BOR and scoutmaster confrence.

[hacimsaalk]

IMHO either way if a certain scout does not know the skills and are signed off then I will go after the person who signed the book. Not the scout in front of me because he thought that that is all that was needed. older scouts who sign off in the book need to be held more accountable for what they sign off.

i dont know if its just my troop, but this is how it is with us. a scout ( there have been more than one, but this is a good example) came to me, with a requirement for me to sign off. it was about tying a knot ( of some sort) fo rfirst class. he really didnt know it at first, so i told him to come back next week. he did, and he tied it better, but not as good as he could. so, i made him come back at the end of the meeting. he tyed the knot almost flawlessly, and i signed it off. the next weekend was our klondike derby. we got to the knot station, and we had 11 ( i think) knots to tie. knowing that this scout knew how to tie the knot, i assigned it to him. he stood there for the 7 minutes allowed to us, and fumbled with the string. pretty much all he accomplished was a knot, just a simple loop knot. period. i was furious to say the least.

in this case, who is at fault? my self or the scout? many times in our troop this is what happens.

[FrankJ]

Micah: In the case you just sighted. The scout demonstrated the knot, met the requirement, and you signed it off. Exactly correct. The fact he cannot tie a week later does not matter as far as advancement goes. Neither of you are wrong.

As for as the klondike derby goes. If he knew he would have to tie a knot he just learned, he should have reviewed it that day so it would be fresh in is mind.

[vpalango]

Just to continue the thoughts, so boards can't retest (I agree with this) but are there some requirements which are fundamental? Should scouts be able to recite the Scout Oath/Law? Personally I think so, and if they can't they should be asked to return to the baord when they know it.

When is it a re-test of a requirement, or a fundamental part of "Being a Scout"?

Just a thought, not a firm or hard statement.

[mhjacobson]

I have jsut re-reviewed the most recent BOR and SMC training programs. BOTH say that retesting should not occur. In all of the discussions that I have read, I have found one true recurring theme: If the scouts are not given sufficient time to use what they have learned, they will forget it!

In my 50+ years of scouting, I have forgotten many of the things that I have learned. For example, should I lose my Eagle because I no longer remember much of the Morse code and Semiphore that I had to know for first class?

I have served on an Eagle BOR where the scout was so nervous that he needed a few starts before he could say the Scout Law! (prior to the actual BOR) Yet, I knew the scout and knew that he had well mastered all that he needed to become an Eagle. The BOR followed the book and asked him all of the clarifying questions and no one asked him to show us any skills and knowledge. What we focused upon was how he applied his skills in his daily life and how he thought he would apply them in the future.

That was years ago, and he is now continuing to serve the community!

I was a scout so many years ago, that I remember a time that there was not a BOR held on the unit level. I believe that many a scout advanced with the same level of competance that we look for today, and there were no retests!

The aim of scouting is to develop competent citizens, not experts!