A question about how the Boy Scout troop works...

[Merry]

Hi,

 

My eleven year old ds joined a Boy Scout troop last March. He's gone camping several times, worked on a volunteer project, and learned a few knots so far. One time, the leaders administered a physical fitness test to a group he was in. He's been in the troop for eight months now. The leader has not followed up on the checklist for rank advancement. He has not talked to me or my husband about the progress our ds is making.

 

I don't want to bug the leader. Are the parents supposed to go over the checklist themselves and when the checklist is all checked off, then inform the leader? But the boxes to be checked off are supposed to be done by the leader. We've had two older boys in the troop before and there were always parent/scout meetings every few months. This leader is fairly new. Is this the norm for the leader?

 

Emily

[mom2scouts]

It is usually up to the boy to set up a time to talk to the leader about what advancements he has done. I know that's hard for an 11 year old, but they usually want the parents to step back and have the boy get stuff signed. If you are talking about merit badges, those need to be done with a registered merit badge counselor and can only be signed by the counselor when he is satisfied that the requirements have been met. Besides that, different troops can be run very differently, so you may want to email or call the Scoutmaster and ask how he would like your son to handle advancements.

[Unicorn.]

You may need to remind your son to talk to his leader about getting signed off. It is up to him, but he is 11. He may need some reminding. Heck, my ds is all but Eagle, and we still have to say "Don't forget to....."

[sparrow]

Yes, it is up to the boy, at this point. My ds missed rank advancement this fall because he didn't get signed off on his stuff. He was one of 2-3 boys that was not called up for rank advancement or merit badges. *That* sent a message. He is getting himself very organized now, which is just what he needed.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I agree with the pps; it's not unusual. What is out of the ordinary is having a parent/scout meeting. I haven't heard of that particular procedure and wonder what the reasons were in holding a joint meeting. Was this meeting in place of a board of review or was it in addition to the BOR? Was it part of the scoutmaster conference?

 

My questions are simple curiousity.

[Merry]

Ah, now I understand better my and my dh's role in this. We just didn't want to step on anyone's toes or have unrealistic expectations. Okay, we will contact the patrol leader and go from there. Start reminding our ds to get his stuff signed off and help him get started working on a Merit badge or two which we haven't done yet. Thanks so much! And we really should start talking more to the other parents there.

 

Emily

[TechWife]

I agree with the others, the scoutmaster would not talk to you about your son's progress, it is totally up to your son. Scouts is boy driven and the boys are to take the lead in what they want to do.

 

There is a list of requirements for rank advancement in his boy scout handbook. Each time he completes a task, he should take it to an adult scoutmaster or assistant scout master to have it signed off on. In our troop, the scoutmaster would ask the boy to demonstrate the skill. If it's a matter of attending events, make sure he signs in when he goes to things so that his attendance and volunteer hours are recorded. Your troop may do things differently, so make sure you and your scout know what the procedures are. As far as merit badges go, he needs to secure a merit badge counselor before he starts working on them.

 

At home, you can direct as much as your son needs you to, just make sure that you are allowing him to follow his interests as far as the elective merit badges go. Also, be careful of the pace you set and follow your son's lead. In my opinion, some kids Eagle way too early and don't benefit from the depth of the program. If your son maintains interest in scouting, he can stay involved until he reaches the age of 18 - no matter what his rank is. Of course, I think rank advancement is good for goal setting and the kids learn so much as they progress through the ranks and take on leadership roles.

 

I don't recommend that you meet with the scoutmaster and your son together unless your son has some special needs. It just isn't the way scouting is done. If you have questions about how things are run, just give him a call & he'll be able to answer your questions over the phone.

[In The Great White North]

It is usually up to the boy to set up a time to talk to the leader about what advancements he has done. I know that's hard for an 11 year old, but they usually want the parents to step back and have the boy get stuff signed.

This.

 

What is out of the ordinary is having a parent/scout meeting.

I've never heard of this either.

 

Okay, we will contact the patrol leader and go from there.

 

Ds needs to be the one to contact the Patrol Leader, and probably the adults (Merit Badge Counsellor, Scoutmaster,etc) - not you, or even "ds and you". And he should be prepared for the meeting - ie. know what he has done and what is still required, asl the PL for something specific ("When can I meet with X Merit Badge Counsellor to finish this?") You can help by showing him where to find what is required (in the Scout Handbook or Merit Badge pamphlet, or online) so he can do it himself next time.

 

Remind him that "the sqeaky wheel gets the grease".

 

He'll get much more out of Scouts if he does it himself, instead of being spoon-fed , right from the beginning.

[starwarsmomma]

With our boys, the day of (or night before), we look through the book and see what they've done that needs to be signed off.

He writes it on a sticky note in his book and at the meeting, approaches the ASM or SM to get it signed off. Many things are done at meetings and campouts that the boys don't realize was a requirement until they find it in the book. They say, OH! I did that one at last weekends campout!" Good, they just need to go get it signed off. :D

 

When families join our troop, the Scoutmaster tells parents to encourage their scouts to get 1 (maybe 2 if they're small) thing signed off each meeting. If he does that, and attends a good portion of the campouts, he will definately earn 1st class in about a year or less.

