Non-Advancement Awards

[Prepared]

David,

 

In scouting, I've found that in situations like this, the adults are just reassuring themselves. 

 

The scouts are okay and remarkably balanced, as long as they are having fun.   The scouters and the parents put much more stock in the cheap handouts.   The scouts see right through it.

 

Plus, it's an adult ego thing.   "Look at the grand gesture I made."

I don't use the awards as you state. I use it as a goal to make and to work towards. It sets a goal for Scouts to do. Doing the minimal thing in Scouts is not the way. They should always strive to do more. As I stated above, my son will earn his shooting patch and pins, this is because he earned them. I do know that sometimes people use them to give them out for "completing" the requirements. I give them for things they Scouts did, especially my son. I push him towards things that I think are worth while. I want to have him earn his Outdoor Ethics Action Award. This is not because I want him to earn the award, but because it will teach him something and lets him know when he is done.

[Prepared]

So your own posts proves the point that the patch is meaningless. It took a verbal cue to remind the boys of their fond memory. The PATCH didn't do it, the verbal reminder did! So why the patch? If the patch is supposed to be an "immediate gratification and recognition" it is NOT doing its job because the boys had no clue why they got it.

 

MBs are not meaningless if the Scout is the one driven to take the class. As for the other 130+ badges, they usually have requirements around them and are not just awarded for showing up.

 

Camporee and Jambo patches? Other non-requirement based patches? Totally agree...no place in Boy Scouts EXCEPT as a reminder of the event and NOT as any real achievement.

 

Adult awards? I saw do away with them.

 The patch is something to recognize hard work (for the most part) I do not make a big deal when the Scouts get a patch for attending an overnighter at the local museum or aquarium, I will however make a big deal when I award the Scouts their Messengers of Peace award because they do a ton of work along those requirements. I will mention the things they did and how it affects everyone, it will be up to the parents to impress the full extent of what they did

[Prepared]

I am embarrassed by the bling on some adult (boy) scouters...there seems almost a relationship by the number of patches crammed on the tan shirt and the proximity to the Council power structure. Conversely the SM with a length of rope on his belt loop often indicates a guy who really interacts with his Scouts.

 

I'd love to see a correlation on patches and wood badgers. 

Heh...I am a WB and I have zero patches...only thing I have are the ones I have to wear...However, I do know a WB who is all about the bling....I really do not understand why they have all of that stuff. They even wear a campaign cover...my thing though is that people put a bad name on those who have knots and awards on their uniforms. In reality, it is not the awards that make the person a bling chaser, it is what they really do with the pack/troop/whatever that counts. I see what people wear and I know those who ACTUALLY do things.

[Prepared]

Agreed. Shooting sports patch sounds like he has to earn it.

He does, I like the new program. It is more in depth than the last belt loop and my son really wants to do it, so he will earn the awards.

 

Showing for the day and getting a patch, not so much. We have far too much of that in Cubs. Thankfully not so much of that in Boy Scouts...yet.

Yeah I do not really care about those patches...only thing they are good for are to put on Cubby...lol

[Fehler]

So your own posts proves the point that the patch is meaningless. It took a verbal cue to remind the boys of their fond memory. The PATCH didn't do it, the verbal reminder did! So why the patch? If the patch is supposed to be an "immediate gratification and recognition" it is NOT doing its job because the boys had no clue why they got it.

 

MBs are not meaningless if the Scout is the one driven to take the class. As for the other 130+ badges, they usually have requirements around them and are not just awarded for showing up.

How can Adventure Loops and Pins at the Cub Scout level be meaningless bling but Merit Badges for Boy Scouts not?  Why do you have such a low regard of Cub Scouts?  If first graders should be satisfied with a pat on the head, why not the high schoolers?

[Krampus]

How can Adventure Loops and Pins at the Cub Scout level be meaningless bling but Merit Badges for Boy Scouts not?  Why do you have such a low regard of Cub Scouts?  If first graders should be satisfied with a pat on the head, why not the high schoolers?

 

Re-read what I wrote please. If the Scout is doing requirements, then the award is not a meaningless award. We were talking about show-up=get award type awards.

[Prepared]

Re-read what I wrote please. If the Scout is doing requirements, then the award is not a meaningless award. We were talking about show-up=get award type awards.

98% of the awards the scouts earn are not show up=get awards (from my list on the website I started the post with). They do actually have to do something to get it. The only show up=get one I like to get for the kids is the Wreaths Across America patch that isn't even a BSA patch, but we get it for the kids because it is really important that they do something like that (at least to me it is).

[Fehler]

Then please tell me what awards at the Cub Scout level you consider "show-up=get".  Because otherwise I have no idea what you are talking about.

[Krampus]

98% of the awards the scouts earn are not show up=get awards (from my list on the website I started the post with). They do actually have to do something to get it. The only show up=get one I like to get for the kids is the Wreaths Across America patch that isn't even a BSA patch, but we get it for the kids because it is really important that they do something like that (at least to me it is).

 

I don't know where the 98% comes from but CS used to have monthly patches scouts just got for being at the pack meeting. Maybe that has changed.

