Why a Board of Review?
A Board of Review is required for
all rank advancements except Scout. Many parents
are recruited to participate in them
without really understanding the purpose. According
to the Boy Scout Handbook, Boards of
Review are made up of adults associated with
the troop who want to learn more
about the scout and understand what scouting is doing
for him. The intent of a Board of
Review is not to re-examine the scout since he has
already been tested on the skills
and activities required for the rank, but instead
•
to be certain the Scout
has completed the requirements for the rank;
•
to evaluate the
Scouting experience within the unit; and
•
to encourage the Scout
to progress with both leadership and rank advancement.
The Board of Review provides
"quality assurance" on advancement activities in the unit
and whether they are helpful to the
Scout. The board should attempt to determine the
Scout's attitude and his acceptance
of Scouting ideals and scout spirit, which is defined
as living the Scout Oath and Scout
Law in everyday life. In summary, it is an opportunity
to review the Scout's attitudes and
accomplishments and his future direction in applying
the Scouting experience to his
everyday life.
Who serves on a Board of Review?
For all ranks other than Eagle, the
Board of Review will consist of three troop committee
members. The BOR Coordinator
typically acts as the chairperson of the Board of
Review. Sometimes experienced
parents or committee members may fulfill this role,
particularly if more than one BOR is
run simultaneously. Relatives or guardians may not
serve as members of a Scout's Board
of Review. The Scoutmaster and Assistant
Scoutmasters should not participate
in a Board of Review, though there are rare
exceptions such as on campouts if a
BOR must be completed.
For the rank of Eagle, the Board of
Review consists of three to six members drawn from
Scouting and the community. One
member of the District Advancement Committee must
be a member of the Board of Review
for Eagle and always serves as chairperson. At
least one member of the troop
committee participates, often the Troop Committee Chair,
BOR Coordinator, or Advancement
Coordinator. A Board of Review for Eagle may
contain members of the community who
are not registered Scout Leaders and the Scout
may request an individual to be a
member of his Board of Review, such as his school
principal or church pastor or family
friend. Scoutmaster or Assistant Scoutmasters from
the Scout’s unit, relatives,
and guardians may not serve on an Eagle BOR.
How does it work?
Several events must occur prior to
the BOR commencing:
•
The scout must check
with the Troop Advancement Coordinator and ensure
his scout book is in agreement with
the Troop records. The Scout may then
participate in his Scoutmaster
Conference, which may involve retesting the scout
on skills to make sure they area
ready to move forward. Once that is completed,
the scout should take the Troop
advancement printout and his book to the BOR.
•
The Scout must be in
Class A uniform. From April to November, that includes
Scout pants, shirt, socks, and belt.
During the rest of the year, blue jeans are
acceptable pants.
•
The chairman of the
Board of Review must ensure that all the requirements have
been "signed off" in the
Scout's handbook and match the advancement report.
•
Finally, the chairman
should ensure that leadership and merit badge records are
consistent with the requirements for
the rank.
Once the BOR begins, the Scout and
members of the board should introduce
themselves. The chairman of the
Board of Review should then ask the Scout to come to
attention, and recite the Scout Oath
and Law. Younger scouts may be nervous and
require some coaching.
Because many boys are ill at ease
when talking to adults, a few ice breaker questions
about school or other such subjects
are appropriate to put the scout at ease and allow
the board to get to know him. The
board members then ask questions appropriate to the
rank for which the scout is being
examined. The questions should be open-ended,
offering an opportunity for the
Scout to speak about his opinions, experiences, activities,
and accomplishments. If an answer is
brief, the members may follow up to elicit a more
complete answer. The board of review
members should refer to the Boy Scout
Handbook, as needed, during the
review.
The general theme of the board may
be observed in the following sample questions:
•
What do you like most
in troop outdoor activities?
•
What new things did you
do/learn on your latest campout/service project/ troop
meeting?
•
What did you learn/feel
in giving service to others?
•
Why is being a Boy
Scout important to you?
•
What are your goals in
Scouting?
•
How will fulfilling
requirement number ______ help you?
These types of questions will help
the boy to see the value and practical application of
his efforts.
The time for a Board of Review
should be from 10 to 20 minutes, with the shorter time
for the lower ranks. When all
members have had an opportunity to ask their questions,
the Scout is excused from the room.
The board members then consider whether the
Scout is ready for the next rank;
the board's decision must be unanimous. Though it
does not occur often, sometimes the
board will decide the scout should come back at a
subsequent time. Board members
should not be afraid to make such a decision if a
Scout is clearly not ready.
