AOL post; younger and older scouts
Jan Mussler (mussler@SPOT.COLORADO.EDU)
Sat, 6 Feb 1999 13:37:55 -0700
Barnadette and Dee and all:
To clarify, the 11 year age for Boy Scouts comes from the Boy Scout
Handbook. ANY young man can join Boy Scouts when he is 11. As Cub
leaders and parents, we shoot for that 10 1/2 age and AOL. Boys who were
Cubs SHOULD be prepared sooner because their work as CUbs prepares them to
be Boy Scouts (at least in theory).
I would use the age requirements whenever the usual grade in school
doesn't quite make sense. I also have a boy in my Webelos I den who was
held back. He will be 11 in June. He can go to Boy Scouts outright,
without having to worry about earning the AOL. He can if he wants to.
But I also have boys who have not been held back in school (maybe waited a
year to start kindergarten) who will be 11 in July through September.
They can also go to Boy Scouts outright in September if they want or
participate with their "peers" in the den. My Webelos II den had in it
for awhile, 2 boys who started school a year early (which can be done by
waiver in our school district). THEY posed the most problem because no
matter how I structured the activities, without the Arrow of Light, they
weren't "age-wise" going to be old enough to go to Boy Scouts with the
others. They had to meet the "grade" requirements, finishing 5th grade,
which is June for us. And the other boys would have been ready to go to
Boy Scouts for months. To hold the den up would risk losing other boys to
boredom.
The younger ones dropped, making it easy to see that February THIS YEAR
made sense as the time to cross over. But next year... it would appear
that the boys should/could cross 1-3 months earlier. The plus is that
they will be part of the troop. My Webelos II are currently meeting as a
den with the Boy Scout troop, so they will be prepared for their first
winter camp-out, which falls 10 days after they cross. This isn't perhaps
optimal, but they sure won't have to wait long for their first Boy Scout
event.
And then there are the homeschool kids... Go by age, I think. I have one
boy "left behind" - who will be meeting with the Boy Scout Troop with his
peers for 6 weeks before he has tenure enough to get his AOL. BUT.. he
gets to run his first and only Pinewood Derby.
You do the best for each boy individually and the group as best you can.
YIS,
Jan Mussler, Webelos Den Leader, Pack 170
Troop Committee Chair, Troop 170
Arapahoe District, Longs Peak Council
Nederland, CO