 

Sadly, it looks like CS has added a bunch of patches that are "earned" by doing requirements. They used to only do that for Tigers with the Tiger beads. By time you reached Wolf you got BLs or pins if you did work, then your rank. That was basically it for most ranks.

 

I'm not sure I agree with more bling just for doing requirements that, in the past, were part of another patch. That would be like giving a Star Scout patches for completing his MBs, completing his POR, his service, etc.

[Fehler]

The old Monthly Theme patches?  Those haven't been given out for at least 10 years, that I know of.  I did grab a stack of the "Take Flight!" patches out of the discount bin, and handed them out to Cub Scouts that came to our tour of the control tower at the Minneapolis Airport.  Was that wrong?

 

And aren't Merit Badges just a part of another patch, aka the required ones for Eagle?  Why not get rid of all the Eagle Required Merit Badges, and break out each requirement individually throughout S-L-E, like they are for T-2-1, chucking the unimportant "filler" steps used to pad out some of the lighter Merit Badges?

[Prepared]

Then please tell me what awards at the Cub Scout level you consider "show-up=get".  Because otherwise I have no idea what you are talking about.

Like the Pinewood Derby Patch, Raingutter Regatta patch, Scout Sunday patch...things like that. 

[Prepared]

I don't know where the 98% comes from but CS used to have monthly patches scouts just got for being at the pack meeting. Maybe that has changed.

If you take a look at the website I posted, you can see that the majority of the awards require the Scout to do something, except for like Journey to Excellence or other Unit awards like that.

 

Sadly, it looks like CS has added a bunch of patches that are "earned" by doing requirements. They used to only do that for Tigers with the Tiger beads. By time you reached Wolf you got BLs or pins if you did work, then your rank. That was basically it for most ranks.

There are awards that they have that tie into the requirements, but that does not give them the extra awards. They still have to do extra things to get the awards.

 

I'm not sure I agree with more bling just for doing requirements that, in the past, were part of another patch. That would be like giving a Star Scout patches for completing his MBs, completing his POR, his service, etc.

What awards are you referring to?

[Krampus]

The old Monthly Theme patches?  Those haven't been given out for at least 10 years, that I know of.

Nope, they were around when I left in 2010.

 

I did grab a stack of the "Take Flight!" patches out of the discount bin, and handed them out to Cub Scouts that came to our tour of the control tower at the Minneapolis Airport.  Was that wrong?

Wrong? That's up to you. But your own post pointed out that the kids do not equate a patch to an accomplishment, so maybe it was just a waste of money.

 

And aren't Merit Badges just a part of another patch, aka the required ones for Eagle?  Why not get rid of all the Eagle Required Merit Badges, and break out each requirement individually throughout S-L-E, like they are for T-2-1, chucking the unimportant "filler" steps used to pad out some of the lighter Merit Badges?

MBs are like Webelos old activity awards. You have to earn them for the rank.

 

IMHO the "activities" dumb down the whole process. I feel the old Webelos and AOL path was closer to what Boy Scouts do. The new "adventures" seems more like Brownie "Try Its". 

[desertrat77]

I don't use the awards as you state. I use it as a goal to make and to work towards. It sets a goal for Scouts to do. Doing the minimal thing in Scouts is not the way. They should always strive to do more. As I stated above, my son will earn his shooting patch and pins, this is because he earned them. I do know that sometimes people use them to give them out for "completing" the requirements. I give them for things they Scouts did, especially my son. I push him towards things that I think are worth while. I want to have him earn his Outdoor Ethics Action Award. This is not because I want him to earn the award, but because it will teach him something and lets him know when he is done.

David, thanks, I understand where you are coming from.

[Fehler]

Nope, they were around when I left in 2010.

 

Wrong? That's up to you. But your own post pointed out that the kids do not equate a patch to an accomplishment, so maybe it was just a waste of money.

 

MBs are like Webelos old activity awards. You have to earn them for the rank.

 

IMHO the "activities" dumb down the whole process. I feel the old Webelos and AOL path was closer to what Boy Scouts do. The new "adventures" seems more like Brownie "Try Its". 

 

Our Scoutmaster pointed out that the pin had a picture of a hiker on it.  Nothing wrong with visual clues to jog a memory.  I guess they should have just named the pin "Hiking" instead of "Webelos Walkabout", so the boys didn't get confused about what a "walkabout" was.

 

I really don't get how the new Webelos/AOL program is that different from the old Webelos/AOL program.  Fourteen pins as opposed to eight, nine required as opposed to four, but three of those required pins are just a restating of the non-pin requirements (both Duty to God pins and Scouting Adventure).  Camping, Fitness, Citizenship, First Aid, its all there.

 

As for the Adventures at the Tiger-Wolf-Bear level, I think the boys appreciate the loops a lot more than the "Progress Toward Rank" beads.  The visual clues to help remember their activities are much better than they were with a plain yellow bead.

 

And Brownies are 2-3rd graders, aka Wolves-Bears.  Yes, some of their activities are going to look similar.  I'm not sure what point you are trying to make.