AAD Board of Review
AAD Board of Review
Kick it off! Best scouting Year Ever!
The purpose of Ad Altare Dei is to help Catholic Scouts of the Roman Rite develop a fully Christian way of life in a faith community. The Board of Review is the means for the diocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting, through the Religious Emblems Chair to determine if the goals of the program have been achieved in a group of Scouts (and throughout the diocese.)
-Have the requirements for the AAD award have been met?
-Is the work up to standard? (This reflects on the counselor as well as the Scout)
-Do the Scouts demonstrate personal growth in their faith and in understanding of the Catholic faith?
A Board of Review should be composed of 3-5 individuals, ideally 2 adults (one may be a priest) and 2 Scouts who have earned the AAD. The majority of the review should be in the hands of the Scouts. Discuss your “game plan” with the board before the AAD candidates enter. The BOR members need to be very familiar with the program, its goals and the Sacraments. Preferably they should have earned or taught the AAD course in the past. It is inappropriate for the Scout's Religious Emblems Counselor or Scoutmaster to review him. The Religious Emblems Chair should approve the composition of the Board. He is ultimately responsible for the quality of the Religious Emblems program and Board of Review. You may examine several Scouts together if all are able to participate fully in discussion.
The AAD Board of Review is somewhat different from a BOR for Scout advancement. In the BSA advancement program the BOR is not an exam and no testing should be performed. The purpose there is to determine if the Scout completed the task (without testing), and is ready for the responsibilities of the higher rank. Is he growing in the values of Scouting, knowledge, character, and citizenship?
The Board of Review (BOR) in the Ad Altare Dei program has a few differences. While the BOR is not a “reexamination,” we do need to ensure the Scout has completed the work and learned the material. (In BSA the Scoutmaster's conference is the point of testing. In AAD the Scoutmaster's conference is only a review of personal growth and the Scouts willingness to discuss his faith. There is no examination.) The Board should determine that the Scout understands the central point of each chapter. It may be appropriate to ask for clarifications to some of the answers in the Scouts' workbook. This should be a “friendly talk” between the candidates and a few Scout leaders who are interested in his faith. Do not make it too long – 30 minutes should be enough. Make sure all chapters in the workbook are signed by the Scout, counselor and Scoutmaster. The book should be complete-every page.
The Board of Review needs to determine the Scout's attitude and understanding of the following areas. The review and discussion should be offered in a manner as to strengthen his confidence in his maturity and faith. Recognize the Scouts have worked hard to get to this point.
1. Does he have a better understanding of his Christian commitment?
2. Has he learned to understand, support and apply Christian principals to the problems of our day?
3. Has he thought about his vocation in life: vocation to the priesthood, religious life, marriage or single life?
4. How has his relationship with his church grown? His Scout Troop?
5. What is his attitude toward Scouting and the ideals of the program?
6. How does his relationship between Scouting and the Church compare?
7. As a result of the AAD program, has the Scout grown in his understanding and living out of his faith? Has he experienced faith growth?
8. Has he experienced growth in his relationship with Christ? Does he better understand his relationship with God?
9. Does he understand the role of the Sacraments in his faith? Does he understand that our faith community is bound by and strengthened by the sacraments?
10. Does he understand the correlation between Christian values and Scouting values? How does this relate to his life as a Catholic Christian (expectations)? May include Mic-O-Say values and experiences.
11. Ask questions about the program. Did it meet expectation? How would he improve it? Would he recommend it to other Catholic Scouts? Was it enjoyable? What were the best and worse features of the program?
12. Would the Scout be interested in serving as an AAD instructor in the future?
13. Was the retreat to a valuable experience? Did it contribute to his faith growth?