Summeritme Acitivity Award Pin

[ScoutNut]

This discussion only proves that BSA has volunteers writing some of their copy.

 

Most of the BSA sources I found simply state that the Cub has to attend a Summertime activity each month in order to earn his pin.

 

Lets us look at this logically (I know I am asking a lot!) -

 

The BSA National info on the Summertime Awards here -

 

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/cubscouts/leaders/awards/unitawards.aspx

 

Show the orange Tiger pin with the orange necker, and slide. The same for the other Cub levels. Nothing is stated here about "ranks" when earning the individual pin.

 

Cub levels start on June 1 of each year - regardless of which rank award the Cub has, or has not, earned.

 

A boy who registers as a Tiger Cub in June after the end of kindergarten, is a Tiger over the summer, and eligible to attend the Summertime activities of his Pack. If he attends one activity each month he is eligible to earn the orange Tiger Summertime pin.

 

The next summer, he has finished 1st grade, becomes a Wolf on June 1, and attends his Pack's Summertime activities as a Wolf Cub Scout. If he attends one activity each month he is eligible to earn the red Wolf Summertime pin.

 

The next summer, he has finished 2nd grade, becomes a Bear on June 1, and attends his Pack's Summertime activities as a Bear Cub Scout. If he attends one activity each month he is eligible to earn the green Bear Summertime pin.

 

The next summer, he has finished 3rd grade, becomes a Webelos on June 1, and attends his Pack's Summertime activities as a Webelos Cub Scout. If he attends one activity each month he is eligible to earn the blue Webelos Summertime pin.

 

His last summer as a Cub Scout, he has finished 4th grade, continues as a Webelos, and attends his Pack's Summertime activities as a Webelos Cub Scout. If he attends one activity each month he is eligible to earn a second blue Webelos Summertime pin.

 

A boy who registers as a Tiger (or any other level) in September, is out of luck earning the Summertime award for the previous summer when he was not yet a Cub Scout.

 

Why/how would a Tiger who joins in September get a Tiger Summertime award?

 

Would a Tiger who joins in June get TWO Tiger Summertime awards? Or, would you just ignore his first summer completely?

 

The only Cub who is at their level over TWO summers, and thus can earn TWO Summertime pins, is Webelos.

 

 

 

 

[Brewmeister]

A boy who registers as a Tiger (or any other level) in September, is out of luck earning the Summertime award for the previous summer when he was not yet a Cub Scout.

 

Sorry ScoutNut, I disagree because it makes no sense to me to have an award that the majority of Packs, who do their recruiting in the fall, can never award to their boys.

 

We're going to continue to let our boys have the opportunity to earn all 4 color pins, even though they are technically no longer Tigers when they are working on their orange pin. To me that is more "logical" than awarding them a red, green, and 2 blues over 4 summers.

[5yearscouter]

I see a wolf earning the Tiger summer pack award as being like a wolf joining in sept and wanting to go back and earn the tiger badge so he doesn't miss out. too bad, so sad you can only go forward from when you join, not backwards to work on prior rank stuff once you go up to the next level on June 1st. I believe it's in the Guide to Advancement about going back and working on achievements or awards for a prior rank, but I'd have to go look to be sure. I think it's also covered that way in the Cub Scout Leader book. so I would be consistent. if a boy who is wearing a wolf hat and necker can earn a tiger summer pin, seems they may also want to earn a tiger badge, etc.

 

If a pack is upset that they don't have any tigers earning the summertime pack award, then the pack needs to take it up a notch and do a springtime recruiting of those kindergarteners, don't they?

 

 

[Eagle92]

Why I wish they would issue one color pin like they use too.

[Brewmeister]

Except the summertime pin is not a rank award.

 

With all due respect to differences of opinion here, I think many people are overlooking the fact that this is not the Eagle badge. We are talking a summer activity pin for Tigers. It is essentially a "fun" pin. I don't know why you are trying to find ways to not make it fun.

 

And if you want to take it seriously, then by all means do and follow the written procedure for the pin which allow awarding the Tiger pin after the Tiger year is technically completed. Either way gets you to the same result--benefitting the boys, who the program is for.

 

Relax.....(This message has been edited by Brewmeister)

[ScoutNut]

 

No, the Summertime Award is not a rank, but it IS a LEVEL SPECIFIC Cub Scout Award.

 

Tiger specific awards should be earned WHILE A TIGER. That means that all requirements for the award should be completed while a Tiger, The same goes for Wolf specific, Bear specific, and Webelos specific awards.

 

A boy is eligible to be a Tiger Cub Scout June 1, following his graduation from kindergarten, and continues to be a Tiger until May 31, at the end of his first grade year. On June 1, following his last day of first grade, BSA officially makes him a Wolf Cub Scout.

