I read your last
column, about that Scout, with a great deal of interest. I could
spend a great deal of time talking about this new troop and what
it’s doing, but I’d rather give some ideas about what to do
next. I see three different paths for this young man to take:
First: A visit
with the District Advancement Chair. This way, the District
Advancement Committee can hold a Conference and then set up a
B-O-R—This would certainly be justified, based on the facts as I
see them presented. If they’re unwilling to do this, the
Council Advancement Committee is the next step. This path
assumes that the District and Council are free from whatever
influence is causing the troop to drop the ball.
Second: A return
to his old troop. He’s a long way away, but modern
communications astound me on a regular basis. Forms can be
faxed, and conferences held by telephone, or even with web cams.
With a signed Eagle application in his hand, the District
Advancement Committee in either location should be happy to work
with him. I do realize the difficulty of having an Eagle Board
of Review by long distance, and some reservations about that,
but hopefully the new district would be willing to set up and
hold the B-O-R once they have an application.
Third: Join
another local troop and finish the process there. This would
take a little time to locate the right troop and then to explain
the situation, but this might be the most rewarding.
I haven’t talked
about his current troop or finding a way to work within it...
Normally I’d advise a Scout to try staying with his troop, or to
change things from within, rather than cutting loose. But in
this case the Scout’s already done that. The troop’s adult
leaders have made it clear that they aren’t interested in
helping him, or even in seeing things from his point of view.
He’d use his time and energy more effectively in leaving these
misguided (at best) people behind and moving on. The kind of
change needed for that troop is prolonged, laborious, and almost
impossible to achieve without the active help of the adults
involved. (Dennis Fairbairn, South Plains Council, TX)
Dear Andy,
You know, I really
keep hoping that there’s something missing from this young man’s
story that will paint a better picture of his present troop
leaders; however, this young man answered every question in this
one letter that I’d normally come up with if a situation like
this was presented to me. Therefore, I can only assume
everything stated is accurate or darn well very close to
accurate. Given that, I think you should publish the council,
the troop number, and the names of those involved, so we can
form up a posse to go after that ridiculous Scoutmaster and his
gang of thugs. I’d even pay my own way, all the way from Korea
, to go after those knuckleheads. It’s completely shameful to
me that this sort of thing goes on anywhere in the BSA. Geez!
When I read garbage like this, it makes me fear for my own two
sons when we come back to the states at the end of this year.
Can you contact this young man’s Scout Executive directly on his
behalf and get this whole mess straightened out immediately?
(Marc Garduno, District Committee Member, Far East Council,
Korea)
Dear Andy,
I recently discovered your columns
and I have to say that I’m very much impressed by the wealth of
information you share.
The Scout whose letter you published
in your last column certainly has my sympathies. One can only
guess why the leaders in his current troop have decided not to
make him an Eagle—perhaps they think that the program at his old
troop is nowhere near as good as theirs, or that they suspect
that the he's lying about his credentials, or maybe it’s just
pure spite or malice. In any case, my advice to that Scout would
be to contact his old troop and see if he can complete his final
steps to Eagle there. (Alex Valdez,
an Owl
from Circle 10 Council, Irving, TX)
Dear Andy,
Would the 17 year-old Eagle
candidate mentioned in your July 9 column have the option of
rejoining his former troop as a remote member? I did that while
living overseas as a Scout. Finding another local troop with
trained leaders would be my next choice. Would the Lone Scout
program offer some relief? In any case, it appears to me that he
needs to immediately dissolve his association with his present
troop. Every story has two sides, but I find it difficult to
conjure up an explanation for that troop's leadership's behavior
while assuming this young man has in fact made it as far as he
has in Scouting.
If I were to write the script,
assuming it all complied with BSA policies, he’d rejoin his old
troop, his original Scoutmaster would conduct the Conference by
phone (that would clear up everything up to the point of his
Board of Review) and then, in this digital age, I can imagine
all kinds of ways to do a B-O-R remotely, too. While an
in-person review is of course preferred, the continuity with the
troop in which he completed his work would be preserved. Once
he’s an Eagle, he could find a local troop, crew, or ship that
would value him, and in which he can continue his Scouting
experience.