 

Getting MOST things signed off is easy. In your son's book, you will see a requirement that says something like :"Discuss the principles of Leave no Trace. (Pages 247-256)" In this case, I just tell my son to read those pages and be prepared to talk about what he read. i dont quiz him or anything, it's his job. It doesn't have to be word for word memorization, just a true understanding of the requirement. He also DOES NOT need to wait until an asm asks him to do that. It might not happen. ASM's are very busy and try to leave it up to the scout to know what is needed to be signed off.

 

My younger son kept trying to get the flag folding requirement done. Believe it or not, he finally had to bring in our own flag (the one hanging up isn't allowed to be pulled down, it belongs to the church). He brought in his own, got the requirement signed off, and suddenly there were 6 boys behind him asking if they could use his flag for their requirements. **Note-- A scout is prepared. :D

 

For other things LIKE the show improvement on the fitness testing, you have a few options. Have him ask the leader when the follow up will be. If the leader does not have soon plans to do so, ask if it can be done at home with a parent. The parent records the info, the scout brings back the book and discusses what he did and the ASM will sign the book. Many troops will allow that, assuming a "SCOUT IS TRUSTWORTHY". But you definitely need the scout to get permission first. My son's old troop would not allow this, and my older son had to nag for 3 months because it was the ONLY thing holding him back from earning tenderfoot... Sons new troop had no problems allowing younger son to do it with a group of scouts and a few parents on their own.

[Merry]

Another question about the way the troop is run....Just what is the role of a patrol leader? I'm asking because today, I found out that my ds did not know which patrol he belonged in and who his patrol leader was. I got the info. from the scoutmaster but I found it odd that after eight months of being in the troop, my ds still wasn't sure. Is that normal? I know that he is supposed to show initiative in getting his requirements signed off and all that but still....I would think that the troop leaders would be a bit more helpful and communicative, don't you think?

[sparrow]

Another question about the way the troop is run....Just what is the role of a patrol leader? I'm asking because today, I found out that my ds did not know which patrol he belonged in and who his patrol leader was. I got the info. from the scoutmaster but I found it odd that after eight months of being in the troop, my ds still wasn't sure. Is that normal? I know that he is supposed to show initiative in getting his requirements signed off and all that but still....I would think that the troop leaders would be a bit more helpful and communicative, don't you think?

 

Yes, I would think he should know who the patrol leader is, however, if he's been in for 8 months, he may have had more than one, and it may have just changed. Does your son attend meetings weekly?

 

There is also the issue of "spaciness" in boys this age. My son is a pro at being spacey. He can appear to be attentively listening to you only to blink like a deer in headlights when you ask a question about what you just said. I think most scout leaders, at least ours, do a good job of not babysitting the boys, and while not necessarily setting them up to fail, allowing them to mess up, so they see the consequences. They want the boys to be proactive and responsible for their own path in scouts. If your ds isn't sure about how things work *he* should ask the scoutmaster. Believe me, it makes a much bigger impact.

[Merry]

An update, thanks for asking:) Due to the Christmas season, we didn't do anything with the troop. Then we got an forwarded email to the troop recently saying that about half of the positions needed to be filled, including the scoutmaster's position. So I guess that's why the leaders had been preoccupied, not like before when our older boys were there a few years ago.

Anyway, a badge counselor just announced a new group to work on a badge so our ds is excited about that.

Thanks.

[thebacabunch]

Ah, now I understand better my and my dh's role in this. We just didn't want to step on anyone's toes or have unrealistic expectations. Okay, we will contact the patrol leader and go from there. Start reminding our ds to get his stuff signed off and help him get started working on a Merit badge or two which we haven't done yet. Thanks so much! And we really should start talking more to the other parents there.

 

Emily

 

The patrol leader is usually one of the boys. The scoutmaster is who you should contact. Also, most of the parents here are actually saying it is up to your boy to talk to his leaders, which is true. Cubscouts is heavy parent involvement. He has to get his merit badges from people who are signed up through the organization to pass them off. It isn't like cubscouts.

[linders]

It's going to be a steep learning curve for you son, but it's what others said....

 

In Boy Scouts, the boy is responsible and must take the initiative. In our troop, this means:

 

- The scout needs to (a) take notes at the troop meeting or call his patrol leader to get info about upcoming events. No emails to parents. (Another parent likened this to the fact that in the middle school, the kids have an assignment book and are expected to write down homework for each class. The teacher doesn't do it for them.)

 

- The senior boys lead the meetings, calling on the younger scouts as appropriate. Parents don't usually stay at meetings and if they do, they stay out of the discussion. (One of our scouts is constantly embarrassed by his mom, who sits behind him and points things out to him during the meeting.)

 

- The boy maintains his scout book - he reads his rank/merit badge requirements, seeks out appropriate help in completing them, gets them signed off by an adult or scout leader (not a parent). When a scout believes he has completed a rank, he puts his name on our scout room white board requesting a Scoutmaster conference, then Board of Review. DS12 is completing his first year as a boy scout and I will sometimes say, "Hey, have you updated your book lately?" And if he comes to me with a question, I will answer it, but I do not go through it with him, nor does a leader.

 

Perhaps you could suggest that your son contact his patrol leader and ask his advice on all this? But do encourage him to make the call, rather than you contacting an adult leader.