2nd & 1st class swimming requirements

[scoutchallenge]

This past summer my scout attended camp in another state because he summers with his father. He earn a Swimming Merit Badge. Now he is attempting to schedule a Scout Masters conference to make 2nd and 1st class. The scoutmaster has said he needs to meet with our troops designated "swimming person" to complete the swimming requirements for the ranks. When I questioned the fact that the Swimming Merit Badge required that these 1st & 2nd class requirement be satisfied before starting the MB at camp (the camp made the boys do them the first day )but, were just not signed on in his book, our Scoutmaster said "It doesn't matter, they had to be signed off by our troop." Please note that my son has been active in scouting for 3 years, and attempted to arrange with our troop to have these requirements met since last April. Does this seem extreme? Should I step back or force the issue? I feel that the MB is proof that the requirements were met. Additionally, there is no scheduled time that the "swimming person" has set or commited to yet.

[optimist]

First of all, before you read anything else here, remember that the Scoutmaster is a volunteer and he's probably just trying to do the job the best way he knows how. Please deal with this situation with care and give him the respect he deserves for taking on the task of handling a troop of Scouts.

The main thing that jumped out at me was you said your son had been active in Scouting for three years. Did you mean he's been in the Scout troop for three years? If so, you may want to dig a little deeper and figure out why your son is still a Tenderfoot. That's an awful long time for little or no advancement. If your son is one of those with little interest in advancement then as long as he's happy, well, no problem. But if the troop has policies which restrict a Scout's ability to advance, this would violate BSA policy and should be addressed.

Your presumption is correct. If the Scout has earned Swimming merit badge, he has earned the Second Class and First Class swimming requirements. If the Scoutmaster had a problem with whether or not those requirements were completed, it should have been handled prior to completion and awarding of the merit badge, not after the fact. The Scoutmaster needs to comply with all aspects of the Scouting program, including recognizing achievements made during participation in official Scouting programs and events.

What can you do? Well, the biggest concern was hinted at above... If not for this incident, would your son still be happy to be a member of this troop? If he was happy most likely he will be happy with the troop again once this is put behind him. If he was already unhappy with the troop and it's program, the simplest solution may be to find another troop. DO NOT consider moving your son to another troop if he was happy with this troop. He will most likely resent the fact he is no longer with his friends and eventually he will drop out which will make all this effort for naught.

Since it's a bad idea to move Scouts in most cases, then you need to deal with the troop leadership. Have you actually talked to the troop's "swimming person"? If they are made aware of the fact your son already completed the requirements, they may just do a quick sign off. If not, since you've already talked to the Scoutmaster and mentioned the exact same things I said above, ask to speak with the troop's Committee Chairman and the Advancement Chairman. The advancement rules are available on MeritBadge.com in the BSA PROGRAM INFO section. Take copies with you so you can show them the rules if there are any questions.

If you still feel like you're getting nowhere, I would suggest talking to the following people in the following order: (1) the troop's Unit Commisioner; (2) the troop's Chartered Organization Representative; (3) the District Advancement Chairman; (4) the District Executive; and (5) the Council.

Once again, as I said at the top, the Scoutmaster is a volunteer and deserves your respect for putting in the time and effort. Handle this in an respectful manner so that the troop doesn't lose one of it's biggest resources, it's leadership. Volunteering to become more involved in the troop (committee member, asst Scoutmaster, etc) is one of the best ways to see to it that problems like this are resolved.