Timing of Boards of Review

[firstclassdad]

Our troop had its last Board of Review in April, 2008. My son was not eligible to advance to Star until May. Now the Troop Committee Chair says they will not have a Board of Review until October, 2008.

I think the troop should have at least a Board of Review this summer, even if they wait on the Court of Honor until October. That was my son can begin advancement to Life rather than waiting.

I note the Advancement Policy in #33088 indicates a Board of Review should be held every three months. The proposed wait would be six months.

Am I unreasonable asking for a Summer Board of Review

Sincelely,

Alan Smith, Northern California

[wagionvigil]

Nope You are coprrect in questioning this. As you said the recommended schedule is every 3 months.

[Quailman]

FWIW, my troop has a stated plan of doing them at the third meeting of the month if anyone has signed up for one. In reality, being the advancement mill that it is, they will gather committee members to do one any time a boy wants one.

[evmori]

BOR's should be on a monthly schedule. April to October is way to long & serves no purpose. Apparently the adults are running this unit.

[ccjj]

Since we are a small troop, we don't have a set schedule for BoR's. As soon as a boy has his SM conference, he comes to me to ask for a BoR. If there are enough committee members at that meeting, he can usually have it then. If not, I tell him to plan for it at the next meeting, and I will make sure to have enough committee members there.

ccjj

[OldGreyBear]

Board of Review scheduling is indeed a by the Troop sort of thing. The Guidelines are for every 3 months, but in the Troop I serve we try to get them done as soon as possible. With over 50 scouts, holding them 4 times a year would create logisitical nightmares. Besides, the BOR is a time for the youth to voice their thoughts, why would you wait to hear a suggestion of be lareted to an issue? If the boy follows the unit procedure to request a BOR, then one should be held

[mt_goodrich]

Our's are done when needed. This upcoming Wednesday, we have all six of our ten boys going before a BoR.

One will be for STAR, four will be for 1st Class and one for 2nd Class. We wanted to be sure they were able to wear their new ranks to summer camp and the one going for STAR is going to be pressed for time to get his Eagle because of his age. He will be cutting it close.

[smtroop168]

At first I thought firstclassdad was kidding. Then I realized it's another instance of adults are clueless to the rules.

Where in the #33088 does it say BORs should be held every three months? If this were true, there would be a lot of Eagle candidates that would miss the 18 age requirement. It says COHs should be held at least 4 times annually.

BORs should be held when the scout has completed all the requirements for the next rank including his SM conference. Anything else is adding to the requirements. We hold them as required but for sure after monthly committee meetings.

[wagionvigil]

IMO There should be a BOR when ever one is called for. Even if it is every week. I know many troops have one while they are at camp in the summer. Lets move these youth up the laddr as soon as they qualify.

[scoutaholic]

I don't have the book memorized but I'm sure it doesn't say, "Schedule Boards of Review at least 6 months apart. This will allow the adults to slow down any advancement in the troop and ensure that you don't get anyone advancing too fast or too young".

We have COH scheduled quarterly, and will schedule BOR 1-2 weeks prior to each COH. However, this BOR is the cleanup one for the boys who have not asked for one earlier. As soon as a boy completes the requirements for rank, especially those where the next rank has a waiting period based on BOR date, the BOR should be scheduled. There is no reason a boy should have to wait several months for a BOR before he can start counting the 3, 4 or 6 months for his next rank.

[evmori]

I don't have the book memorized but I'm sure it doesn't say, "Schedule Boards of Review at least 6 months apart. This will allow the adults to slow down any advancement in the troop and ensure that you don't get anyone advancing too fast or too young".

What book is this in?

[Chief J]

I agree, this is way too long. In my Troop, we have a BOR scheduled for the first Monday of each month. This is not a problem, as we meet as a Troop year-round and do not take a summer vacation.

The scheduled one will guarantee that we have enough committee members present and ready to conduct the board. In addition, we (I) will schedule a BOR if a Scout asks and we have enough committee members on hand whenever needed.

Best of Luck,
Chief J

[firstclassdad]

Hi everyone and thank you for the great responses.

To answer the question of what does the policy say, on page 25 of "Advancement Committee Policies and Procedures" in the section entitled "Advancement in the Unit" under "Troop Advancement Goals" it says in the right hand column

"A minimum of four formal courts of Honor (one every three months) should be held to formally recognize the Scouts in the troop. Presentation of merit badges and and rank badges should not await these courts of honor; awards and badges should be presented at the next meeting after they have been earned. Scouts are recognized again at a formal court of honor"

.

Everything that has been said here is consistent with that policy.

Thanks

Al Smith

[evmori]

Hi everyone and thank you for the great responses.

To answer the question of what does the policy say, on page 25 of "Advancement Committee Policies and Procedures" in the section entitled "Advancement in the Unit" under "Troop Advancement Goals" it says in the right hand column

"A minimum of four formal courts of Honor (one every three months) should be held to formally recognize the Scouts in the troop. Presentation of merit badges and and rank badges should not await these courts of honor; awards and badges should be presented at the next meeting after they have been earned. Scouts are recognized again at a formal court of honor"

.

Everything that has been said here is consistent with that policy.

Thanks

Al Smith

What do Courts of Honor have to do with Boards of Review?

[smtroop168]

I think he has BOR vs COH confused.

[jr56]

We are supposed to be in scouting to serve the youth. Making a boy wait 6 months for a BOR is absurd, and is not in the best interest of the boys. My troop would hold them at least once a month, more often if needed.

[firstclassdad]

I think the BSA Advancement Policy specifically recommends quarterly COH and just assumes there will be BOR preceding each COH. Of course as many have mentioned there is no need to wait for a BOR, they can be held anytime.

Al Smith

[Mrw]

We have 50 kids on our roster. Having BOR every 3 or 6 months would NEVER work for us. Sometimes they are weekly do to the number of boys on the waiting list. Sometimes not for a couple months, again depending on the needs of the boys.

[Chief J]

We are supposed to be in scouting to serve the youth.

Amen, now if only some of these adults out there would only remember that

Chief J

[WeeWillie]

We schedule BORs once a month so our committee chair can line up enough members. We are a small troop. I could see larger troops having them more often. I strongly recommend whatever size your troop, make it a recurring ,scheduled event. (1st meeting of the month, 2nd meeting of the month, every other meeting for larget troops) It give the Scouts something to shoot for. It is also teaching our Scouts a life skill. Somehow, we have lost the fine art of managing our time. One of the reasons our Scouts can't do it is thatb their parents can't either. In the long run it will help advancement. One of the most difficult aspects of the Eagle Leadership Service Project is scheduling. I recently had a Scout almost blow his project because he didn't schedule properly. He arranged for the project to be during a troop camping trip. Since he was one of those 17.99 Eagle candidates, he was in trouble. Fortunately the troop voted to postpone the trip or else he would have been in serious trouble.

No, it isn't adding to the requirement. Troops are allowed to have procedures for effective troop administration.

PPPPPP

I dropped one of the Ps.