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[The Latin Scot]

@Thunderbird Amen to that. What goes on with the Webelos sets a precedent for all the younger Scouts in a Pack. Technically, the Den Leader guides recommend that no Scout should ever wait more than TWO WEEKS to be recognized for an award he has earned. I take it that includes ranks, like the Arrow of Light. There is solid pedagogical reasoning behind it, and as a Child Development specialist, I fully grasp why - kids lose interest in awards systems quickly if the awards never come. Making a child wait longer than two weeks is basically a guarantee that they will lose interest in the system, and eventually, the program. 

[Hawkwin]

19 minutes ago, The Latin Scot said:

In my Pack, boys advance by birthday, and we go year-round - there's no summer break, and we ignore the School year calendar. So, if a boy turns 10 in March, he becomes a Webelos Scout, and when he turns 11 he advances to the Troop chartered by our same congregation. 

I like that idea but it probably only works that well when they advance from the same Pack to the same Troop. In my area, it is common for each individual Cub Scout to "shop around" for the troop that works best for them. We have two Troops in our area and it is not uncommon for scouts from the same den ending up in different Troops.

I think I would prefer your solution as it does appear to make individual accomplishment (including simply getting older) more meaningful and impactful. My only concern with your solution is what does the AOL program look like for the Cubs when there is just one or two scouts left in it?

[The Latin Scot]

I had that very issue last year; for about 5 months I only had two boys. But I didn't let that stop me! I put in the same energy and excitement with those two as I would have with a full den (maybe even more so!), and I made sure never to bring up our low numbers - if you don't bring it up, the boys don't stop to think about it. Sure, we had to modify some activities, but I never let the room "feel empty." We also did a few more combined games and activities with the Bear den and the new Scout patrol that meet at the same time in our building, but for the most part, it looked just the same as an AofL program would have looked like with 8 boys - there were just, well, fewer bodies is all. 

After a few months, the boys started bringing a friend to Scout here, or a happy parent would recommend my den to another parent there, and we went from 2 boys to 8 in just two months! If you put your heart into the program, the program will grow. The immediate recognition of awards is one of the things the families in our Pack enjoy most. It definitely encourages boys and families to stay involved! And parents are much more willing to work on adventure requirements at home, because they know they will see the fruits of their labors immediately. It's very encouraging for everybody, so I highly recommend trying it!

Edited January 22, 2018 by The Latin Scot

[Hawkwin]

5 minutes ago, The Latin Scot said:

@Thunderbird Amen to that. What goes on with the Webelos sets a precedent for all the younger Scouts in a Pack. Technically, the Den Leader guides recommend that no Scout should ever wait more than TWO WEEKS to be recognized for an award he has earned. I take it that includes ranks, like the Arrow of Light. There is solid pedagogical reasoning behind it, and as a Child Development specialist, I fully grasp why - kids lose interest in awards systems quickly if the awards never come. Making a child wait longer than two weeks is basically a guarantee that they will lose interest in the system, and eventually, the program. 

Thanks for this post, I am going to create a tangent on this point and ask for some advice regarding an unresponsive MBC.

 

[gblotter]

On 1/22/2018 at 11:23 AM, The Latin Scot said:

Technically, the Den Leader guides recommend that no Scout should ever wait more than TWO WEEKS to be recognized for an award he has earned.

I know you are quoting a Den Leader Guide for Cub Scouting, but I am becoming a fan of quick recognition for Boy Scout Awards and merit badges as well. You are correct in stating that it keeps the motivation going. It is good to give the boy his badges ASAP in front of his peers and then make a second recognition in front of his parents during the next Court of Honor. Nothing wrong with being recognized twice.

This strategy requires an advancement chair who is willing to continually process a fairly constant stream of awards rather than just batch things up a few times a year before a COH.

Without parents in the loop, extra care must be taken to ensure the badges get safely home (not lost) when they are given directly to the boy. On more than one occasion, newly awarded badges have been misplaced during the first 30 minutes. *sigh*

[Jameson76]

5 minutes ago, gblotter said:

I know you are quoting a Den Leader Guide for Cub Scouting, but I am becoming a fan of quick recognition for Boy Scout Awards and merit badges as well. You are correct in stating that it keeps the motivation going. It is good to give the boy his badges ASAP in front of his peers and then make a second recognition in front of his parents during the next Court of Honor. Nothing wrong with being recognized twice.

This strategy requires an advancement chair who is willing to continually process a fairly constant stream of awards rather than just batch things up a few times a year before a COH.

