AOL and cross overs

I have been following the discussion of 'early' cross over etc.

A couple of things which have been bothering me:

1. The attitude of give the Webelos their AOL and cross them over at
the same time. The pack I am involved with has done exactly this
for the past several years.

The AOL is the highest award a Webelos Scout can earn. Having said
that, it is simply an award. It shouldn't be used to force the
scouts out of the pack. If the pack is active and has a good program,
what's wrong with awarding the AOL and still having the Webelos II
scouts stay and be part of the pack. Those that want to continue on
should be able to choose when they want to (and it may be at a
different date than when the rest of the pack wants to do this for
their convenience.)

2. Holding the award of the AOL so that all recipients receive the
award at the same time in an elaborate ceremony.

This ties into my first concern. Why couldn't the cub scout pack take
some ideas from the Boy Scout Handbook where badges should be awarded
as soon as possible after completing the requirements and later
recognized during the formal court of honor. (I realize a lot of
troops don't do it this way but hold everything to the court of honor,
but that's another issue).

The same thing could be done with the cross over ceremony. Let the
scout cross over when ready and have 1 formal recognition ceremony
as a group.

Is their anything wrong with a boy being registered with his pack and a
new troop? (The registration fee would have to be paid for each unit)

My youngest son is in a wolf den. He will be 11 prior to the START of
the fifth grade and would be eligible to join Boy Scouts. With a lot of
pushing (which I DON'T intend to do), he could possibly complete the AOL
requirements by February while in the 4th grade.

My wife is the den leader and plans to continue all the way through the
Webelos years. I would like to encourage him to stay with the Webelos
den to be with the other scouts, earn the AOL, and be active with the
pack. At the same time, I would like to see him become active in the
Boy Scout troop as soon as he is eligible. Other boys in the den will
also be 11 early and when the time comes, I would like to encourage
them to do the same.

--
Dean Hayes
Scoutmaster - T491
Snoqualmie, WA

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