Appropriate Questions at BOR

[fgoodwin]

Ed, I should have said it was a question that I would not ask -- I'm not trying to tell you or anyone else how to run their own BOR.

 

My apologies.

[acco40]

Ed, I thought you were a SM - why on Earth do you have questions for the BOR?

 

LPC-Thumper - your comment reminds me of the joke - What are the three phases of a man's life?

 

1) Tri-weekly

2) Try weekly

3) Try weakly

 

[evmori]

acco,

Was a Scoutmaster. I stepped down last year. I am now the Advancement Chair for my Troop.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[acco40]

Ed, how do you like advancement chair? Right now, I view our troop as SM/SA rich and committee poor. The view is if one is serious about adult leadership one becomes a SA. If not, one becomes "just" a committee member. I wish I could help make the committee stronger. Our troop needs it.

[Hunt]

I think the problem with Ed's question is not that the subject matter is inappropriate, but rather that it's couched too aggressively--it's not a friendly question. It's like the difference between asking, "Tell me about what you did to earn the Cooking Merit Badge," and "Did you really fulfill all the requirements for the Cooking Merit Badge?"

Remember, a scout appearing at a BOR has already had his Scout Spirt requirement signed off, in which it has been determined that he lives the Oath and Law in his daily life. If you ask him if he believes in God or not, you're essentially asking him if he lied to the person who signed off Scout Spirit, and I don't think that's a very friendly or courteous approach.

[jr56]

Nice post. It's often not that the questions we ask are bad, just that they are not asked in the best manner.

[evmori]

acco,

I like it. Nice change.

 

Earning the Cooking MB & believing in God are completely different things. If a Scout (or Scouter) doesn't believe in God, how can they live up to the Scout Oath & Law?

 

I see no reason to "sugar coat" the question.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[Hunt]

"I see no reason to "sugar coat" the question."

 

The reason to sugar coat it is that the way you ask it is rude and unfriendly. You're essentially suggesting that the boy may be a liar. The purpose of a BOR is not an inquisition. Your purpose is not to find out whether the boy believes in God or not--you know he does, because Scout Spirit has been signed off. You shouldn't ask him the question that way, any more than you should ask a Star Candidate whether he's earned the required number of Merit Badges. You know he has because the requirement has been signed off. A BOR is supposed to review the boy's achievements, not test them.

 

[evmori]

Actually, Hunt, I don't know the answer. I can assume since the Scout Spirit requirement is signed off the Scout does believe in God. But I don't know for sure until I ask "Do you believe in God?" I could ask the way others have suggested but the answer will not guarantee the Scout believes in God. He could say he goes to church every Sunday & helps out in his church's nursery. That's all good stuff. But that doesn't require a belief in God.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[Hunt]

Are you suggesting that a person who truthfully states that he lives his life according to the Scout Oath and Law has not adequately shown that he meets the membership requirements for BSA? With that I cannot agree. I find it disturbing that you would want to ask Scouts a question that suggests they are liars.

[mdutch]

Do you actually need to believe in God to be a scout? Many Buddists would answer "No" (Buddism, technicly speaking is by many not concidered a religion, but a belief system). Do you feel Buddists should not be allowed in scouting?

[evmori]

meamemg,

I don't have any Buddhists in my Troop.

 

Hunt,

I not suggesting they are liars. I'm just asking a question.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[NIscouter]

The comment by Hunt that the scout spirit has been demonstrated leads me to ask, what does the BOR review if not scout spirit? We had a scout who had technically passed all of his rank advancement for 1st Class, but obviously was not showing good scout spirit. We adjourned the BOR for a month after discussing with the scout the meaning of the words in the oath and law, and setting up parameters for to reach to advance. This is what a BOR is all about.

[Trevorum]

How about the scout who honestly answers, "Sometimes. Other times I'm not so sure."

 

Would this fellow pass your BoR?

[NIscouter]

Trevorum - That scout would pass. I think the operative word from my post is "Good" scout spirit, not "Perfect". This was the most difficult BoR I have ever experienced, but all involved felt that passing this scout through without some indication to him that his actions between his last BoR and this BoR were not even clsoe to showing scout spirit would have been a bad example for the rest of the troop. I think that without this type of review, the BoR does the scout and the troop no good.