(If the former troop and the Scout
were near my company offices in Cary, North Carolina, I’d be
willing to request permission to use our video- conferencing
facilities to conduct the B-O-R.) (Alan O'Neal, East Carolina
Council, NC)
Dear Andy,
I’m a long-time reader; first-time
writer. About that Eagle candidate Scout, unfortunately, I
think the best response him is to run to another troop as
fast as he can! The leadership of his current troop is
hopeless, and can’t be fixed in time, if at all. Then, after
his Eagle Court Of Honor, he should inform the District and
Council leadership about his experience with that dysfunctional
troop. (NJ Scouter)
Dear Andy,
First, I do
believe that the adults—each and every one of them—associated
with the Scout’s current troop should be told to read the
Ask Andy columns, especially the ones of recent
vintage. “What it means to be Active” is especially pertinent.
I’d also point out to them the common theme that has run through
many of them, which is: Scoutmasters and committees don’t have
either the right or the power to change requirements—they can
neither add to nor subtract from requirements set by the BSA.
Although they may be well-intentioned, these adults have gone
astray—the path to perdition paved with good intentions,
perhaps? Volunteers usually don’t set out to become
mean-spirited; they evolve into this when they start thinking
that because they’re volunteers and are attempting to do good
things they don’t have to account to the program or the
participant. They’ve forgotten that the service of volunteering
doesn’t confer special benefits to exempt oneself from
long-established policy of the organization as a whole.
I believe
that a request should come to them from the District Executive
of that council and then perhaps from the Scout Executive
himself, asking them to review the Ask Andy columns and to
review the BSA’s advancement policies. To say that this is
misapplied power and direction is a gross understatement.
For some time now
I’ve referred people to Ask Andy so they can get their questions
answered, get the proper view on what it is we’re doing, and to
show them that there’s assistance readily available—a resource
for people in doubt about what is or is not permissible,
required, and expected. More, I’ve referred others in Scouting
to the “Ask Andy” columns so that they can see
that Scouting is not so much about “gatekeeping” as it is about
DOOR-OPENING. Our job, as volunteers, is to open doors of
opportunity and adventure to our country's young men. When we
fail to do so , they respond in kind, and they vote with their
feet. And there are few among us who can honestly say that the
number of boys pushing down the doors to become Scouts is at an
all-time high! We need to call upon ourselves to assess
our roles in the program… Have we become punitive in practice
and thus driven away participation? Have we
damaged the program by our creation of artificial hurdles and
requirements, not founded in policy but in personal preference?
Or are we among the reasons why parents will entrust their sons
to us and their boys will want to join the troop we serve?
(Yes, we serve the troop—It’s not the other way around.)
We need to ask
ourselves honestly: Can we abide BSA policy and, if not, then
please step aside for someone else who can and will. We are
volunteers with a covenant to abide by established policies; we
are not policy-makers. Whether it’s water safety, youth
protection, the Buddy System, advancement, The Patrol Method—all
of these are designed to protect youth participants. The BSA’s
advancement policies protect boys and young men from the
martinet who would detract from the Scouting experience by
imposing additional (and in this case, ridiculous)
"requirements" of his own.
Finally, I’d
suggest that these leaders be placed on probation, while
provisional leaders are installed to work with them so that they
can see where they went wrong—this would be in line with the
Commissioner system of oversight and guidance.
We also need to be
acutely aware that instances of anecdotal mistreatment of Scouts
translate into fewer overall participants and damage to the good
name of Scouting. (John H. Kopp, MBC, Former troop CC, Northern
New Jersey Council)
Dear Andy,
As I read the
letter from the Life Scout you posted in your July 9 column I
was filled with sadness and anger. I had tears in my eyes as I
could imagine the hopelessness this young man was feeling after
doing his best to become an Eagle Scout. I am incensed that
these self-righteous leaders who would treat a youth member in
such an unfair manner. Who are they to stand in judgment of who
is “Eagle quality” when the Scout’s already met all the
requirements?!