Once the decision is made, the Scout
is invited back into the room, and the Chairperson
informs the Scout of the board's
decision. If the Scout is approved for the next rank, he
should be congratulated and
encouraged to continue advancing. If there are issues
which prevent the Scout from
advancing to the next rank, the board must explain why
and the Scout will be told what must
be done to correct any deficiencies. The
Chairperson should follow up and
discuss the issues with the Assistant Scoutmaster
and/or Scoutmaster who conducted the
Scoutmaster conference regarding the
deficiencies. The Advancement
Coordinator should also be informed so notes can be
added to the advancement record.
Both the Scout’s book and the
troop advancement report must be signed by the BOR
members. The Scout must then take
those to the Advancement Coordinator to ensure
the information is recorded.
What questions should be asked at a
Board of Review?
The questions for Tenderfoot, Second
Class, and First Class are relatively simple and
usually address information about
the Scout's participation in his unit, how he applies the
skills he has learned, his progress
towards the next rank, and whether he enjoys and
benefits from his association in
Troop 410. The questions for Star, Life, and Eagle focus
more on how Scouting influences or
aids the boy’s broader life and experience. If the
Board of Review is for a Life rank
and the Scout near his 17th
birthday, it is
appropriate
to point out that he doesn’t
have much time to complete his Eagle.
These questions are intended to
serve as a guide. Individual board members may ask
others as long as they fall within
the overall purpose of the board.
Fundamental Scout knowledge
Every Scout should know the meaning
of “Scout Spirit”. They may have all kinds of
answers, many of which are
acceptable, but the real answer is to live by the Scout Oath
and Law. At any rank the Scout
should be asked about the meaning of Scout Spirit and
how he demonstrates Scout Spirit in
the Troop and in everyday life.
All Scouts must know the Scout Oath:
On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally
straight.
And the Scout Law:
A Scout is:
Trustworthy,
Loyal,
Helpful,
Friendly,
Courteous,
Kind,
Obedient,
Cheerful,
Thrifty,
Brave,
Clean,
Reverent.
Tenderfoot Rank
This is the Scout's first Board of
Review. They will generally be a little nervous and the
process may require some explanation
on the part of the Board of Review Chairperson.
Try to set the scout’s mind at
ease with some simple questions about themselves, such
as what patrol they are in and what
campouts they’ve attended recently. The Board of
Review should try to gain a sense of
how the Scout is fitting in to the Troop and whether
they enjoy the Troop activities.
Always encourage advancement to
Second Class, but also stress the importance of
adequately learning scout skills
since they will need these basic abilities throughout their
scouting career. Point out that the
Scout may have already completed many of the
requirements for 2nd Class. The
approximate time for this Board of Review should be
10-15 minutes.
Sample Questions:
1. When did you join our Troop?
2. How many Troop meetings have you
attended in the last month?
3. Tell us about your last Troop
campout. Did you enjoy it and why or why not?
4. How would the first aid skills
you must know for Tenderfoot help on a campout?
5. Would you know how to treat a
minor cut if another Scout got one?
6. Where did you learn how to fold
the American flag? Tell us about a flag
ceremony in which you participated.
7. If you were on a hike and got
lost, what would you do?
8. What is the "Buddy
System" that we use in Scouting? When do we use it?
9. Did you show any change in your
ability with the physical fitness requirements
(push-ups, pull-ups, etc.) when you
were retested after 30 days?
10. What does it mean to a
Tenderfoot Scout to "Be Prepared"?
11. Do you feel that you have done
your best to complete the requirements for
Tenderfoot? Why?
12. What "good turn" have
you done today?
13. Please give us an example of how
you obey the Scout Law?
14. What do you like best about our
Troop?
15. What does it mean for a Scout to
be "Loyal"?
16. Do you plan to go to summer
camp?
17. What troop activities were your
favorites?
18. What could be improved within
the Troop?
Second Class Rank
This is the Scout's second Board of
Review. They should be more at east with the
process, unless it has been some
time since the Board of Review for Tenderfoot.
Questions should focus on the use of
the Scout skills learned for this rank, without
retesting these skills, and the
Board members should try to understand how this Scout is
integrating within the troop.
Encourage work on the remaining
requirements for First Class, but again stress the
importance of learning the skills.
The approximate time for this Board of Review should
be 10-15 minutes.
Sample Questions:
1. Tell us about a service project
in which you participated.
2. Where did you go on your last
Troop campout? Did you have a good time? Why
or why not?
3. On which outing did you assist in
preparing and cleaning up a meal? What was
the menu?
4. What is in your personal first
aid kit?
5. What have you learned about
handling cutting tools (axes, saws, etc.)?
6. Do you carry a map and compass on
campouts? How might they be useful?
7. Have you ever done more than one
"good turn" in a day?
8. What do you consider when
selecting a campsite?
9. Have you earned any merit badges?
If "Yes": Which ones? Why
did you choose them? Who was your counselor?
