Re: Arrow of Light Rank-potential problem
(no name) ((no email))
Sun, 24 Jan 1999 20:10:54 -0600
Kim and Milton Heble <kheble@GV2.COM> asked:
>Here's the situation: we have a 2nd year Webelo that wants his
>Arrow of Light right now.
Okay. Has he *earned the Arrow of Light*??
>The boys father is demanding his son get the patch now, even
>though his paperwork has not been done, the den leader has not
>seen the requirements, no one can even be sure the boy has
>actually filled the requirements (going to
>a Boy Scout Meeting with his parents etc.) Anyway, this Father is
>demanding (and I mean demanding) that we either show him Scout
>Laws or give him his patch.
"Scout Laws???" I would be more than happy to provide him with a
copy of the Scout Law!!! *giggle* I know what you meant here!
Okay. First, let's establish *who signs off on the requirements*
for the Arrow of Light: The Den Leader.
WHAT?? I thought the PARENT signs the book here!! Nope. Ask
"Dad" if he remembers reading the section in the WEBELOS Scout
Handbook for PARENTS. If he didn't, then Junior hasn't met part of
the requirements for the WEBELOS BADGE (the reference to this is
found on page 10 and again on page 26). The WEBELOS Badge is a
precursor (requirement one) for the Arrow of Light.
If "Dad" does remember reading that part, he needs to understand
that the WEBELOS DEN LEADER (or his or her adult representative)
approves the requirements and "signs off" each requirement as
completed. This means, in the case of the Arrow of Light
requirements (page 357):
*WEBELOS Cub Scout must demostrate basic Scouting knowledge and
skills to WEBELOS Den Leader (NOT "Dad", "Mom" or "Uncle Joe").
*WEBELOS Cub Scout must earn activity badges (again, approved and
signed off by WEBELOS DEN LEADER or authorized adult), and
participate with Den in overnight WEBELOS camping or day camping
activity.
*WEBELOS DEN (not individually, but AS A DEN (requirement 4))
ATTENDS A BOY SCOUT TROOP MEETING AND A BOY SCOUT-RELATED OUTDOOR
ACTVITY.
*AFTER EVERYTHING ELSE IS DONE, the WEBELOS Cub Scout with "Dad" or
"Mom" or "Uncle Joe" attends a Troop meeting on his own, and gets a
application to become a Boy Scout. It is completed, signed and
returned TO THE WEBELOS DEN LEADER before the DEN LEADER signs the
book.
Now, if the WEBELOS Cub Scout in question has done all of these
things, there's little you can do about NOT awarding him the Arrow
of Light; it DOES NOT have to be presented solely during a Den
"crossover ceremony." The Award is designed to be presented ANY
TIME during the year and occassionally, you will have some "early
bloomers." If your Den "authorized" parents (bad move here,
gang...but understandable in some streeetttccchhhaaabbbllleeee
cases), then again, there's little you can do but to go ahead and
award the Arrow of Light to Junior.
It can be awarded at the Blue and Gold Banquet in Feburary.
On the other hand, as you've wrote earlier, you're NOT SURE that
Junior has even MET ALL of the requirements, a simple interview
with "Dad", the Cubmaster, the WEBELOS Den Leader, and the WEBELOS
Cub Scout in question would resolve everything to mutual
satisfaction. Go down the requirements in the book. If the
WEBELOS Cub Scout has met them, sign the book and cut your losses.
If he has NOT met the requirements, don't sign the book and
recommend that he meets the requirements in time for your March
"crossover" on the 15th. If "Dad" doesn't want to "deal with the
laws" then, then you can duplicate the page with your signature(s),
send a copy of it along with a copy of your Pack's Advancement
Report indicating that this Cub Scout "was interviewed but not
advancing", and insure that your District's Executive gets a copy
of it. At this point, "Dad" has two options: press the Council to
give his boy something he hasn't earned (which will go back to the
Pack and by documenting what he has or has not completed, will
resolve this quickly in favor of the Council and unit) or take his
son out of Cub Scouting before he graduates to Boy Scouting (and
make SURE that you send the Advancement Report in so that the
Council has a running record of this kid's progress...this way, he
can't come back four years later with some story about "earning the
Arrow of Life, or something like that, but I never got it
awarded.")
Sometimes, seeing the "laws" in black and white print, really,
really helps!
WEBELOS Cub Scouting teaches skills which apply once becoming a Boy
Scout. It's important the among the first skills each WEBELOS Cub
Scout learns is that "Dad and Mom don't say when you've met the
requirements; its now up to people outside your family, who will
demand and in some cases insist, that you meet the same standards
in meeting those requirements that all others will meet."
Hope this helps! Tell us all please what you did and how it worked
(or didn't) work out!
Settummanque!
I told the Cubmaster I would ask you all for
> any
>help you can provide. Please answer soon as this Father wants the
> patch
>"yesterday".
>Thanks so much,
>Kim
>--
>Visit us at Heble Haven:http://heblehaven.simplenet.com
>e-mail:kheble@gv2.com
>Hot heads and cold hearts never accomplished anything good.-Billy
> Graham
(c) 1999 Mike Walton ("no such thing as strong coffee,...") blkeagle@mninter.net
http://mninter.net/~blkeagle Burnsville, MN 55306-7130 (612) 435-3068
privately at kyblkeagle@aol.com or waltonm@server.kaiserslautern.army.mil
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