Questions for Webelos to Ask

[Bob White]

"Why the first meeting?"

Let me ask you, Why not the first meeting?

 

The Scout Badge is not a rank, it signifies that the scout has met the joining requirements. If the parents has reviewed and signed the Child Abuse Awareness section at the front of the handbook (as they were asked to do when the scout visited as a Webelos) then it only takes a few minutes to talk to and test the scout to earn the scout badge. What an exciting moment for the scout to go home from his first troop meeting as a Boy Scout with a badge ready to sew onto his uniform.

 

"Do you support just giving them the badge even if they haven't met the requirements?"

No, of course I don't. Why, have I ever said that I did? I don't think so. Or are you fabricating that in order to incite controversy?

 

And Three times is correct.

1) Verbal recognition when the award is first earned

2) The actual award at as soon as possible (the next troop meeting)

3)The pocket or wall certificate at the next quarterly Court of Honor

 

Bob White(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[OldGreyEagle]

I would try to find a younger scout, one who has been in the troop for 1-2 years and one my son knows and have my son ask the scout how he likes scouts. And I would walk away, leaving the two to talk.

 

Then I would ask what was said, specifics arent important, the bottom line, will it be fun for your son or not, all the rest is just window dressing.

[LauraT7]

Also, YOU may not have seen the boy earn his 'Scout' rank - but if a boy has earned his Cub Scout "Arrow of Light" he has ALREADY COMPLETED his Scout Rank requirements, except, perhaps, for the SM Conference.

(Scout does not require a BOR)

 

If he is NOT a cub with Arrow of Light, or not a scout to start with - the Scout Rank is simple to earn and should be set up for the boys to earn in the first meetings.

 

You seldom get a boy that just 'shows up' and joins unannounced. Usually there is some contact with the boy and his family beforehand. A simple handout on the rank (given to the PARENTS) can assure that a boy comes prepared for his first SM conference at the first meeting.

_________________

 

As for what to look/ask for in a troop, you have parent questions and boy questions and they will differ greatly by the individual boy.

 

when you go shopping, do you just take whatever is offered on the store shelf? or do you research & educate yourself on your wants and needs BEFORE you hit the stores so that you don't end up with buyers remorse??

 

some only want to have a good time and go with their buddies - they will adapt readily to any troop structure as long as they have a good time.

 

others are guided by parents who want their boys to have more than a 'good time' they want their boys to learn values, leadership and other life skills from scouting. 11 yr old boys never think about this - if they mention it, it's because some adult influenced them.

 

some will be looking for an "Eagle mill" - some want a true BSA troop.

 

i would have the cub den, probably WITH parents - have a discussion on what kinds of things to look for. The boy and his Parents need to be clear on what THEY want, before they look at the troops.

 

You can educate them on the differences between BOY Scouts and CUB scouts. Most Cub families I have come across haven't a CLUE how very different BOy Scouting is. They need to be prepared - it's a totally different program. If you can - get a representative to come from Boy scouts - not to promote THEIR troop, but to explain the scouting program - how advancement works, what badge counselors are, how 'boy run' SHOULD work, what the patrol method is - etc. Educating the boys & parents will bring up questions that no one else can think of.

 

What activities do their boys like / dislike

how active does the boy want to be? meetings ans one weekend a month? every weekend? in between?

how involved do the parents want to be? not at all? in the background? upfront?

Is training of leaders important to them?

if they become involved are they willing to train?

Is the boy going to be on his own? or will the family support his scout 'homework' (badges, advancement, service)

Will the family support fundraising efforts for the Boy himself and the troop?

will the boy be uniformed and supplied properly? or will he need help?

how important is rank advancement to the boy?

to the parent?

same question for badgework?

How serious are they about Scouting? is it a priority? or is it going to take a back seat to every other sports/school/church event? or somewhere in between?

 

there are no 'right' answers. there is no 'perfect' troop for every scout. As scout leaders, we want everyone to be as gung-ho as we are ;-) But the reality is that not everyone thinks life revolves around scouting! When they know the answers to what THEY want from the program, then they should go out and ask those questions of a few troops. Those troops whose answers most closely match THEIR answers, are the right troop for their boy.

