Would you do readyman for the 3rd time?

[Sidney Porter]

Web 2 den. The scouts (not all of them went) that went to resident camp as Web 1 earned their readyman. This fall we have a camping opportunity with a troop where readyman will be presented. It appears that not all of the scouts are planning on attending that trip either. So I am going to have some scouts that have gone through readyman 2x while other have not taken the opportunity to attend either program. Readyman is one where I beleive it does not hurt to cover more than 1x. If I was to cover it we will probably be looking at 3 den meetings.

 

So on the one hand I have always attempted to cover all (that can be covered) of the requirements for rank at the den meetings. So from that stand point I feel I should do readyman as a den. But the other side of the coin is this is that the ones who will still need it have choosen not to take advantage of the opportunities already presented. If we cover it as a den it is will limit the other activities we can do as a den.

 

 

 

[RememberSchiff]

We ALL review first aid (Readyman) periodically. Be Prepared.

 

It does not need to be presented the same way or by the same person. You have the opportunity to give your Webs a taste of scouting by having those that completed Readyman attempt to teach those who have not. You might arrange a class with your local town EMTs

 

Be sure to tell your scouts and their parents, that this is their THIRD and likely last opportunity to earn Readyman and the resulting consequences.

 

We give scouts an abundance of guidance, activities, and opportunities. Most take advantage but some will not. Good luck.

[King Ding Dong]

^^^^ This.

[Stosh]

Life is full of missed opportunities. These boys will pick up the necessary information on the Trail to FC once they get to Boy Scouts. These boys took a pass on TWO opportunities. I'm thinking it's not all that important to them and then boring the boys who did it right the first time doesn't set well with me. If you wish to have the boys get the opportunity to teach the skills to the others, that's fine, but that's a call you're going to need to discuss with the boys who will be teaching.

 

Then there's: some things are important to Den Leaders and Parents, maybe even more important to them than the boys.

 

Stosh

[koolaidman]

Being the Devil's Advocate: Readyman is only being offered at times where it is foreseeable that not everyone can go. Why is that?

Some may not have the money or the time for daycamp. Parent's jobs sometimes get in the way of weekend camp outs.

 

I agree with everyone that it does not hurt to practice first aid more than once, however, it should be planned for a time where you can almost guarantee all/most will be available. At least once.

 

Campouts are a great time to review first aid, but you have to acknowledge there will always be attendance issues at campouts. You have to acknowledge that as a den leader when you plan these things. Especially the AOL required activity badges.

 

I'd say, that if you know your going to have attendance issues, go over Outdoorsman or Forester again at the campout and move the Readyman stuff to den meetings. The Outdoorsman and Forester badges still come in handy for Boy Scouts.

 

 

[Twocubdad]

Then you'll have folks complaining they missed Outdoorsman. People make choices. These families have made/are making theirs. As I recall, Readyman wasn't a one-meeting badge. It will be considerably more than "review" for the boys repeating it -- what? three times in a matter of a few months? I would let these families know the campout will be the last den-provided opportunity for earning Readyman. If they miss it THEY will be responsible for learning the material on their own. (Maybe some of their buddies will offer to work with them.) But then the den will take one meeting sometime in the future for those scouts to work with the den and den leaders to sign off on the requiremrs. 'Cause you know the next thing will be those parents calling you for individual meetings to do the sign-offs.

[dedkad]

Yes, I would most definitely do Readyman for a 3rd time. I bet if you put the boys on the spot who already did it twice and gave them a scenario and asked how to treat it, at least 1/2 of them would get it wrong or incomplete. Besides, if their previous exposure to Readyman was during camps, the boys are already excited and inattentive, plus many Council-run camps are notorious for signing off on requirements without accountability.

 

With a little thought, you can make Readyman fun, so it won't be a repeat. I like the idea that others suggested about having those who already learned the stuff teach the others who haven't. One of our favorite Readyman meetings was when I printed out a bunch of gross pictures of cuts, burns, nose bleeds, snake bites, bugs, frost bite, and road rash. The boys would take turns being the victim and the medic. I would tape an injury picture on the victim. Then the medic would come in and identify what the injury was just by looking at it and simple statements from the victim like "I burned myself on the grill." In that case, the medic had to determine if it was a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd degree burn, then treat it properly with the first-aid kit I had on hand plus other items that I threw in to confuse them. They really enjoyed that meeting. We also played Readyman basketball over many meetings where I would ask boys first-aid questions and if they got it right, they could take a step closer to the basket. When I was finished with my questions, they would all make 5 attempts to shoot a basket from where they stood. I did this at every meeting and kept track of the points and presented the winner with a prize at the end of our "basketball" season. We also had an EMT come in and talk to the boys, and he brought the fire truck with him. There are lots of ways to present the material so it seems new to the boys. It doesn't hurt to reinforce what the boys have learned, and it's a big confidence booster for the boys when they are presented with information, and they can say to themselves "I knew that!"

[JasonG172]

Obviously we can't be sure exactly what was rushed through at Resident Camp so its always a habit of mine to go over again so I know 100% everything was covered.

Parent and boys NEED To make an attempt to attend PERIOD.

 

The AOL is not a required award before they enter into Boy Scouts. I have the unfortunate job tonight to tell a young man that he will not earn his. He can not recite the LAW, or the Oath.

[King Ding Dong]

Jason it is August why does he need the tonight. When do you crossover?

[koolaidman]

KDD: Jason's Cub Scout could be a WEB II, as in could of/should of crossed over between December and now.

 

 

[JasonG172]

Correct he is a Web II and today is his first day of school, Cross over is 28th of this month.

 

We typically have 2 or 3 a year. I wish we would ONLY do 1 and thats at B&G

[King Ding Dong]

The math is eluding me. If he has completed 5th grade he can crossover regardless of AOL. So the fact that he can't recite the oath and law are not preventing him from joining correct, just no AOL?

[Stosh]

Cross-over in our Council is a Boy Scout event for those boys coming into the unit who are former Cub Scout and it doesn't make any difference whether they are AOL or not. Scouter/Joining requirements do not expect a boy to have the Oath and Law memorized. That comes with Tenderfoot.

 

If it is a hassle to have 2-3 cross-overs a year, the simple solution is to just let the Boy Scouts do it as a welcoming into Boy Scouts rather than the graduation from Cub Scouting. I don't remember all the Cub Scouts who crossed-over to nowhere over the years. It is really a stupid ceremony for Cubs to be doing.

 

The very first cross-over there were two troops the pack was feeding. The two unis had their people on one side of the bridge and as each boy came across they got their whatever gifts, neckers, books, stuff from whichever troop they wanted to join. Yet there were a few of the boys who crossed-over and then went and sat with their parents. The sad part of it all was that the boys and their parents didn't seem to be the least bit embarrassed about it either.

 

The best was when my troop went to a Blue Gold to do the cross-over for the pack and when all was said and done, none of the 7 Cubs "crossing-over" joined my troop or any other for that matter. They all went back and sat with their parents.

 

Stosh

[Sidney Porter]

I think the issue is units attempt to combine AOL, cross over and even blue and gold into one event. So the lines become blurred between the AOL and cross over.

[Sidney Porter]

The good news is that all but one of the scouts that need readyman are now planning on going to the camp out. That scout has not responded either way so there is still a chance he will attend.