Without parents in the loop, extra care must be taken to ensure the badges get safely home (not lost) when they are given directly to the boy. On more than one occasion, newly awarded badges have been misplaced during the first 30 minutes. *sigh*

We give out the rank badges at the end of the meetings when the scouts complete the BOR.  Scout does BOR and bam...he is recognized and goes home with the new rank patch.  Neat thing is seeing them with the new rank on their uniform at the next meeting.  At the COH they are awarded the card and small pin.

Yes, we do pick up rank patches on occasion.  One scout came up the next week and was seeing what could be done as he had lost his patch.  We asked what did he do with it last week, he said put it in his pocket, as he touched his left pocket on his shirt.  I asked if he checked both pockets, he said yes, then reached into his right pocket and like magic, there was the patch.  He shuffled off to patrol time

[gblotter]

25 minutes ago, Jameson76 said:

We give out the rank badges at the end of the meetings when the scouts complete the BOR.  Scout does BOR and bam...he is recognized and goes home with the new rank patch.  Neat thing is seeing them with the new rank on their uniform at the next meeting.  At the COH they are awarded the card and small pin.

I love this idea and will suggest it to our troop committee. I guess it necessitates having a surplus of rank patches that can be drawn upon before advancement paperwork is actually submitted to the council, but that should be doable. How do you manage the quick award of merit badges? Having a surplus of merit badges is not so easy.

[Jameson76]

3 minutes ago, gblotter said:

I love this idea and will suggest it to our troop committee. I guess it necessitates having a surplus of rank patches that can be drawn upon before advancement paperwork is actually submitted to the council, but that should be doable. How do you manage the quick award of merit badges? Having a surplus of merit badges is not so easy.

No merit badges, only rank patches.    Merit badges would be a nightmare.  As the Scouts go through BOR we get the patches so SM can award at end of meeting.  We try to carry some of the rank patches on outings so if they complete a rank when camping we can do the recognition

[gblotter]

1 minute ago, Jameson76 said:

We try to carry some of the rank patches on outings so if they complete a rank when camping we can do the recognition

Do you conduct a BOR on the fly during a campout? Our advancement chair is bit more structured than that.

[Jameson76]

9 minutes ago, gblotter said:

Do you conduct a BOR on the fly during a campout? Our advancement chair is bit more structured than that.

Absolutely.  If a Scout wants to advance and we have two or more committee members on the outing, we have the BOR.   The scout does need to have their handbook which should have the dates.   These are conditional as we need to verify dates, etc. for merit badges, time, to make sure the book agrees with troop records.   Many times the Scout has completed or completes on the outing all requirements for a rank, they come over to the leader area and request the SM conference, then we do the BOR.

Usually at the campfire on the outing we award the rank or at the closing as we depart.

Much higher percentage of lost badges out in the woods......

[RememberSchiff]

3 minutes ago, Jameson76 said:

Absolutely.  If a Scout wants to advance and we have two or more committee members on the outing, we have the BOR.   The scout does need to have their handbook which should have the dates.   These are conditional as we need to verify dates, etc. for merit badges, time, to make sure the book agrees with troop records.   Many times the Scout has completed or completes on the outing all requirements for a rank, they come over to the leader area and request the SM conference, then we do the BOR.

Usually at the campfire on the outing we award the rank or at the closing as we depart.

Much higher percentage of lost badges out in the woods......

Did you mean three to 6 committee members?

[Jameson76]

9 minutes ago, RememberSchiff said:

Did you mean three to 6 committee members?

Sure

[Gwaihir]

On 1/21/2018 at 3:38 PM, Eagle94-A1 said:

From talking to pros,  my impression is that National doesn' t have a clue. I mentioned how AOL dens can Cross Over December 1st 2018, and they need a plan and prepared to be ready. Comment I heard was that if the program is not ready for January 1st, everyone can stay in and earn more activity badges until the program is. If my pack decides to withhold my youngest son's AOL and Cross Over ceremonies until a girls program was established, Scouting WILL lose my son. He is starting to get bored waiting for folks to catch up as it is.

and that is a primary fear for introducing family scouting, holding the boys back, or worse, forgetting about the boys in lieu of the girls.  Boys have enough major challenges their facing down statistically (lower college graduation rates, higher HS drop out rates, higher suicide, higher and younger drug abuse, etc) in this country at the moment.

[Eagle94-A1]

2 hours ago, Gwaihir said:

Boys have enough major challenges their facing down statistically (lower college graduation rates, higher HS drop out rates, higher suicide, higher and younger drug abuse, etc) in this country at the moment.

 

Why I wish BSA did not go coed. One FB there is discussion on this topic, and now the word is single gender dens within coed troops. That's from a well known volunteer, but he's been right on the money in the past.

[NJCubScouter]

7 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

...and now the word is single gender dens within coed troops. 

Do you mean single gender dens within coed packs, or single gender patrols within coed troops?  Or both?