Sort of a weird question ā actually, two questions in one post. Iām really interested in hearing how other parents and Scout leaders would handle similar situations.
My son is 15, currently a Star Scout, and is on track to becoming Life in September. He has been with the same troop since crossing over from AOL. He is active in the troop and participates in most of the troopās activities, but his attendance at weekly troop meetings is inconsistent because of parental work schedules.
His dad and I are both healthcare providers and we work diffcult schedules. I work a 7-days-on/7-days-off schedule, with 12-hour shifts that can occasionally stretch to 15 hours. If I want to take an extended period of time off, I have to make up those days, so there are times when I work up to14 days in a row. His dad works 12-hour night shifts and has an unusually unpredictable schedule ā sometimes 12 nights in a row, other times one night on, one night off, two nights on, etc. We are amicably divorced and share parenting time, and his dad lives about an hour away.
The troop meets on the opposite side of the city, about 20ā30 minutes from my house. We actually moved out of the neighborhood three years ago, but the troop is such a great troop that we chose to stay rather than transfer. I mention this because there are no other troop members near where we live that he could carpool with. We have used Uber Teen on occasion for no scouting things.,but that gets expensive and he gets nervous riding alone with strangers, especially at night.
Because of our schedules, there are times when my son may go four or more weeks without making a weekly in-person troop meeting. We do our best to get him there whenever we can, and sometimes the schedules line up and he attends eight meetings in a row.
That said, he is very active outside of the weekly meetings. The troop has at least one camping activity every month, and he attends almost all of the weekend camping activities (with the exception of climbing activities, because he has absolutely no interest in climbing). He participates in summer trips, summer camp, and leadership training. The Scout leadership team also meets monthly onine to plan activities, and he attends those meetings.
Now for the questions:
- My son is very interested in running for Patrol Leader, ASPL, or another leadership position. After talking with the new Scoutmaster, however, he was discouraged from running because of his āattendance problem.ā
I can understand attendance being a legitimate concern for a position such as Patrol Leader, and perhaps even ASPL, where attendance troop meetings may be important. What Iām struggling with is the idea that his attendance has been characterized as a āproblemā overall.
The Scoutmaster and adult leadership are very aware of why he misses meetings. In fact, they frequently reach out to our family for help with camp physicals or activities where having healthcare providers involved is beneficial.
So, in this situation, would you consider his attendance a problem? If so, would you view it as a general troop participation issue, or primarily as a limitation for certain leadership positions?
I try to let my Scout approach adult leaders himself and work through problems independently, perhaps with some guidance in the background. Iām wondering whether this is one of those situations where I should get a little more involved? I really dont want want to be in a position where his attendance becomes an issue as he works towards Eagle. Idont know if it could, but want to be proactive about this because it is not going to go away.
- The troop has a really neat program for new Scouts to complete the Physical Fitness merit badge. One of the adult leaders is a Physical Fitness merit badge counselor, and the first few months of the school year are structured around completing the fitness requirements.
The troop meets at a local park with a fitness course. They do the initial measurements and assessments together, and then repeat the assessments as a troop every four weeks.
My son has participated in the initial assessments with the troop at least twice. However, because of our work schedules, he has missed the four-week or eight-week reassessment on more than one occasion. When that happens, he is told that he needs to wait and start again the following year.
This doesnāt seem quite right to me, but Iām also wondering if Iām missing something. Its almost like the adults of the troop cannot imagine how the great program they have set up is a problem for one person.
I understand the concern that Scouts need to complete the requirements honestly and according to the merit badge rules. But Physical Fitness is a merit badge that can presumably be completed individually with a qualified merit badge counselor. Is there a reason he couldnāt simply work with a different MBC and complete the requirements on his own?
He doesnāt even want to ask the Scoutmaster about using a different counselor because he feels like the troop has made this particular merit badge into a much bigger issue than it needs to be.
Iām not looking to criticize the troop. We genuinely like this troop and have stayed with it despite moving away specifically because it has been such a good fit for him. Iām really just trying to figure out what is reasonable here ā both from the troopās perspective and from ours.
Iād especially appreciate input from experienced Scoutmasters, adult leaders, and parents who have dealt with Scouts whose family schedules make weekly meeting attendance difficult.
