Pack18Alex Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Mixed feelings. The boys LOVE the belt loops, it's easy to have stuff for many boys at Pack Meetings. They are much less work than the other ones. However, I feel in our Council (our district and another one whose summer camp we attended), Belt Loops are crowding out electives. I have memories of doing a bunch of electives with my Den and my dad when I was a kid, and the electives seem like they should be a core part of the program. But 10 electives takes 2-3 meetings to plan and execute, while you can do 1 belt loop/meeting pretty easily. OTOH, the academic ones seem silly. I also find it strange that they just rolled out the Nova program, which at the Cub Level is VERY belt loop centric, and they are getting rid of them? I'd like to see more of the electives re-emphasized. One of the joys of the Cub Scout program is pushing old fashioned "boy hobbies" that drop by the way side. The sports ones are great, get exposed to different sports, but it is seeming to crowd out Scouting. I know one Pack that every meeting does 1 Achievement, 1 Belt Loop. So you do 12 Achievements (15 for Tiger) to earn your Rank, but you've earned 12 loops along the way... Which do you think seems more substantial to the boys? Over the summer, my son took an old iPod, installed a belt loop app, and really focused on belt loops with my wife. It was a great experience for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blw2 Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 meh They make handy filler activities to work on in the odd den meeting AND They serve as something to give out as bling during the pack meeting.... My son was energetic about earning them Tiger year, not so much Wolf year, and so far bear year no interest at all..... His belt is nearly full. But.... I have NEVER seen boys compare the loops with friends, see who has more, be jealous or energized to earn more because their friends have something that they don't. I just feel like it's a distraction. What I have seen is den leaders get fired up because another den had more awards than there den..... so the next month was spent working on loops. Don't think the boys care about any of it..... uniform, awards, patches. pins, loops..... They just want to do something fun, like build stomp rockets! If BSA doesn't replace the program with something similar, maybe we can lower our pack dues a couple bucks a year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullet08 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 all the boys love belt loop.. not mine. but in my den, boys are always looking for a way to learn them. instant gratification, or almost instant..motivates the boys to do things otherwise they won't look at twice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmberMike Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Glad to see the belt loops go. They largely seem way too far outside of the scope of what scouting should be about. Video Games? Skateboarding? Kickball? Ultimate Frisbee? Those are things kids do outside of scouting, and there is nothing wrong with keeping those things where they belong, as extra curricular activities, academic activities, and sports. They don't need to be focusing on that stuff in the program, at least not to the extent that they have been where they are rewarded for participation. No one gets a Scouting award from the soccer team, the math club, etc. We don't need to reward kids for doing things that have nothing to do with the intent and purpose of scouting. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertrat77 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Glad they are departing. A good lesson to learn early in life: every experience' date=' or newly learned skill, doesn't always result in a gold star, belt loop, patch or pin. [/quote'] Great idea! Maybe that should be the new Cub Scout Motto! I'm sure it would really help enrollment numbers. If the cubs are going to leave because of the absence of belt loops, odds are the programming wasn't strong to begin with........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpstodwftexas Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Yea Do away with Everything that A Scouter can do Outside scouting...Oh Wait, There would be No Scouting Left..Outside of Earning Ranks What is there Unique About Scouting...Community Service, Nope Now days your Required to have so Many Hours To Graduate from High School...Camping..Nope there Are Now Clubs that promote Camping at all ages...Not just to Boy Scout Age or Venture Aged Scouters.. Name one single Merit Badge that is so Unique to Boy Scout Activity It is Not Taught somewhere or learned outside Boy Scouts..Yea I know No one can Award a "Merit Badge" because BSA Lawyers will chase you down like a Fox..But You can teach someone Computer Science, Metalsmithing, Cooking, Fishing, Archery, and every other so called Merit Badge Activity also. Do Away with Physical Activities Because they should be Having Recess and Physical Education in School everyday..So No Need for those in Scouting Citizenship...Nope got those Classes in Schools also no need for Redundancey.. Only thing Unique In Scouting is the Manner it is Presented and Taught.. For Cubbies, yes almost all want some sort of Patch or award...As they age