Scout Spirit Question

[wagionvigil]

You will loose with or without bylaws. They are a usless item and against BSA policy.

[Lynda J]

Kids are not perfect. Neither are adults. Sometimes a boy can start down a wrong path and it can take one adult to get him back on track.
If this Scout has always been a good Scout and suddenly things start going wrong there is a reason and maybe instead of beating him down someone needs to figure out what is going on in his life that has made such a drastic change.
I remember years ago there was a young man in a troop my dad worked with that got into some really bad troube. They were going to kick him out of the troop. My dad told them that if they did he would start another troop. That this boy needed scouting. My dad stuck with this young man and worked with him for two years. He made Eagle and turned his entire life around. He is now an attorney in my home town and does a lot of work with troubled kids. Seems he has seen his father with another woman in a very friendly situation and was keeping it bottled up inside and acting out.
Someone needs to find out what is going on in this kids life, and give him support.

[molscouter]

First, the Scoumaster determines whether Scout Sprit has been met, not the BOR.

Second, how in the world can by-laws quantify scout spirit? Spirit cannot be definitized. Scout A (a 16 year old Eagle) is a member of the varsity soccer and basketball teams and has just gotten a job. Much of the time, his job hours conflict with the weekly Scout meeting, and his ball games tend to be on weekends, which effectively eliminates many activities. But on those nights/weekends he can make it, he is there, working with the youngest members of the troop. Scout B (a 16 year old Star) doesn't have any other school related or sports related activities. He is at every meeting and 75% of the activities, but never really interacts with the other members of the troop. Which one is showing Scout Spirit?

As for "wrong crowd", what does that mean? One must be very careful when determining how that will be applied.

[PaulSWolf]

The ONLY definition of Scout Spirit that can be used is the one BSA has defined:

Scout spirit is defined as living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in a Scout's everyday life.

[evmori]

The ONLY definition of Scout Spirit that can be used is the one BSA has defined:

Scout spirit is defined as living the Scout Oath (Promise) and Scout Law in a Scout's everyday life.

Yup that's it! By-laws for Scout Spirit are useless!

[joat]

I'd suggest referring to the sample bylaws found in the Troop Committee Guidebook. Also the chapter on bylaws in the Scoutmaster Handbook.

[jr56]

Agreed, the troop Committe doesn't need bylaws, the scout oath and law are already there for that purpose. As a scoutmaster, I have always had a discussion with each boy individually, how he feels he has lived the ideals of the oath and law in his everyday life. Every boy will apply them as he sees fit, it is my job as scoutmaster to give encoragement and advice on how good a job he is doing.

[mhjacobson]

If the SM used the SM's conferences properly, there would be no need for this discussion. The scout would know what is expected of him in terms of scout Oath and Law (and for his total experience in scouting as well as his advancement) and the SM would know the the scout understands what is expected.

Remember that the SM conference is not only for the purpose of review prior to the BOR.

[jr56]

Very good point.

[PPC_NYLT]

agreed...i've never had the (for lack of a better word) pleasure of having a proper SM conference and despite my best efforts, my SM unfortunately won't take any suggestions on those sorts of things...