lone scout

[MoosetheItalianBlacksmith]

Ive been in scouting for 15 years now. My father was a scout when he was a boy and rejoined with me 15 years ago. Neither one of us have ever heard of this one.

 

We went to the Eagle board tonight and when we got there we were surprised by two scouts on our list having the words "lone scout" under the unit number section of the agenda. Both were brought in to their project approval by their mothers. Neither one of the boys had a Troop or any other form of scouting unit.

 

One of the mothers swore it was a real thing and there was even a workbook on it.

 

SO Im curious how many other people out there have heard of it or dealt with it and what your thoughts on it are. Or if any of you had any information on it that might be useful...like the said workbook.

 

**AS A SIDE NOTE**

One of the boys mothers did keep trying to answer everything for him and keep talking instead of him she also told him not to agree to a fundraiser after it was mentioned that anything he says hell do at the board becomes his contract. SO she was telling him what to do with the project already.

 

[ScoutNut]

Lone Scouts have been around much longer than you, or your father.

 

According to BSA's Lone Scout Fact Sheet, Lone Scouting was started in 1915 by William D. Boyce.

 

**AS A SIDE NOTE**

The Lone Scout program is just as susceptible to helicopter parents as is any other BSA program.

[MoosetheItalianBlacksmith]

Typically the parent wouldnt be in the room for the board but she was the "unit representative"

 

In a troop or another unit there would be other people there to help with the separation of parent and boy and make the boy a little more independent and responsible for themselves. Another leader can say step back and let them do it on their own.

 

And honestly thats why the parent usually isnt in the room for Eagle board/project approvals. The Troop leaders have made that separation especially if they are helicopter parents and said no we would prefer if you didnt come in. Weve had parents sit in the hallway and come in for the end of the board when we give a decision. On the other hand we have had parents where the troop leader came in and respectively asked if could sit in the back and told us right up front they went going to be a problem and we havent said no cause we never made the rule they couldnt be.

 

At the moment I am concerned that that boy will not be the leader of his Eagle project. Cause right in front of us she told him not to do something. and was trying to control the talking. We will monitor the project but only time will tell.

 

By the time they get to the Eagle board there should be a little better parent/child separation and they should have developed some more Self Leadership then that.

 

those are just my thought but that was a side note more interested in finding out about lone scouting and what people think of it.

(This message has been edited by MoosetheItalianBlacksmith)

[mds3d]

Yes Lone Scouts is a real thing. However, this does not sound like the proper application of it. The LS is supposed to be used ONLY if there is NO troop near enough to the scout to be practical. I don't know where you live, but I really doubt that this is being used properly in this case. Anyone wishing to be a LS does have to be approved by council, so it is hard to say where the breakdown in proper use of this program was.

 

That being said... I never attended the session of the Eagle committee when my project was reviewed

[John-in-KC]

Information on Lone Scouts:

 

http://www.scouting.org/about/factsheets/lonescout.aspx

 

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/hispanic/english/14-420_ENG_WEB.pdf

The Friend and Counselor book is 52 pages long.

 

http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0110/a-lone.html

 

Hope this helps.

 

[emb021]

"The LS is supposed to be used ONLY if there is NO troop near enough to the scout to be practical."

 

Not quite.

 

That is ONE of the reasons for a scout to be a lone scout. Other reasons may be health issues, traveling, or other causes that prevent him from being able to attend a meeting.

 

But certainly if the scout could attend a meeting, they should do so, not just because the parent doesn't want them to.

 

 

[KC9DDI]

Yep, Lone Scouts are a legitimate program, and I'm pretty sure there's still references to it in the Boy Scout Handbook.

 

Google is your friend - searching for Lone Scouts returns several resources directly from the BSA, right in the top 5 results. Including the Lone Scout Friend & Counselor Guidebook, which explains the program in detail.

 

Lone Scouts is a different program from a traditional pack, troop or crew, and the youth-adult dynamics will be different. There's also a variety of reasons why a scout may be a Lone Scout, rather than a member of a traditional unit. It may be worth conferring with your council's advancement committee to help devise a fair way to conduct subsequent interactions with these families.

[MoosetheItalianBlacksmith]

They were involved in a troop that folded. so it seems like instead of going and finding another troop they just became lone scouters.

 

So they dont fit into any of those catagories what are the thoughts on this situation with that info.

 

As of right now one of them hasnt even bothered to set up the mentor situation but is planning on just using the next door neighbor/carpenter.

[Thomas54]

 

This is a can of worms but I will wade in anyway.

 

We had a scout that submitted an eagle project for sign -off. Myself, our Eagle coordinator and the committee thought it was a little light on leadership. We asked him to hold a work day where he could lead others and not just his mom and younger brother through a work day. We thought it was relatively a minor request. He was at this point only 13 years and 2-3 months old. Well it blew up and everybody dug in. The parents were not going to have him do another thing. The kept chanting that I cannot add or subtract from the requirements.

