Cub Scout Changes

[RememberSchiff]

13 hours ago, Eagle1993 said:

One change announced today - K4 through 4th grade Cub Scout Dens can now be coed.

So for AOL, a coed den would then officially have to split into boy and girl dens to prepare scouts for a non-coed BSA troop?

Another temporary wall to tumble?

Edited May 31, 2023 by RememberSchiff

[KublaiKen]

1 hour ago, RememberSchiff said:

So for AOL, a coed den would then officially have to split into boy and girl dens to prepare scouts for a non-coed BSA troop?

Another temporary wall to tumble?

Exactly. This is probably the least sensible interim step to this process yet. 

[NDW5332]

On 2/6/2023 at 1:23 PM, curious_scouter said:

4 - Hard no.  Hate it.  Why?  Standard of advancement changes.  Unless they change it for AOL too.  Standard for completing in Cubs is "Do your best".  And most / many requirement say "With help if necessary".  I believe pretty strongly you need to know the Scout Oath and law to get your Scout badge.  It's not a huge lift from the standards of Cubs but it's a very important first step IMO to leaving "do your best" behind.

I'm against the "insta-Scout" for AOL crossovers as well.  First, it starts teaching the Scouts the self reliance and self advocacy that are necessary in Scouting and in life.  It's not the simple Cub Scouting rubber stamp anymore, you don't get sign-offs just for showing up. The Scout needs to seek out the older scouts (PLC members, Troop Guides, etc...) and to meet the adult leadership as well to demonstrate their skills and earn the sign-offs necessary for advancement.  It goes a long way for the SM, ASM's, and others in getting to know them as individuals as well. 

Our troop may be unique in that we seem to get 3 or 4 new Scouts every year that have no prior scouting experience. Starting out AOL crossovers at Scout will make those that have no experience feel behind and frustrated.

 

[Eagle94-A1]

The split should occur in 4th grade, not 5th. The entire reason why Webelos became an 18-24 month program in the 1990s instead of the 9-12 month program in previous years was the research showed that it takes about 2 years to get the Scouts, and in my experience the parents as well, up to speed with the differences between Cub Scouts and Scouts.

Whomever made this decision did not do their due diligence, and I fear this will continue to hurt troops' retention of new Scouts.