If "No": Encourage getting
started, and suggest one or two of the basic ones
(e.g., first aid).
10. Did you attend summer camp with
our Troop last summer?
If "Yes": What was your
best (worst) experience at summer camp?
If "No": Why not?
11. Do you plan to attend summer
camp with our Troop next summer?
If "Yes": What are you
looking forward to doing at summer camp?
If "No": Why not?
12. What suggestions do you have for
improving our Troop?
13. How do you help out at home,
church, school?
14. How is it possible to live the
Scout Oath and Law in your daily life?
15. What does it mean to say,
"A Scout is Trustworthy"?
16. When do you expect to complete
the requirements for 1st Class?
First Class Rank
By this point the Scout should be
comfortable with the Board of Review process. The
Scout should be praised for
completing the First Class requirements, particularly if he
joined Boy Scouts less than a year
ago. In achieving the rank of First Class, the Scout
should feel an additional sense of responsibility
to the troop and to his patrol. The First
Class rank will produce additional
opportunities for the Scout (Order of the Arrow,
leadership, etc.). Merit badges will
begin to play a role in future advancement to the Star
and Life ranks. Encourage merit
badge work if it has not already begun. The
approximate time for this Board of
Review should be 20 minutes.
Sample Questions:
1. On average, how many Troop
meetings do you attend each month?
2. What part of Troop meetings are
most rewarding to you?
3. What does it mean to be a First
Class Scout?
4. Tell us about your last campout
with the Troop. Where did you go? How did you
help with meal preparation? Did you
have a good time? (If "No", why not?)
5. If you were in charge of planning
and preparing a dinner for your next campout,
what would you select?
6. As a First Class Scout, what do
you think the older scouts and adult leaders will
expect from you on an outing?
7. Why is it important for you to
know how to transport a person who has a broken
leg?
8. When and where did you do your
swimming requirements?
9. Why is it important for you to be
able to recognize local plant life?
10. What did you learn about using a
compass while completing the orienteering
requirement? Where did you do it?
11. What does it mean to say,
"A Scout is Courteous"?
12. Why are merit badges a part of
Scouting?
13. What is your favorite part of
Scouting? Least favorite?
14. How does a Scout fulfill his
"Duty to Country"?
15. What leadership roles have you
held while with the troop? What position would
you eventually like to hold?
Star Rank
With the Star rank, emphasis is
placed upon service to others, merit badges, and
leadership. Scout skills remain an
important element for the Star Scout; however, the
emphasis should be on teaching other
Scouts these skills. Explore how the Star scout
can assist with leading his patrol
and troop. Attempt to understand how the Scouting
philosophy is becoming part of the
Scout's life. Often the Star rank is a place where
Scouts "stall out". Encourage
the Scout to remain active, and participate fully in his
patrol and troop. If the Scout
appears to be looking for additional opportunities, suggest
leadership positions such as Den
Chief or Troop Guide.
The approximate time for this Board
of Review should be 20 minutes.
Sample Questions:
1. How many Troop campouts have you
attended in the last three months?
2. Tell us about the last service
project in which you participated.
3. How have the Scout skills that
you have learned helped you in a non-Scouting
activity?
4. How many merit badges have you
earned? What was the most difficult (fun,
challenging, expensive, etc.)?
5. Were any of the merit badges too
easy?
6. Which is more important: Becoming
a Star Scout, or learning the skills prescribed
for a Star Scout?
7. Why do you think a Scoutmaster's
Conference is required for advancement in
rank?
8. What leadership positions have
you held? What challenges did they present?
What position would you like to
hold?
9. How would you get a Scout to do
an unpleasant task?
10. What if you had a friend in
scouts who did something wrong and no one knew but
you? How would you handle the
situation?
11. What responsibility does a Star
Scout have to the troop and younger scouts?
12. What responsibilities do you have
at home?
13. What is our "Duty to
God"?
14. What does it mean to say "A
Scout is Loyal"?
15. How are the Scout Oath and Law
part of your daily life?
16. When do you plan on achieving
the Life rank?
Life Rank
The Life rank is the final rank
before Eagle. The Life Scout should be fully participating in
the Troop, with emphasis being
placed on leadership in the unit, as well as teaching
skills and leadership to the younger
Scouts. Merit Badge work should be a regular part
of the Scout's career. Scouting
values and concepts should be an integral part of the
Scout's daily life.
At this point, the Scout is starting
to "give back to Scouting" through leadership, training
of other Scouts, recruiting, keeping
Scouts active in the program, etc. Explore
suggestions for improving the
program.
The approximate time for this Board
of Review should be 20 minutes.
Sample Questions:
1. What has been your worst camping
experience in Scouting?