Unfortunately,
this is not an isolated incident. I am personally aware of
other young men who have been discouraged from advancing to
Eagle because of jerks like this Scoutmaster and his committee.
How can these men be so callous with the lives of our youth?
How can they sleep at night knowing they’ve damaged the
self-esteem and future of this young man (and maybe others)?
In my opinion,
this young man has gone as far as he can to become an Eagle
Scout in this troop. His best hope of success is to change to
another troop that has more reasonable leaders—and to do this
quickly, before it’s too late. I’d suggest he do this with the
assistance of his parents and/or a Scouter who understands his
situation.
There are
thousands of well-meaning, properly trained, good-hearted adults
who are leading our youth in Scouting. There are also too many
leaders who have personal agendas and mean spirits. Scout
leadership at all levels (including professionals) would be well
served if they adhered to the principles and values we print in
our brochures and post on our websites! (Michael Marks)
Dear Andy,
I’ve been
reading your column for many years and enjoy it.
In response
to the letter about the Life Scout who has not received his
Scoutmaster Conference yet…
The
Scoutmaster of this new troop he belongs to needs to have his
head examined! Making Scouts do more than they should for rank
advancements!? I guess he never went to Scoutmaster/ leader
training. I’ve never required my Scouts to do anything other
than what the requirements state for rank advancements. I always
tell them to "Do Your Best" to attend meetings, camping trips,
service projects, and so on. I understand that things happen
like family emergencies, school activities, jobs, and the list
goes on. It also appears that the troop committee needs to have
their heads examined as well. To tell a Scout, "get your
priorities right, and quit your job"? What kind of nonsense is
that? As far as I'm concerned, the young man has completed all
the requirements for Eagle and should have his Scoutmaster
Conference. He should now contact his District Executive and
District Advancement Chair and explain fully to them what he’s
gone through. If he doesn’t get any assistance from either one
of them, then he needs to contact his council service center to
see who handles advancement and discuss the situation with that
person. Or maybe he can find another troop where he lives. Good
luck to him – Don't give up—keep fighting for it—you deserve it!
(Mark Zirpoli, SM, Atlanta Area Council, GA)
Dear Andy,
There are 3
options here:
1.
Line these so-called troop leaders up in front of a wall, strip
off their insignia, then ready, aim…You’re FIRED!
2. Get
a BSA lawyer to file suit against these “leaders” for falsely
signing BSA registration and chartering forms.
3. Get
down on your knees and pray that all the boys in this community
get the opportunity to get real mentors so they can experience
Scouting the way it was designed and has been working for the
past 97 years.
From what
this Scout has reported to you, the next step is the Council
Scout Executive. This young man has been verbally and
emotionally abused. The adults associated with this unit should
be removed immediately from all BSA activities. This young man
has plenty of written documentation to present to the SE for his
call to action.
The next
step for this Eagle candidate would be to have the SE designate
another professional or a significant volunteer (e.g.,
Commissioner) help place him in the right Scouting environment
to successfully complete out his days as a Scout. This could
include the Lone Scout program, another troop the district
volunteer knows enough about that will be willing to help this
young man, or possibly working something out with the troop he
started in. Though the distance thing is a problem, a couple of
trips could take care of everything, housing could be worked out
amongst his former troop and patrol members. They also know
this Scout well enough that some conversations could be done
over the phone or internet. The B-O-R should be live, if at all
possible, but in this case teleconferencing might be the answer.
