Speaking of Advancement....

[Sarge]

A thought occurred to me the other day, and perhaps I can gain some

perspective from this group.

 

Why are there 129 Arrow Electives in the Wolf book?

 

Based simply on the fact that the boys need to complete an even 10 per

arrow point, you would think they would make an even number.

Finish 120 electives, they get 12 arrowheads. But, if a Wolf scout

completes ALL 129 electives, they technically should still only get 12

arrowheads.

Is the fear of the number 13 *THAT* bad that they couldn't add one

more topic?

Personally, I think earning an odd number would look neater, having 2

even columns with the gold cap.

Finishing all 129 electives is, of course, hypothetical.

 

Any insights?

[AlFansome]

I honestly don't think that BSA thinks that hard to even consider stuff like you suggest. 129 is just the number they stopped at. I mean 23 different electives is an odd number, just like 47 (or whatever belt loops). In the Bear year, the calculation is completely different because of the mix and match nature of achievements and electives...you need to do some deep thinking to figure out the maximum number of arrow points!

 

I do hear you that the symmetry is nice on the arrow points! (My son has 6 silvers for both Wolf and Bear years. Coincidence?!? :-)

 

To paraphrase Popeye: "It is what it is and that all what it is"

 

[SctDad]

I may be wrong, but boys can do electives more than once. I ewould not suggest that they earn the same 6 electives 20 times, but is they like building models and build three different ones, then why not give them the credit.

 

For all of those out there who know the rules better, could you point me to the direction of where it may say otherwise.

[Sarge]

I know tigers are allowed to repeat a elective for credit, but nothing is written in the Wolf book about a re-do.

Thus why I'm asking.

With the way the charts are in the back, it seems like a one-and-done type deal.

[Frank17]

For the same reason that boy scouts in the past offered between 121 to 140 merit badges even though it did not always match up to give an even number for earning eagle palms: very few boys earn that many, and just being able to earn them all is a great accomplishment by itself. Webelos is the same for activity badges and compass points, although they have an "I earned all 20" patch for the scout who manages to do them all.

[NealOnWheels]

Sarge,

 

I looked over the Wolf Book and could not find any reference to earning electives more than once either.

 

The Cub Scout Leader Book, however, does say that both Wolfs and Bears may earn electives more than once. It goes on to say to get credit the next time the Scout needs to do a "better job on the new project than on the previous project".

 

The Cub Scout Leader Book also says "There is no limit to the number of Arrow Points a boy may earn". Imagine a uniform with 20 or more Arrow Points!

 

It also says "Only designated elective requirements may be repeated to earn Arrow Points".

 

Now I am really confused because I cannot find anything that says wich ones are designated.

 

As a Wolf Den Leader I would like to know.

[IM_Kathy]

my son is now a boy scout so I don't know if his book is still the same as your boys use, but in his book it has elective 5 "spare time fun" g,h,i you can make more than 1 model - for each model he makes he gets credit for. There are a couple more like that in his book.

 

then in bear they have the same thing, but they also have more requirement choices. the ones they complete but don't need as requirements are awarded as electives.