 

Boys joining Cub Scouts as a Tiger in September have the opportunity to earn 4 Summertime Award pins during their time in Cub Scouts.

 

Boys joining Cub Scouts as a Tiger in June have the opportunity to earn 5 Summertime Award pins during their time in Cub Scouts.

 

I realize that the point is that if the boys complete the requirements, they should get the award, and yes, the old single color pin would stop these silly quibbles.

 

However, in their infinite silliness, BSA has chosen to make this a level specific award, and I feel that it is unfair to the June Tigers to ignore any summer awards they earn over their first three months as a Tiger, because Tigers joining in September have not had the opportunity to earn them yet.

 

 

[Brewmeister]

I understand your reasoning ScoutNut, but I disagree with your interpretation of the level-specific nature of the award and do not believe it reflects BSA guidance or practice.

 

We are going to continue to administer the awarding of this pin in accordance with the guidance that can be found in BSA-published literature and elsewhere which states that "Since the goal of this award is for packs to continue through the summer, the pin should match up with the Cub Scouts last rank, not the one they are working on for the next year."

 

 

[Eagle92]

Is the pin really that important or is it just another geegaw for the uniform?

[ScoutNut]

Just to clarify Brew, what will your Pack do if they ever get real radical and end up recruiting some Tigers in June?

 

Are you stating that you will not allow them to participate in any Pack activities over their first three months?

 

Or are you stating that you will not award them a Summertime pin even if they attend three summer activities in their first three months?

[Brewmeister]

I already answered that specific scenario regarding awarding pins, ScoutNut. As to "not allowing" scouts, now that is just ridiculous, and not the usual level of discourse I see from you. No need for it.

 

And no, the pin is not that important, which is why I would not take a hard-line view toward tying the awarding of it to rank, and instead give a September-joining tiger the opportunity to receive all 4 color pins, which is in line with written guidance around it as has been stated here several times.

 

Just give 'em the pin for goodness sake. Seems like something ridiculous to have a brouhaha over.(This message has been edited by brewmeister)

[5yearscouter]

I'm just thinking of it in terms of how our summer goes.

we graduate them to the next rank the end of may, so they have new hats, neckers, slides and books on June 1st. All summer long they work on the things for that rank they are currently working towards. They think of themselves as wolves, cause that's what we call the den eh?

 

So then at the end of the summer, we give them the summertime pin for beging a Tiger over the summer while they were wolves? makes no sense to me at all no matter how you parse it.

 

I view the Tiger pin as a recruiting tool for the spring--join by june 1st and you can earn two things over the summer(at least) Bobcat and the summertime pack award. It gives us even more of a reason to try hard to recruit boys before summer gets started.

 

Now over the summer the boys are working on the stuff for the Outdoor Activity Award, primarily the big go to day camp or resident camp.

Using the same logic as this pin, that it's unfair to the boys who join in September cause they can never earn the Outdoor activity award as tigers cause there usually isn't a day or resident camp after they join until the next summer. So then there is no way they can earn the OAA patch and ALL the possible pins, they just can get a few of them. yeah the extra paw prints aren't colored orange, but give them time, they'll figure out how to do that soon enough to encourage scouts to earn it every year. But let's be realistic, they only care about earning another doo dad, only a few parents wonder why their scout didn't earn it this year, and a quick explanation fixes the issue. The summertime pack activity award is the same. if you weren't a tiger the summer you were a tiger, how can you earn the tiger pin? seems a no brainer to me.

 

realize that there isn't even a spot on internet advancement to record this pin, so yeah, it's not high on the importance list. Whatever you decide to do, be consistent from year to year and give everyone the same chance to earn it. don't change the rules in the middle--which is what it looks like BSA did, cause I don't remember that sentence being in the description in prior years.

 

Someone at national thought they should clarify, but perhaps they didn't fully think it thru? seems obvious to me that much of the bsa documents don't all match up, as different people work on different parts, eh?

[fauxc]

Wow,

 

I see that there are many different views regarding this award pin. I see views on both sides, but since the BSA states that is designed to continue the year through the Summer, I believe that is how I'm going to do it. I only had one Tiger last year that joined in June 2011 before the year started and that was because he was a sibling. Siblings are the only cubs that joined that year in June. For that reason alone, I feel that the Tigers that joined in September should have the opportunity to earn all 4 pins starting with Tiger. If they did join in June, then they can get a tiger pin for that and the next year they will get wolf and so on. I feel that this is an important award because it show that they took the time to complete the activities and not everyone is able to earn it.