Crossover

[Sentinel947]

Ahh . . . The old cross-over delima.

The person who was CM before me would hold all the boys back until everyone was ready to cross over. That would mean sometimes there would be a cross-over in February; other times not until May.

I favored the policy that a boy could cross-over anytime he has his AOL completed. Some boys crossed over on their own, most waited for their buddies. It was done when the boys were ready and wanted to go. Boys who did not earn the AOL did not get to become boy scouts until they completed the 5^th grade.

 

You’ve only got one boy, so if his AOL is complete and he wants to, you could cross him over now and be done with it. Howeverâ€â€if the AOL is not complete he waits until June.

NeverAnEagle: I found another person besides me who finds OA Dance Teams tacky and offensive! Took a while!

 

But like Basementdweller I've never seen the OA at a Cub Scout Crossover or Arrow of Light event.

[packsaddle]

KDD, I agree, also with Basement if I'm reading him correctly. To me it's ok to just get to know the boy well and let him do what is appropriate for him as an individual rather than some pigeon-hole age or other status. Then fill out the paperwork and send it up the pipe. If it's approved your good, if not then you wait until it can be approved. Don't try to force all the boys to the same model.

 

When I was CM, we tried to cross over in February or March and the den leaders knew this. Reason was to allow the boys who were champing at the bit to become scouts to have that chance as soon as possible. The others would merely join the troop after they turned 11, either that or else move on to soccer or some other sport.

[Basementdweller]

10.5 is still being bantered about. I think that is the case with most boys but can we agree that is not always the case ? A boy can graduate 4th grade and still be 9 and earn AOL before he is 10.5 ?

Schools have different entry birthday cut offs. In our school district they cut off early so the boys are older. Sounds like your has a really late cut off date.

 

whether or not the lad belongs in the Pack or the Troop depends on the him, not some rule in a book. I have met 14 year olds who belong in a wolf den and met a couple of bears who would make great tenderfoot scouts.

[NeverAnEagle]

Ahh . . . The old cross-over delima.

The person who was CM before me would hold all the boys back until everyone was ready to cross over. That would mean sometimes there would be a cross-over in February; other times not until May.

I favored the policy that a boy could cross-over anytime he has his AOL completed. Some boys crossed over on their own, most waited for their buddies. It was done when the boys were ready and wanted to go. Boys who did not earn the AOL did not get to become boy scouts until they completed the 5^th grade.

 

You’ve only got one boy, so if his AOL is complete and he wants to, you could cross him over now and be done with it. Howeverâ€â€if the AOL is not complete he waits until June.

The OA members are supposed to be there to welcome them into the brotherhood of scouting. The ceremonies work like this: Parents present child with arrow, CM gives child patch, a group of nearly naked OA boys make an @ss of themselves, then the boys are officially Boy Scouts. The Troop has no part in this.

 

Neckerchiefs are handed out at the Troops Court of Honor, Joining Ceremony, or whatever the Troop chooses to do. The Pack has no part in this. (Our Troop does a Joining Ceremony in conjunction with a COH where possible.)

 

 

The only time the “bridge†is used is for cubs to advance in rank (Ex. Tigers become wolves, wolves become bears, etc.) Because those kids are grouped by grade and move up together in the same unit. When Weblos become Boy Scouts they are all going in different directions.

 

If you are Protestant and willing to pay to have your kids in the Catholic school, they can be in the Catholic Pack, however, they cannot join the Catholic troop, because the Catholic school is only an elementary. Catholic families who do not attend the Catholic school are not allowed to join the Catholic Pack, but are expected to join the Catholic troop. Mormon families whose boys are in a Pack chartered by a school or PTA group will be pressured to join a Mormon troop, etc. Mormon boys depart at age 11 regardless of where they are in the Weblo/AOL process, so either they leave early and miss the ceremony, or they have to stick around after the ceremony until they turn 11 and end up being a den of 1 or 2, depending on which month the cross-over is held.

