AoL = Automatic rank advancement?

[NJCubScouter]

It seems to me from reading this thread and a few others in the past, that there are still some leaders out there who do not "get" the difference between Scout and Tenderfoot. When I became a Boy Scout, the joining rank (or badge) was Tenderfoot. "Scout" was created as part of the 1972 (or so) changes (which also included the introduction of skill awards and merit badge requirements for the lower ranks) and Tenderfoot was turned into a "real" rank. But I get the sense that even today, going on 40 years later, the nature of the Tenderfoot rank is still misunderstood by a few.

[evmori]

Thanks for the page quotes, allenj. That's basically what the scoutmaster and committee are doing. The scoutmaster has signed off all the requirements himself and isn't being "given" the badge as BrentAllen eludes to. He's earned it under the guidance of the troop during outings and participation directly with the leader of the troop.

 

jhankins,

 

How long has your son been registered as a Boy Scout?

[Basementdweller]

We retest even with the AOL.

 

As pointed out the boy may learned the knot, oath, law and code for 30 seconds and forgot it. Delaying his scout rank is trivial.

 

If the adults must award the scouts to make themselves feel better then so be it.

[evmori]

Boy Scout isn't a rank.

[Jeffrey H]

In our Troop, AOL's that crossover to the Troop are re-tested on the Scout Badge requirements. They do all requirements. It's very painless because they are familiar with them (or should be), no one complains, and it reinforces the joining requirements to be a member in a Boy Scout Troop. As someone said earlier, these are joining requiements for the Boy Scouts, not the Cub Scouts.

 

 

[Tampa Turtle]

I have heard experienced scouters repeat the "Get your AOL and start as a Tenderfoot" myth; just like the "Earn your Eagle and enter the Army as an NCO/skip basic, etc. (!!)

 

The boy must be retested. Both my boys got their AOL and a week later joined the Troop. They were retested (and had to relearn a couple items) and were awarded their Scout Badge. My youngest got his three days ago at his 1st COH and went to bed very happy "I am now a Boy Scout who earned his very first rank". (I don't know if this is correct but I sometimes refer to them as "Scout Candidates). My boy was proud because he had to do the requirements. Admittedly it took less than 30 minutes to do most of them (not counting the personal safety discussion) but it wasn't a gimmie.

 

Because he rushed to complete it before the rest of the newbies (who missed the first meetings) now he "out-ranks" them and it has spawned some competitiveness which is what we want. Also he is hot to trot to start on his Tenderfoot.

 

None of that would likely happen if he was given a meaningless badge.

[Eagle92]

Old thread, but a goodie.

 

Back in the day, Scout wasn't a rank, so you could get it in one nite. Since AOL does cover all the requirements for Scout, it was just given. If you look in the footnote for Tenderfoot in the 9th ed., it does state a SM "may waive the 2-month service requirement for the Tenderfoot rank for a new Scout who has earned the Arrow of Light as a Webelos Scout." pg 531.

 

So maybe that is where the confusion comes from.

[perdidochas]

Our troop awards crossover scouts who have the Arrow of Light the Scout Badge at the first COH. All the Scout Badge requirements are part of the Ar row of Light or Webelos badge. Tenderfoot is a different matter.

[sherminator505]

AFAIK Boy Scout still isn't a rank. As such, I have always wondered why that badge ever existed, as completing the joining requirements is the prerequisite for wearing the uniform in the first place.

[ADCinNC]

National also causes confusion:

 

"A Webelos Scout who has earned the Arrow of Light Award has now completed all the requirements for the Scout badge and may join a Boy Scout troop."

 

From http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/ImprovedWebelosTransition.aspx

[clemlaw]

AFAIK Boy Scout still isn't a rank. As such, I have always wondered why that badge ever existed, as completing the joining requirements is the prerequisite for wearing the uniform in the first place.

 

I'm probably about the last Scout who joined Scouts without being a "Scout", and I've also never quite figured out what it is. As we have been reminded repeatedly, it's not a "rank". But I'm not sure exactly what it is. Of course, I never was one, so I wouldn't know.

 

Prior to earning Tenderfoot, there was simply an empty spot on my pocket where my rank insignia was supposed to be. This was remedied in a month or so when I earned the right to wear the Tenderfoot badge.

 

The "Scout" badge was first introduced shortly after I joined, and I don't recall whether there were any requirements at all at the time, other than filling out the application form and showing up.

 

When I joined, the Tenderfoot requirements consisted of the following, to the best of my recollection:

 

1. Scout Oath, Law, Motto, and Slogan. (As an older Scout pointed out, "motto" is just another word for "slogan", and the BSA decided that it wanted to have two of them.)

 

2. Pledge of Aleigance and rules for displaying the flag.

 

3. Six knots: Square knot, sheet bend, two half hitches (I've often wondered why it's not just called "one full hitch"), taut-line hitch, bowline, and clove hitch. After Tenderfoot, I never had to learn another knot, but those six have been adequate for all my tying needs over the years.

 

There might have been one or two other little things, but that was more or less it for Tenderfoot.

 

Incidentally, my Tenderfoot and Second Class badges were rectangular. They switched over to the oval badges looking more or less like the current ones at the same time that the "Scout" badge came out.

[Hawkrod]

This a timely and good thread even if it is an older one. It brings up a lot of confusion and misconception about bridging and since we are doing a lot of that right now it is good to see these things. To be clear, AOL does not equal Tenderfoot, it does "almost" equal Scout and I think that although a retest by the SM is not unreasonable along with completing the two points that AOL does not address (Outdoor code and YP booklet), awarding the Scout patch is pretty reasonable immediately. As noted by the BSA: "Arrow of Light The highest rank in Cub Scouting is the Arrow of Light Award. Earning this rank prepares a Webelos Scout to become a Boy Scout. Webelos Scouts who have earned the Arrow of Light Award have also completed all requirements for the Boy Scout badge." and "A Webelos Scout who has earned the Arrow of Light Award has now completed all the requirements for the Scout badge and may join a Boy Scout troop." Now admittedly, those quote from BSA do not address the two missing issues but those should be something that the SM should be working with the DL on prior to bridging so that they would be completed. I also have expectations that the SM would be having some communications with the DL prior to bridging to make sure that the boys are ready. Also note that although older requirements may have been different, they simply do not apply now and should not be used as examples of "how it IS done" they are only examples of "how it WAS done". That is a very important distinction and I think at least one person missed that in the thread. It really is critical to follow the process properly and not try and justify shortcuts and "cheating". The only looser when you do that is the boy. It is not the achievement that is important, it is the process leading up to the achievement that is important. If the boy misses or is allowed to skip any of it then his expectations have just been lowered and his long term success can be threatened. The purpose of Boy Scouts is not outdoor skills, it isn't camping. The purpose of Boy Scouts is to build leaders using the outdoors as a tool to reach that goal. Awarding Tenderfoot without having fulfilled the requirements simply says to the boy that you really don't have to do it right to succeed and maybe that is a very big chunk of what is wrong with many people in America today? We have constantly lowered the expectations of our youth. All it really does is take away from boys who do it properly as cheaters bring scorn upon the esteem of entire group.