Am looking for some advice. First, my son just transitioned up from Webs last Feb. He chose this troop b/c this is where his friends are. We've discussed with him the possibility of switching to a different troop, but he doesn't want to.
He joined a very small troop. Smaller than we realized when we visited and different than what we hoped it would be (our fault for not investigating further). There is a gap in ages so most of the older boys are only projects away from Eagle. Then there is a gap with two of the boys just reaching Life and the rest are all working on Tenderfoot. I did not realize until May, that the boys who joined 2 years ago don't even have Tenderfoot yet. When I asked the CC and SM I was told they got lost in the shuffle.
So I said I would step up and help with advancement through First Class, and will continue to do so for upcoming boys.
Leader training does not happen until Sept. I'm totally lost. I don't want this to turn into an extension of Webelos- the boys need to be Boy Scouts. The troop is currently focusing on the Historical Merit Badges which is not allowing much time for working on ranks. The boys have only been camping 2 times since they joined Feb 8 (except Scout camp). The camping trips are scheduled and then the week before the campout the SM cancels.
A note on the SM. He has resigned and there is a new one in place.
My thoughts are to talk to the boys and see what they want. Whether to focus on ranks or on the MB. The next thought would be to do some backyard camping. We have a very "quick" campout planned for next weekend (arrive 8pm and pack up at 9am) and then the district Camporee in Sept. The next campout isn't then scheduled until October.
I've talked to the CC and the SM and they are not giving much guidence. I hear the boys need to reach rank and then a few minutes later they're talking about MB and cancelling the campout. Definately adult driven.
So how do I help these boys through ranks w/out it turning into an extension of Webelos?
working through ranks
in New to Scouting?
Posted
Hi-
Am looking for some advice. First, my son just transitioned up from Webs last Feb. He chose this troop b/c this is where his friends are. We've discussed with him the possibility of switching to a different troop, but he doesn't want to.
He joined a very small troop. Smaller than we realized when we visited and different than what we hoped it would be (our fault for not investigating further). There is a gap in ages so most of the older boys are only projects away from Eagle. Then there is a gap with two of the boys just reaching Life and the rest are all working on Tenderfoot. I did not realize until May, that the boys who joined 2 years ago don't even have Tenderfoot yet. When I asked the CC and SM I was told they got lost in the shuffle.
So I said I would step up and help with advancement through First Class, and will continue to do so for upcoming boys.
Leader training does not happen until Sept. I'm totally lost. I don't want this to turn into an extension of Webelos- the boys need to be Boy Scouts. The troop is currently focusing on the Historical Merit Badges which is not allowing much time for working on ranks. The boys have only been camping 2 times since they joined Feb 8 (except Scout camp). The camping trips are scheduled and then the week before the campout the SM cancels.
A note on the SM. He has resigned and there is a new one in place.
My thoughts are to talk to the boys and see what they want. Whether to focus on ranks or on the MB. The next thought would be to do some backyard camping. We have a very "quick" campout planned for next weekend (arrive 8pm and pack up at 9am) and then the district Camporee in Sept. The next campout isn't then scheduled until October.
I've talked to the CC and the SM and they are not giving much guidence. I hear the boys need to reach rank and then a few minutes later they're talking about MB and cancelling the campout. Definately adult driven.
So how do I help these boys through ranks w/out it turning into an extension of Webelos?