out, they lose importance 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dedkad Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Yea Do away with Everything that A Scouter can do Outside scouting...Oh Wait, There would be No Scouting Left..Outside of Earning Ranks What is there Unique About Scouting...Community Service, Nope Now days your Required to have so Many Hours To Graduate from High School...Camping..Nope there Are Now Clubs that promote Camping at all ages...Not just to Boy Scout Age or Venture Aged Scouters.. Name one single Merit Badge that is so Unique to Boy Scout Activity It is Not Taught somewhere or learned outside Boy Scouts..Yea I know No one can Award a "Merit Badge" because BSA Lawyers will chase you down like a Fox..But You can teach someone Computer Science, Metalsmithing, Cooking, Fishing, Archery, and every other so called Merit Badge Activity also. Do Away with Physical Activities Because they should be Having Recess and Physical Education in School everyday..So No Need for those in Scouting Citizenship...Nope got those Classes in Schools also no need for Redundancey.. Only thing Unique In Scouting is the Manner it is Presented and Taught.. For Cubbies, yes almost all want some sort of Patch or award...As they age out, they lose importance And now kids can learn and see most everything on the internet, so the only thing that Scouting can really offer is actually going out and doing what you learned or saw on YouTube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mashmaster Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I'm not a fan of them going away altogether. I thing there are too many of them and the pins are too easy. I think they need to reduce them to things like Archery, BB, Hiking.... get rid of ones like Video Games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christineka Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 My son plays piano and writes music competitively. We are not a sporty family. Having my son earn sport belt loops is good for him. He doesn't participate in any organized sports activities. He also doesn't go to school, so he doesn't have pe. The sport belt loops gave my son an introduction to the sports. (He was rather confused on how to play some very popular sports.) The academic belt loops, while very basic, still require effort and give the boy an introduction to the topic. My son was gun ho on belt loops for awhile, but there are several that he only completed 2 of the 3 requirements. Now, I've see belt loops "earned" at cub camp. That is not right. The boys only partially complete 2 of the requirements and then are awarded the loop anyway. That kind of stuff happens at the pack and den level as well. (or at least in my pack) I don't agree with that. Boys love awards. Or many do anyway. I think it is good for boys to try out different activities and academic subjects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dedkad Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 My son plays piano and writes music competitively. We are not a sporty family. Having my son earn sport belt loops is good for him. He doesn't participate in any organized sports activities. He also doesn't go to school, so he doesn't have pe. The sport belt loops gave my son an introduction to the sports. (He was rather confused on how to play some very popular sports.) The academic belt loops, while very basic, still require effort and give the boy an introduction to the topic. My son was gun ho on belt loops for awhile, but there are several that he only completed 2 of the 3 requirements. Now, I've see belt loops "earned" at cub camp. That is not right. The boys only partially complete 2 of the requirements and then are awarded the loop anyway. That kind of stuff happens at the pack and den level as well. (or at least in my pack) I don't agree with that. Boys love awards. Or many do anyway. I think it is good for boys to try out different activities and academic subjects. I hear similar things about Boy Scouts "earning" Merit badges at camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pack18Alex Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 My son plays piano and writes music competitively. We are not a sporty family. Having my son earn sport belt loops is good for him. He doesn't participate in any organized sports activities. He also doesn't go to school, so he doesn't have pe. The sport belt loops gave my son an introduction to the sports. (He was rather confused on how to play some very popular sports.) The academic belt loops, while very basic, still require effort and give the boy an introduction to the topic. My son was gun ho on belt loops for awhile, but there are several that he only completed 2 of the 3 requirements. Now, I've see belt loops "earned" at cub camp. That is not right. The boys only partially complete 2 of the requirements and then are awarded the loop anyway. That kind of stuff happens at the pack and den level as well. (or at least in my pack) I don't agree with that. Boys love awards. Or many do anyway. I think it is good for boys to try out different activities and academic subjects. When my wife was reviewing them with our son, she commented to me that in PE she remembers learning different sports and playing a bit. It seemed to her like the same purpose here, to make