After
reading what this young man has endured, his thought processes,
his actions, his individual conversations, his ability to seek
out Andy McCommish, lets me know that he’s more than deserving
of the rewards of his accomplishments. I now charge Andy with
following up and letting us know when his Eagle Court of Honor
is! (Dave Mountney, Patriots' Path Council, NJ)
Dear Andy,
What a sad issue
and with a real victim here: The Scout. As former troop
advancement chairman, I can say that it’s evident that this
Scout has shown himself to be Eagle material already: He’s
earned his Life rank, so that shows he went through many
opportunities to be judged on Scout spirit and obviously was
found to have it by his former troop, plus, by his letter to
you, it shows to me that he does have Scout spirit just by
continuing in Scouting and embracing a new troop as he has while
finishing high school and working long hours at a job to save
for college. Isn't that what Scouting and we adult volunteers
are supposed to be doing: Raising our boys to grow into men?
Based on my
personal experience as a troop advancement chair, this Scout has
already shown that he’s finished his requirements to be eligible
for a Scoutmaster Conference and subsequently eligible for
his Eagle B-O-R. This troop has no right to give additional
requirements other than what is required by the BSA policy and
handbooks. It sounds to me that he’s joined a troop that has a
“club” inside it—one that’s willing to bend BSA policy to suit
its own purposes. At first, I was thinking that there should be
some underlying factor that happened, but the additional
requirements the troop gave him do not justify that there was an
issue to begin with other than they obviously do not want an
Eagle Scout candidate in their troop who is not a part of their
little club. This is simply unacceptable. First off, there is no
policy as to how many meetings a Scout is supposed to attend for
his Eagle rank (or any other rank) to be approved. If he attends
as many as he’s able to attend, then that is all that
Scouting asks of a young man. The second made-up requirement is
activities and camping: Nowhere in the Eagle requirements does
it specify a certain amount of camping nights or activities. For
this Scout to be eligible for Eagle, he needs to have his
Camping merit badge, which shows that he’s a camper, period. The
third made-up requirement is to hold a leadership position. He’s
obviously already done this in his prior troop, and this current
troop has made no effort to assign him a position anyway. The
last requirement this troop made is to help other Scouts, yet
the Scoutmaster acknowledges he does this in another
conversation.
This Scout is
being wronged by this troop's program here, and it is equally
wrong to make him move to a new troop just for him to start over
like he has already done in this troop, which is not easy for
any Scout regardless of rank or age. I’d suggest that this Scout
go to his district or council as his next step, and find out who
he needs to speak with. He has exhausted his appeals to the
troop, and frankly, this troop needs to be looked into, because
they’re going against BSA policy and may be providing a very
unhealthy program for boys and young men. If this one Scout is
being mistreated like this, then I guarantee there are other
Scouts who will be faced with the same. (Melissa Bond, South
Plains Council, TX)
Dear Andy,
This poor
Scout—That troop doesn’t get it, not one of them! They must have
been asleep during training. (Thirteenth part of the Scout Law:
Thou shalt not add to nor take away from any requirement”!)
My suggestion
would be to reregister with his old troop and then have his
Conference by phone (that Scoutmaster will likely remember him
and have copies of his records there), then arrange to set up an
Eagle board of review, and drive or fly back to the city for it
(I’m sure one of his old friends would be happy to put him up
for a night or two). A short family vacation trip back home
for the Court of Honor to receive his award among friends would
be a more pleasant experience, too!
Another way: Is
there a Venturing crew around? This young man could join that,
and have his Conference and B-O-R there. He doesn’t need to be a
member of a troop to earn Eagle in a Venturing crew (he
just has to have completed First Class in a troop program, and
he’s clearly done that).
Third way:
Although I do not know if it would work, he might want to
approach this as a "Lone Scout." (Given that all the work is
already completed, all we’re really looking to see is that it
was completed properly.)
If he’s anywhere
in central Missouri, just send him to Venturing Crew 57, Mexico,
MO. We’re small, but we’d sure work with him. (Tom Burke, Great
Rivers Council)
Andy,
The only thing good about this Scout’s situation is that it
makes the few jerks that most of us have to deal with seem like
light-weights. How can this many jackasses be in authority
positions in the same place!?! I have to wonder about the
leaders of the Chartered Organization as well. First off, this
Scout has not joined a Boy Scouts of America troop—the adults at
this organization have started something that they’re trying to
pass off as such, but IT’S NOT SCOUTING. Second, if only half of
how this Scout described himself is true, he’s already an Eagle
in character. But any Scoutmaster who makes up his own rules
(this guy's head must be tight going through doors) wouldn’t be
able to see what a fine young man he’s been fortunate enough to
have join the troop he’s PRIVILEGED to serve as Scoutmaster for.
