webelos to scout...if I had it to do over again...

[Beavah]

Yah, interestin' question, Lisa'bob. Around here, "good" troops tend to have a first-year retention rate of about 60%. A few have higher rates, but to be honest they're Webelos 3 units that then have much higher attrition in years 2-3 (and very few high school aged boys at all).

 

I really encourage troops to do "exit interviews." I wish we as a council did them systematically. But here's some guesses.

 

* A big chunk of attrition is due to middle school competitive sports programs. Those are a financial and "required participation" commitment, scouting is not. Unless dad was a scout and valued the program, the middle school sports kids leave. Part of dat is yeh still have to participate in scouts to feel "part of the team" and not fall behind your peers.

 

* Another chunk is "parent exhaustion." Most of these just don't cross over. They've been burned out by all the parent stuff in cub scouting, and are relieved that "it's finally over."

 

* Another chunk is "camping shock" on the part of the kids. Anarchist describes it to a "T". A boy who has been doin' nothing but parlor cubbing and one "fairest of fair weather" camp is stunned by camping in a troop. It's wet, smelly, cold, I have to work, etc. Personally, I think a lot of cub programs lose the adventurous lads before they ever make it to Boy Scouting.

 

* Yet another big chunk is poor parent education/communication by the troop. It's just "too big a leap" for the parents who believe scouting is an "organized activity."

 

* Some boys drop for academic reasons. Middle school can be a tough transition that way.

 

* A final one is boys who are isolated - who don't have friends from the get-go in the troop.

 

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* I don't know what yeh do about the sports folks. Probably nuthin' yeh can do, though it might be interestin' to make webelos more challenging and attractive like soccer.

 

* Might be worth startin' to shift parents during webelos into "support roles". Yah, they have to be present and that's most of the burden, but make it a bit more like "the adult patrol" in boy scouts. Less of a burden on them, more independence for the kids. More of a notion that the den leader and den chief handle the "front end" with the webelos taking a role.

 

* More camping. Camping in weather without running home. No compromises on kids doing chores - helping with cooking, washing dishes, setting up their own tent. Sleeping in a tent without dad. Experience with pit toilets. Knowing how to dress themselves for weather. Having an active, regular program that builds some reasonable level of fitness. Get them into swimming lessons as cubs.

 

* Lots of folks had good suggestions on making webelos a "half-way-point" in terms of parent involvement. Introduce more separation and more chaos. Have boys make announcements. Lots of kid activities where the parents watch rather than help (just like soccer!).

 

* Encourage boys to cross over in good sized chunks of friends. Go out of your way to encourage the "natural leader(s)" among the boys. If yeh can develop a consistent relationship with one troop (like same CO) that helps, because da boys and parents will know older boys and families when they join. Much less scary.

 

Beavah

 

[Eagledad]

>>* A big chunk of attrition is due to middle school competitive sports programs. Those are a financial and "required participation" commitment, scouting is not. Unless dad was a scout and valued the program, the middle school sports kids leave. Part of dat is yeh still have to participate in scouts to feel "part of the team" and not fall behind your peers.

 

* Another chunk is "parent exhaustion." Most of these just don't cross over. They've been burned out by all the parent stuff in cub scouting, and are relieved that "it's finally over."

 

* Another chunk is "camping shock" on the part of the kids. Anarchist describes it to a "T". A boy who has been doin' nothing but parlor cubbing and one "fairest of fair weather" camp is stunned by camping in a troop. It's wet, smelly, cold, I have to work, etc. Personally, I think a lot of cub programs lose the adventurous lads before they ever make it to Boy Scouting.

 

* Yet another big chunk is poor parent education/communication by the troop. It's just "too big a leap" for the parents who believe scouting is an "organized activity."

 

* Some boys drop for academic reasons. Middle school can be a tough transition that way.

 

* A final one is boys who are isolated - who don't have friends from the get-go in the troop.

[Lisabob]

Thank you for your responses, EagleDad and everyone else. I'm in the process of building a webelos-scout transition workshop that we'll present at a roundtable in late spring/early summer, specifically for next year's webelos leaders. Your input is really valuable to me, and I may come back with a draft or two of what we've put together as we get a little further along.

 

Barry, I LOVE the idea of holding the last few months of Webelos meetings in the same location as the troop. Of course, that means most, if not all, boys would probably feel guided to that particular troop, right? Did you have boys who went to other troops, despite this experience? Just curious.

 

 

[Eagledad]

>>Did you have boys who went to other troops, despite this experience? Just curious.

[Beavah]

Yah, I mostly agree with Eagledad, eh? I like his description of buildin' confidence.

 

I'd re-emphasize my points in that area:

 

Camp in a tent with other kids (from Eagledad)

 

Have experience with outdoor cooking (from Eagledad)

 

Have experience with outdoor chores like cleaning (Beavah)

 

Have experience with dressing for the outdoors (Beavah, probably 'cause we're much farther north).

 

Have experience with pit toilets (this seems to be a "big deal" in ways I can't figure out).

 

Learn how to swim and have fun in the water (swim checks, water activities, camp, etc. are really scary if a boy doesn't have some good water confidence).

 

Have a good level of fitness (again, enough confidence that he can carry a backpack on a long hike, keep up with other boys, climb as well as his buddies, etc.)

 

Be comfortable on their own a bit (Beavah)

 

Be comfortable in front of crowds (Eagledad)

 

Be comfortable with troop ritual (Eagledad)

 

Be comfortable around bigger boys (especially important for "oldest children")... either with den chiefs or troop visits/join events).

 

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Now, yeh need to make a similar "be comfortable" or "have experience" list for parents.

 

Beavah

 

[Lisabob]

OK then! Great idea Beavah. Folks, please contribute your thoughts for that parents list!

 

Here are a few of mine (not in any particular order, and certainly not exhaustive):

 

1) be comfortable letting your child go places with out you, at least for a little while, not far from home, and with people whom you know & trust.

 

2) help expose your child to different foods, and the good manners to at least try new things before pronouncing them inedible.

 

3) know that even in Boy Scouts, we're pretty much all volunteers, doing our best, and while all leaders should welcome input and constructive feedback, ranting raving shouting phone messages are usually counter-productive.

 

 

[Eagledad]

>>Now, yeh need to make a similar "be comfortable" or "have experience" list for parents.

 

Beavah