you more well rounded. Last Pack Outing, we did Chess and Badminton. Some of the boys already knew Chess and taught the others, the others learned a game they wouldn't have learned otherwise. Badminton is one of those things that is a "only because of Scouts" like Marbles, things people don't learn otherwise. On one hand, I think doing Belt Loops @ Den Meetings is a mistake, it's crowding out the age-specific electives that are way more Scouty. However, for Pack Activities/Pack Meetings/Pack Outings, these are great because Tigers - Webelos II can all do the same activity and receive recognition. My son went Gung Ho as a Tiger, likes earning them as a Wolf. The new Bear Scouts are gung-ho, the existing ones are bored. The Webelos enjoy receiving them but half the time forget to wear their belts. Given that today, in school, PE is so much more limited, I think that they are a great program. My son set a goal of getting them all (I have no idea how to do Snowboarding/Snow Skiing in South Florida)... I doubt he'll hit it, but its neat for him to set a goal, try, likely fail, and grow from that experience. Given Council and National's Cash Flow Problems, I don't understand why they'd cut a program that involves buying 5 cents of plastic from China and selling it for $1.80 at the Scout Store. The Pins, however, are one of those things we could ditch. My son LOVES his (we sewed the C on the Brag Vest, like a letterman's jacket), but they seem to be less about learning about the sport, and more about the leader pencil whipping them through the requirements. The Academic Belt Loops seem like a great and underutilized part of the program as well. After Blue and Gold, I'm looking to see how I can arrange for doing a meeting to satisfy a few electives AND do a Belt Loop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred johnson Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I just realized something. I don't mind the topics of the Belt Loops. I think it's great that scouts can get together and play kickball or badminton and get something to remind them they did it. USABILITY ... I just hate the belt loops. If my son earned 20, I'd have a nightmare trying to put them on a belt and put the belt in the pants and then somewhat regularly wash the pants. The belt loops would be in a drawer and never used. PRICE ... Plus, the belt loop is too expensive. It should be a buck or less. And you get a pin and a belt loop for close to the same thing? What? And the pack pays once for the pin and once for the belt loop. What? PRESENTATION ... When belt loops are presented, they are usually still in the card board with the plastic cover on them. Does not look nice. But it's the only way to keep labeled and somewhere to put the person's name. I guess you could tape it to an advancement card, but we don't do that. Just looks poorly presented. Give me a pin or a patch. Heck, I'd like to see a patch jacket be more common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mashmaster Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I just realized something. I don't mind the topics of the Belt Loops. I think it's great that scouts can get together and play kickball or badminton and get something to remind them they did it. USABILITY ... I just hate the belt loops. If my son earned 20, I'd have a nightmare trying to put them on a belt and put the belt in the pants and then somewhat regularly wash the pants. The belt loops would be in a drawer and never used. PRICE ... Plus, the belt loop is too expensive. It should be a buck or less. And you get a pin and a belt loop for close to the same thing? What? And the pack pays once for the pin and once for the belt loop. What? PRESENTATION ... When belt loops are presented, they are usually still in the card board with the plastic cover on them. Does not look nice. But it's the only way to keep labeled and somewhere to put the person's name. I guess you could tape it to an advancement card, but we don't do that. Just looks poorly presented. Give me a pin or a patch. Heck, I'd like to see a patch jacket be more common. In our pack we present them to to the boys at the Den meeting, they are announced at the pack meeting. But it is a more personal presentation at the den level.. If you follow the requirements for the pins they should be much harder to earn. I'm the CC so I do my best to make sure that they are earning pins for actually doing the requirements. I think the pins help the boys transition to the Boy Scouts where they have to prove they know the material to earn the Merit Badge. I also think that the Tigers and Wolfs really enjoy getting bling, the webelos are too cool for loops :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpstodwftexas Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 My son set a goal of getting them all (I have no idea how to do Snowboarding/Snow Skiing in South Florida)... A Road Trip up the East Coast comes to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pack18Alex Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 My son set a goal of getting them all (I have no idea how to do Snowboarding/Snow Skiing in South Florida)... A Road Trip up the East Coast comes to mind. I think if we do that he'll have to donate pin work so we can do both at once... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now