admittedly.  If you can say for certain the pics were taken in a certain way, perhaps you, not your Scout should approach the MBC.  

[karunamom3]

9 hours ago, SSScout said:

Aha...   this changes things.  The mom submitted the pics, not the Scouts?  I am not familiar with some of the technology involved, admittedly.  If you can say for certain the pics were taken in a certain way, perhaps you, not your Scout should approach the MBC.  

Yes this really is a tough call for us. In one of the scouts folders the majority of the pics are from a trip to VA as an AOL. Again, which his mom took. 

Edited May 3, 2020 by karunamom3

[swilliams]

I say let it go.  It's frustrating, and I feel like it 'cheapens' the badge in a small way for those who do it correctly .  My own sons have seen similar, but I've told them (and have to continually tell myself), that it's part of what we run into all throughout life.  How many of us have had coworkers who cut corners and don't pull their own weight?  And sometimes they get away with it forever - other times they get caught.  Still, that's on them.  Your son will be learning, and the other boys won't.  The older he gets, the better he'll appreciate the skills he will have gained. 

Edited May 4, 2020 by swilliams

[elitts]

I don't think there is anything wrong with him discussing it with the MBC, but if it were my son, I'd suggest the issue be raised as a question rather than an accusation.  Something like:

"Hey, I just wanted to clarify something to make sure I understand it correctly.  I noticed that some of the scout folders were full of pictures that were taken "of them" by someone else and not photos they took, but I thought we were only supposed to post pictures we took ourselves.  Am I correct, or are photos taken by someone else acceptable?"

And then he'll need to just leave it at that unless he's asked for an example of a photo set taken by someone else.