 

Since the boys are all going different directions (15 troops to choose from in a county with a population of only 32,000) it was easier just to send them when they were ready. I know a lot of the parents appreciated it because then the younger cubs were no longer exposed to the drunken dancing of teen boys wearing only underwear and body paint.

[NeverAnEagle]

We make too big of an issue of crossing-over. Great hoopla is made out of it. Yet with the hoopla around AOL it often is counter to cross-over. "You're done with scouting you can quit.

 

What about the Boy Scout that shows up and he doesn't have an AOL patch on his shirt or even a shirt, or Religious knot, or anything else for that matter because he was never a Cub Scout? What does he see going on around him? All he's done is sign an application form and showed up. Is there a ceremony for him to get a necker and book? or is he to just go pick one up at the scout office when he buys a shirt and pants? When he sits around his first campfire, what can he contribute to the discussion?

 

When I was doing the part of my WB ticket on Web -> Scouts transition, the boy's got their AOL at the Pack meeting following completion of their work. No big deal. Once they turned 10.5 years old, they could simply quit coming to den meetings and start going to troop meetings. No flair, no ceremony, just a smooth transition into the program. They were never told they were at the end of anything, there was no start, just a change of venue and life continued on.

 

New kid with no scouting experience joins up? Well, he comes in and starts a process just like he did to find a troop he liked. He is not assigned a patrol, he has the opportunity to "visit" with each patrol and then upon mutual consent, simply hangs out with his new buddies. There is NO ceremony for him to point out that he didn't do Cub Scouts!

 

I can see a lot of self-esteem building going on in Cub Scout bling acquisition, but if that process doesn't mature into self-respect building in Scouting, one ends up with the hoopla Eagle Scout problems mentioned in many threads.

 

I find that when scouts come in with no Cub background, they tend to develop self-respect quicker because they don't have all that self-esteem seeking baggage to drag along.

 

Stosh

Stosh--

 

Our troop holds a Joining Ceremony for all new scouts. Once they finish the joining requirements we make a big deal of giving them their scout patch and neckerchief.

[Hueymungus]

Once the Scout meets the requirements of joining a Troop, he can crossover. It can be in Feb or May or whenever. The sooner the better since he needs to get camping with the Troop so he understands what is required for Camporee and Summercamp and make a lot new friends.

 

There, that was simple. Carry on.

[dedkad]

Ahh . . . The old cross-over delima.

The person who was CM before me would hold all the boys back until everyone was ready to cross over. That would mean sometimes there would be a cross-over in February; other times not until May.

I favored the policy that a boy could cross-over anytime he has his AOL completed. Some boys crossed over on their own, most waited for their buddies. It was done when the boys were ready and wanted to go. Boys who did not earn the AOL did not get to become boy scouts until they completed the 5^th grade.

 

You’ve only got one boy, so if his AOL is complete and he wants to, you could cross him over now and be done with it. Howeverâ€â€if the AOL is not complete he waits until June.

NeverAnEagle, everything I have read says the bridge is reserved for Cub Scout to Boy Scout transition. All other ceremonies are rank advancements, not bridging.

[NeverAnEagle]

Ahh . . . The old cross-over delima.

The person who was CM before me would hold all the boys back until everyone was ready to cross over. That would mean sometimes there would be a cross-over in February; other times not until May.

I favored the policy that a boy could cross-over anytime he has his AOL completed. Some boys crossed over on their own, most waited for their buddies. It was done when the boys were ready and wanted to go. Boys who did not earn the AOL did not get to become boy scouts until they completed the 5^th grade.

 

You’ve only got one boy, so if his AOL is complete and he wants to, you could cross him over now and be done with it. Howeverâ€â€if the AOL is not complete he waits until June.

Dedkad:

I've never seen a bridge used for Boy Scout Cross-over, but I've only seen cross-overs for 3 of the area packs.

 

I have seen a lot of strangely constructed bridges used at Blue & Gold banquets so that tigers could become wolves, etc. I used to run the FOS circuit for area Packs when I was the Cub Round Table commissioner. Every pack I visited had something the boys had to walk over to advance, though it was seldom very steady. I guess that was part of the fun.