2. How many troop meetings have you
attended in the past two months?
3. Have any of the merit badges you
have earned lead to hobbies or possible
careers?
4. Of the merit badges you have
earned, which one has been of greatest value to
you in your everyday life? Why?
5. Why do you think that the three
"Citizenship" merit badges are required for
Eagle?
6. What is your current (most
recent) leadership position within the Troop? How
long have you held that position?
What particular challenges does it present?
7. What can you do to encourage your
friends and younger scouts to continue with
the Troop and to move forward along
the Scouting Trail?
8. How do you choose between a
school activity, a Scout activity, and a family
activity?
9. Why do you think that Star and
Life Scouts are required to contribute time to
service projects? What service
projects are most rewarding to you? Why?
10. Why do you think that a Board of
Review is required for rank advancement?
11. How has Scouting prepared you
for the future?
12. What does it mean to say,
"A Scout is Reverent"?
13. What does "Scout Spirit"
mean to a Life Scout?
14. The Scout Oath refers to
"Duty to Self"; what duty do we have to ourselves?
15. Have you started to think about
an Eagle Service Project? What are you thinking
about doing? When?
Eagle Rank
The Review for the Eagle Rank differs
in some degree from the other Boards of Review
in which the Scout has participated.
The mechanics are similar, except that a Board of
Review for Eagle is more in depth,
and might last more than an hour. The Eagle Scout
Rank Application, Life Statement,
Letters of Recommendation (minimum of 3), and
Eagle Project Notebook will be
present and reviewed by the board and are important in
conducting the review by providing
an overall background and context for the Scout’s
accomplishments.
Skill mastery is not an issue at
this point; rather, the goal is to understand the
candidate’s overall Scouting
experience and how scouting principles and goals are
central to his life. Service or
“giving back” to scouting is also very important. Explore
how this Eagle Scout will continue
with service to Scouting, his home, church, and
community.
Sample Questions:
1. What would you suggest adding to
the Scout Law (a thirteenth point)? Why?
2. What one point could be removed
from the Scout Law? Why?
3. Can you give me an example of
someone who is a hero to you? (A real person,
not a character in a book or movie.)
4. Why do you think that the Family
Life merit badge was added to the list of
required merit badges?
5. What camping experience have you
had, that you wish every Scout could have?
6. Have you been to High Adventure
base or a National (International) Jamboree?
What was your most memorable
experience there?
7. What is the role of the Senior
Patrol Leader at a troop meeting (campout,
summer camp)?
8. If you could change one thing to
improve Scouting, what would you change?
9. What do you believe our society
expects from an Eagle Scout?
10. The charge to the Eagle requires
that you give back to Scouting more than
Scouting has given to you. How do
you propose to do that?
11. As an Eagle Scout, what can you
personally do to improve your unit?
12. What will you be doing in your
unit, after receiving your Eagle Rank?
13. Tell us how you selected your
Eagle Service Project.
14. From your Eagle Service Project,
what did you learn about managing or leading
people? What are the qualities of a
good leader?
15. What part of your Eagle Service
Project was the most challenging? Why?
16. If you were to manage another
project similar to your Eagle Service Project, what
17. would you do differently to make
the project better or easier?
18. What are your future plans (high
school, college, trade school, military, career,
etc.)?
19. Tell us about your family
(parents, siblings, etc.). How do you help out at home?
20. What do you think is the single
biggest issue facing Scouting in the future?
21. How do your friends outside of
Scouting react when they learn that you are a Boy
Scout? How do you think they will
react when they learn that you have become
an Eagle Scout?
22. How do you know when a Scout is
"active" in his unit?
23. How does an Eagle Scout continue
to show Scout Spirit?
Eagle Palms
Eagle Palms are awarded for
continued leadership and skills development (merit
badges) after the Eagle Rank has
been earned. The purpose of this Board of Review is
to ensure that the Eagle Scout
remains active within the unit, contributes to the
leadership of the unit, and assists
with the growth of the other Scouts within the unit.
The approximate time for this Board
of Review should be 15 minutes.
Sample Questions:
1. As an Eagle, have the Scout Oath
and Law gained new meaning for you? How?
2. Why is it important to developing
and identify leadership? How do you do this?
3. Since earning your Eagle, what
merit badges have you earned?
4. Since earning your Eagle (last
Palm), in what service projects have you
participated?
5. How do you plan to continue your
involvement with Scouting?
6. What would you say to a Life
Scout who is only minimally active within his unit,
and who does not seem motivated to
continue along the Scouting Trail?
7. If a Life Scout was having
difficulty selecting an Eagle Service Project, what
would you suggest to him?
8. What is the primary role of the
Scoutmaster?
9. How have you begun to "...
give back to Scouting more than Scouting has given
to you".