 

laura

 

 

[Proud Eagle]

I really do have to get into this a bit. The Scout badge at the first meeting seems a bit unreasonable. For the benefit of those who do not have the references at hand I have a 1998 printing of the Eleventh Edition of The Boy Scout Handbook. I also have a y2k requirements book. So here is teh core of the requirements:

Meet Age Requirements.

Complete application and health history forms.

Find a Scout Troop.

Repeat Pledge of Allegiance.

Demonstrate sign, salute, and handshake.

Demonstrate square knot.

Undertand/agree to oath, law, motto, slogan, and outdoor code.

Describe Scout Badge.

Complete pamphlet exercises.

Participate in SM conference.

 

I would say this all really depends on if they earned the AOL. If they did it should take one meeting. If they did not earn the AOL it will probably take at least an extra week. Though I have seen a couple with the AOL who took forever to just do that simple list for some reason.

 

I would also point out the First Class First Year is not what must happen, but rather is the opportunity that must be provided. Just because not everyone is making First Class in a year dosn't mean the opportunity was available.

 

Merit badge classes going on during meetings are not an automatic evil. While it is a bad sign if that is all that is done at meetings, sometimes merit badge classes can be a good part of a meeting. For example I did a lot of Pioneering MB with my troop over the summer during meetings. This was part of the preparation for a Pioneering weekend. The Scouts needed to know their knots and lashings to succeed in building the Pioneering devices they had planned. It also happened to be a case where we could do trip prep and a MB at the same time. Worked rather well I think, but what do I know, I am just an untrained ASM.

 

 

OK. I have the negatives out of the way. Time for some positives.

 

I really like the idea of sitting down with the Webelos and parents at a den meeting to talk about the Boy Scout program. Ultimately they do need to make an informed decision and this seems like a good way to do it. Get them to think on their own.

 

Also, I think perhaps there are really four lists that could be created.

1. questions for the new recruit to ask

2. things for the new recruit to look for (or be asked by a parent)

3. questions for the parent to ask

4. things for the parten to look for (positives and negatives)

 

1.

when are meetings? what is the next activity? what do you do? how many people are in the troop?

2.

how the boys interact with each other? Is everyone nice? would you want to do what they are doing? do you think they were having fun and like the troop?

3.

what is done for fundraisers? how is money handled (individual scout accounts, or something else)? how much do things cost?

how much support is expected from parents/families?

what types of outings do you do? what can he do now? what are the long term opportunities for outdoor experience?

how are youth leaders chosen? how are patrols organized? who plans activities?

how fast do people advance?

how are merit badges earned?

how many adult leaders and how many trained?

how long have key leaders been in positions and how long are they staying? Is the MAC truck rule being followed?

how involved are other parents?

what are the troop's mission and objectives?

4.

how did adults interact with youth?

how did youth interact with each other?

how did adults interact with each other?

did adults seem happy?

were answers straight forward or did the beet around the bush with answers?

did what they say seem to match the reality of what was done?

 

[Bob White]

Proud Eagle,

 

Remember what the Scout Badge is. It is not a rank. It requires no testing except for tieing a square knot. It is a recognition that the scout meets the joining requirements and understands the basic symbols of scouting.

 

Other than the health history and the pamphlet activities (which are the parent's responsibility to have done in advance)which if any requirement would take more than even 5 minutes to complete with the scout? Maybe the parts of the badge, and the understanding the Oath and Law. Remember they are not required to repeat it from memory, only to understand them.

 

Rarely, if you have communicated with the parents in advance, can you not complete this the first night.

 

First Class emphasis is more than a program suggestion, it is a promise made to every Scout in the opening pages of the Handbook. One which as leaders are obliged to make possible for the scout.

 

Bob White

 

[Twocubdad]

I believe the point is that a new boy should have the opportunity to earn their Scout badge at the first troop meeting, if they are prepared. Even a new boy with no Cub Scout experience should be able to meet the Scout requirements if they spend a few minutes reviewing their handbook.

 

All my Webelos are within a requirement or two of completing their Arrows of Light. With maybe a few refreshers, they should be able to knock out their Tenderfoot requirements in short order.

 

At our den meeting tonight, we talked about what to look for in a troop. I was pleasantly surprised that when I askes what was important to look for, the first two things they came up with was whether or not the Scouts run the troop and how the patrols and leaders are selected. They didn't have the "boy led" lingo right, but I was impressed that they remembered the concept from our earlier conversations.

 

Thanks for everyone's input.