Friday 10 August 2012

Quotes of the Day Part 2: Day 9

20 Things Not to Do
~or~ Say at Your Eagle
Board of Review

Thing #1:
You call THAT a question?...
Why the Heck did they Make you...
a Leader?;

Thing #2:
Come to the BOR Wearing your...
Uniform Backwards!;

Thing #3:
Answer every Question with "Mind
your own Business!;

Thing #4:
There will be a Short quiz After...
my Presentation!;

Thing #5:
Answer Every Question...
with a Question!;

Thing #6:
For Every Question Answer...
with "I Could Answer the...
Question but then I would...
Have to Kill You"!;

Thing #7:
"Well I Saw it on the Internet...
and Thought it Would be...
a Great Idea"!;

Thing #8:
Telling the BOR Members...
"I Don't Know...
I Didn't Write This!;

Thing #9:
Treat BOR Members Like There...
One of You Homeboy's and Say...
"Yo, a Smooth Shout Out...
to My Homies!";

Thing #10:
Before the BOR Begins...
Ask the Board "Could I...
Light a Campfire in the...
Room!" and if They Say "No"
Continue to Beg Them Through...
the Entire BOR!;

Thing #11:
Have Troop Members Rush-in... 
and Begin a Food Fight!;
Make Sure Though that the Board...
Members are the Primary Focus...
and Target of Your...
Attack!;

Thing #12:
Answer the Questions Like...
How You Play the Game...
"Charades"!;

Thing #13:
You THINK this was BAD?...
Let me READ this LIST to SHOW...
YOU What I COULD...
Have DONE!;

Thing #14:
Hang a Sign that Says...
"Thank YOU for NOT...
Asking ANY Questions"!;

Thing #15:
Have your Friend Burst in...
and Engage you in a Duel...
but while Fighting...
Continue to Answer
Questions like this Was...
Just like Any Other...
Day or Outing!;

Thing #16:
Every Time you Ask a...
Question or While in the...
Middle of your Answer...
us the Word "Uhh" as...
Often as Possible!;

Thing #17:
Every Time a Board Member...
Asks a Question Continuously...
Soak that Person until...
You Finish Answering the...
Question!;

Thing #18:
Tie each Board Member to...
there Chair using as Many...
Knots as you Know and then...
Make the Board Members...
Untie Themselves From...
their Chairs!;

Thing #19:
Tell the Story about how this Year...
During Camp you and your Pals...
Convinced the Youngest Scout to Roll...
Down the Road to the Waterfront
in a Barrel! First Time Everything...
went Great but the Second Time...
Was a Absolute Disaster because...
a Troop (Largest in Camp!) Walked...
onto the Road Right Where the...
Barrel was Heading and even Worse...
the Barrel Crashed into the...
Troop Sending Scouts and Scouters...
Flying in Every Direction! Officially...
Our Troop was Banned but even...
Better was that our Troop...
Created the BIGGEST...
EMERGENCY in the 50+ Years...
it has Been in Operation! The Troop...
we Hit had 30 Scouts at the Beginning...
of Camp but because of this...
Incident only 3 came OUT...
Uninjured! The other 27 Scouts...
Ended up Going to 5 Different...
Hospitals but Unfortunately...
Due to the Number of Scouts...
Injured the Troop Ended up Being...
Spread Across Hospital in a...
100 Mile Radius of the Camp!;

Thing 20:
All of a Sudden you for Some...
Reason CAN NOT Remember...
the SCOUT OATH and the...
SCOUT LAW!;

(Oh just for your information 3 of the parents present for the Eagle Board of Review that were from the Troop that was affected by the Scout Camp disaster this year! Little to say the Eagle Candidate did NOT PASS his Board of Review! Later on after failing a second Board of Review the Eagle Candidate had to go in front of the Council Advancement Committee which to the dismay of many parents passed the Eagle Candidate due to the fact that he had completed all his requirements and work! The family sued the council for gross negligence which thankfully for the Council was over ruled!)  

Quotes of the Day Part 1: Day 9

Top 10 Reason Why Not
to Be an Eagle Scout:

Reason #1:
The Scout Uniform isn't a...
"Babe Magnet!";

Reason #2:
Outdoor Latrines have this bad...
Habit of not Having 
Any Walls!;

Reason #3:
You get to Miss the Chance to see...
Every facet of Murphy's Law...
in Action on Every campout...
You Attend!;

Reason #4:
Avoid flack from your Friends for...
Missing whatever goes on During...
the Weekend of your Campout!;

Reason #5:
Never get to Sleep 3 Guys in the same...
Wet Sleeping-Bag!;

Reason #6:
Miss the Opportunity to Spend 2 Months...
of each Summer in your Teen years...
Applying every...
Antibiotic Cream,...
Antibiotic Lotion,...
~&~
Spray offered by the...
Medical World on...
Boils,...
Infections,...
Rashes,...
~&~
Poison Ivy!;

Reason #7:
Avoid the Rants, Ramblings,
Scolding's, Arguments,  Battles, Fights,
Insanity, Bluntness, Demands, Orders,
Trouble, Headache, and Heartache
from the Scoutmaster!;

Reason #8:
You won't have to Make a 7 am Campout...
Departure the Night after your...
Prom, or Worse miss...
Prom because your the...
Senior Patrol Leader!;

Reason #9:
Have more Time to Run with...
your Gange!;

and Finally...

Reason #10:
You'll be Like the Other 98...
Percent of Scouts!

Explanation and
Commentary:
So whats the whole point behind these "10 Reasons Not to Become an Eagle Scout"? Don't we want to to get every Scout we can to achieve the daunting task of becoming an Eagle Scout? Why would you want to give excuses to other Scouts to not earn their Eagle Scout? Is it okay to not become a Eagle Scout? And finally Isn't becoming an Eagle Scout the primary goal of Boy Scouts?

Becoming an Eagle Scout while its a great achievement is not the purpose of Boy Scouts. It is an award that is highly respected and honorable because so few people achieve. In your unit achieving the goal of all your members earning their Eagle Scout would be awesome but in reality it just is not possible because of the perseverance, dedication, and skill this award requires. In my opinion if more than 70% of your members become an Eagle Scout it is highly likely that your unit is not fully implement the Boy Scout Program as intended. While this is true a fair amount of the time it is still possible to get 100% of your members to earn their Eagle Scout but the odds and the stats are stacked against you! Common examples could include:
  • Making adjustments or changes to Rank Requirements
  • Making adjustments or changes to MB Requirements
  • Not having the Scout be held to the same standards as others across the country.
  • "Merit Badge Mill" Units which are units that earn merit badges just to earn MB's and are MB's that end up being earned way to fast.
  • Adult misconduct when it comes to handling advancement related activities.
One important thing to mention is that it is NEVER the youth's FAULT when it comes to ISSUES with ADVANCEMENT. The ONLY group of people in the Troop that is RESPONSIBLE for advancement issues in EVERY situation is the ADULT's and ADULT LEADERS! For me there is no if, ands, ors, or buts about this because the adults are the ultimate gatekeeper when it comes to Scout Advancement.

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Assistant Scoutmaster
Camp Gorsuch 2012 Super-Troop Coordinator
T1316- Eklutna District; T669- Tustumena District; T125- Denali District;
Program Committee; Training Committee; Cope Committee; Camping Committee:
NSJ2005 Participant- Youth QM; NSJ2010 Subcamp 7 Staff;
NSJ2013 Extreme Sports Staff; WSJ2007 Youth QM; WSJ2011 IST;
Eagle Scout; OA Nanuk Lodge; Philmont AA2008; 2010 NYLT Staff- Youth QM;


If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.

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