 

The charter was brought in, the district and council were brought in too. Meetings between me, the parents and the Charter were held. Meetings with the District advancement chair and finally with the Council advancement chair. Neither side would yield. The parents were not going to have their boy do another item and I was not going to sign off.

 

It got so bad the scout quit our troop and went to another troop. But they wouldn't sign off there either. Mind you all this took place over at least four months and it would have taken the scout one Saturday morning to complete the task.

 

So in the council's infinite wisdom they decided to make this scout a lone scout for two months. While he is alone scout his dad was able to sign off on his eagle project which cleared the way for him to become an eagle as a lone scout.

 

 

 

[KC9DDI]

There's several reasons why a Scout might chose to be a Lone Scout, rather than joining a regular unit. Limited access to a regular troop is just one reason.

 

I'm not sure that this is the appropriate type of thing for an Eagle Board to question? The type of program that a Scout registers in is up to him and his parents, and subject to approval by the council. Would you ask a Scout "Why did you register with Troop 123 instead of Troop 456?" Probably not, right? So why question why the Scout chose to be a Lone Scout?

 

That said, this doesn't mean that you have to lower your standards when it comes to providing guidance and approval through the Eagle Project process. But I would encourage you to communicate with your council advancement committee to learn more about the Lone Scout program first, so that you can ensure that you are treating everybody as fairly as possible.

[click23]

From the guide to advancement, reasons that a boy might be a Lone scout

 

5.0.3.0 Lone Scouting - Boys who do not have access to traditional Scouting units can become Lone Cub Scouts and Lone Boy Scouts. In the following or similar circumstances, they may fi nd this an appropriate option:

1. Home-schooled where parents do not want them in a youth group

2. U.S. citizens living abroad

3. Exchange students away from the United States

4. Disability or communicable illness that prevents meeting attendance

5. Rural communities far from a unit

6. Conflicts with a job, night school, or boarding school

7. Families who frequently travel or live on a boat, etc.

8. Living arrangements with parents in different communities

9. Environments where getting to meetings may put the Scout in danger

 

Take a look at the entire Lone Scout section of the G2A, 5.0.3.0 - 5.0.3.3 http://scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33088.pdf

 

As far as the mother being the unit representative at the EBOR, this is not appropriate even in this situation.

 

8.0.1.0 Conducting the Board of Review - ... The Scouts parents, relatives, or guardians may not be in attendance in any capacitynot as members of the board, as observers, or even as the unit leader. Their presence can change discussion dynamics.

 

In the box below the above section, it states "In cases where parents or guardians insist on attending a board of review (or in Sea Scouts, a bridge of review), they should be counseled on why this is not permitted. Their presence can change how their son addresses questions, and the opportunity to further self-reliance and courage may be lessened. However, if parents or guardians insist on being present, they must be permitted to attend."

 

 

I would suggest someone else, of her choosing, to serve in place of her as the unit leader. Even though not appropriate, if she insists on attending she must be permitted to do so.

 

I would also have a sit down with the mother and let her read the following sections in the G2A

 

9.0.2.3 Plan, Develop "

9.0.2.4 Give Leadership to Others

9.0.2.13 Evaluating the Project After Completion

 

Make it clear to her that it is his project, and he must "plan, develop, and give leadership to others" in his project. And if the board determines that she planned, developed and gave the leadership to the project, even though it was approved by the beneficiary, the board can reject the project as not being completed per the written requirements.(This message has been edited by click23)

[John-in-KC]

If your Council Registrar and your DE accepted their membership as Lone Scouts, why they are enrolled that way is no longer your responsibility. It's done, spend your time on supporting the facts of the matters as they lay.

 

Have you had a business discussion with your District Membership Chair and/or the Council Membership chair and/or the Registrar about how YOUR COUNCIL implements the Lone Scout program? Maybe you can stop a future implementation.

[OldGreyEagle]

"SO Im curious how many other people out there have heard of it or dealt with it and what your thoughts on it are. Or if any of you had any information on it that might be useful...like the said workbook. "

 

This is where Shakespeae is so cool

 

There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy

 

except Horation=Moose

 

Check out

 

http://www.scouting.org/about/factsheets/lonescout.aspx

[Oak Tree]

"So they dont fit into any of those catagories what are the thoughts on this situation with that info. "

 

I wouldn't worry about it. Just a curiosity, one of those interesting things you run into. I'd treat the application like any other.

 

I would tell the mothers that they are not allowed at the BOR. If they insisted, I would tell them that they can observe only - that they are not allowed to talk at all.

[JoeBob]

Tell Mom that she can't earn Eagle; she's aged out.

 

And her son needs to learn to fly on his own.