As for “higher standards,” the standards are already set,
PERIOD, and if anyone’s not living up to “The (BSA) Standards”
it’s obviously the adults.
Now the real question is how does this Scout receive what he’s
already earned? Considering he has only seven months, he’ll need
to move quickly on several fronts simultaneously—and in all
instances he should be prepared with the information he shared
with you, including all records, and what he has done at his
current troop (even if he couldn’t get sign off). Start by going
to the Chartered Organization and tell them your story. If
they’re not willing to step in, they should at least be made
aware of the incompetence of the leaders in the organization—it
may help some future Scout.
Find another troop. Be up-front. Explain the situation in
detail and if the Scoutmaster even hesitates to recruit you,
move on and try another troop and so on. You don’t have to
settle for any troop that doesn’t follow BSA policies and
procedures. At the same time, find and go to the District
Advancement Chair and start working your way through the
volunteers and professional adults who hold positions created
for the purpose of serving youth. Stop only when you’ve reached
your goal.
In all cases, get specific responses. Be willing to walk away
from anyone who gives you the blow-off of, "I'll get back with
you." Insist on a date and write it down and follow-up. Allow
everyone you expect action from a reasonable amount of time to
respond, and then follow up. If anyone is unresponsive, move
on—don't waste any more time than necessary on blow-hard
bureaucracy. As soon as it’s clear that you’re stalled, go to
the next link in the chain.
I’d also suggest that the first call you make goes to the
Scoutmaster of your original troop. (Our troop recently had a
long distance Life Scout earn Eagle rank, and he even came back
to go to long-term camp with us. I was able to help this young
man through a difficult process during a difficult time in his
life, and it’s been wonderful.) Any Scoutmaster with a lick of
sense and basic understanding of the Ideals of Scouting should
be willing to jump in with both feet and start kickin'—after
all, who knows best what you have earned as a Scout than the man
or woman who has stood by your side through the process.
Remember above all else through this process that “A Scout is
Courteous." Treat others the way you’d like to be treated, even
if they don't reciprocate. Hang tough, and let setbacks slide
by, only taking what you can learn from, and leaving the rest. I
believe you can get this done. The important question is: Do
you believe it? (Kevin Brouk, Scoutmaster, Okaw Valley
Council, IL)
Dear Andy,
This
troop is what’s wrong with Scouting today! As a District
Advancement Chairman, if this got to me I’d call for a
District board of review, and after the Scout has passed (I
get the impression this would be a "no-brainier") inform the
troop of the results and tell them to start planning for this
Eagle’s court of honor!
Please tell
that Scout to appeal at District, or Council or National until
he gets Eagle. The most significant award I’ve received in
Scouting is when, at a Court of Honor, the new Eagle Scout
presented me with the Eagle Mentor pin. (Georg Dahl,
Tidewater Council, VA)
Dear Andy,
I love your
column, but sometimes I get physically ill at some of the stuff
I read. This occurs when I read about Scoutmasters and troops
like the one in the column you posted on July 9th.
This Scoutmaster
and troop committee should be shot for their handling of this
whole situation. From the words they used to degrade and judge
this Scout, instead of mentoring and teaching him, to the
stone-wall tactics they’ve undertaken to keep him from something
he’s EARNED—This is totally unacceptable behavior by these or
any other so-called "leaders."
They’ve forgotten that we adult volunteers work for the young
men in our packs, troops and crews and not the other way
around. We are in place only to teach and mentor these young
men to, as I read somewhere, "prepare young people to make
ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in
them the values of the Scout Oath and Law," and not to pass
judgment on who is or isn’t “worthy” of a rank.
My
advice to this young man is:
