Thunderbird

JMO, but troops shouldn't automatically award Scout rank at crossover because: "All requirements for Scout rank must be completed as a member of a troop or as a Lone Scout. If you already completed these requirements as part of the Webelos Scouting Adventure, simply demonstrate your knowledge or skills to your Scoutmaster or other designated leader after joining the troop." In addition, the "How to Protect Your Children from Child Abuse: A Parents Guide" pamphlet is different in the Boy Scout Handbook vs. the Webelos Handbook. If the Scout does the pamphlet exercises with a parent / guardian and if the Scout can demonstrate his knowledge and skills of the Scout rank requirements, then the Scout should be able to make Scout rank very quickly. From what I have seen, Boy Scouts who don't make Scout rank within the first couple of weeks typically 1) have some issues with memorization (the standard for Cub Scouts is "Do Your Best", which is different than the standard for Boy Scouts) or 2) they have issues with getting their parent / guardians participation on the pamphlet exercises (usually communication with the parent takes care of the second issue). Going back to the original topic, I am not aware of a BSA policy either way, so your Scoutmaster / troop committee could establish a policy. Most troops do cover the Totin' Chip pretty early after crossover, so it isn't usually much of an inconvenience. If nothing else, it's good refresher training for the Scouts, who might have earned the Whittling Chip 2-3 years earlier as Bears.

“A program for girls ages 11 to 17 will be introduced in 2019. Details will be announced later this year." Implied in this statement was that it would be an additional / separate program for girls. "Program" means something like Boy Scouting / Varsity Scouting / Sea Scouting / Venturing. Call it BSA4G or whatever, but, to most readers, it didn't mean gender segregated units (troops).

Congrats, Brian!

The current Cub Scout adventure program doesn't seem to share as many activities across ranks as the old (pre-2015) program did. This is both good and bad. It's good in that the Cubs aren't doing the same thing year after year, which gets boring. It's not so good for really small packs that have to combine dens. So, if a pack has a bicycle rodeo safety day, I think there's only 1 rank with a bicycle-related adventure (Rolling Tigers), so all of the other Cubs in the pack, but they wouldn't be doing anything rank-related. They would have to be creative to work in some other things for the other ranks (Webelos could work on building a Cubmobile that day as part of the Build It adventure, or something like that).

Yes. Even though the program is designed to be 18-20 months long (give or take), what might be best for some individual Webelos Scouts might not be good for others. Some are older / more mature and can cross over earlier, while some are younger and need more time.

Good point. When it comes to the project though, the more objective the requirements can be, the better, IMO.

"Hard" seems way too subjective.

Earning the Webelos rank is no longer a requirement to earn the AOL rank, but both ranks are part of the Webelos program That was one of the changes they made back in 2015, because the BSA thought it was overwhelming to boys who join Cub Scouts for the first time in the 5th grade to have to earn both ranks in only 6 months (assuming that most Webelos dens crossover in the January-March time frame). I prefer that they crossover by the end of February, too. They need time to get integrated into a troop, and the troop needs to know which Scouts are going to summer camp (the earlier the better). I did like how the 2016 modifications to the requirements gave Webelos Den Leaders some options "Do X out of Y requirements". (Den Leaders can always do more than the minimum to enrich the experience for the Scouts.) But I still don't understand the reason for reducing the total number of adventures for Webelos and AOL ranks (used to be 7 adventures for each rank, now 6 for Webelos and 5 for AOL).

@69RoadRunnerWhat's your Scoutmaster's secret to no cracks?

My understanding is that the Webelos program is still intended to be around 18-20 months (for non-LDS packs), with crossover around January-March of the 5th grade year (individual packs vary). With the current requirements, they can complete the Webelos and AOL ranks sooner, but IMO it makes for a better experience and allows more time for them to be better prepared for Boy Scouts (especially for the younger kids - some of whom will be closer to their 10th birthday) if they aren't rushed. Extra time means more opportunities for more experiences such as visiting Boy Scout troops or earning additional adventure pins (or other awards). It also allows kids who are not old enough to join a Boy Scout troop at the beginning of the 5th grade school year to be able to join a Cub Scout pack and learn some skills while working on the AOL rank prior to joining a troop. (A new Scout who joins in August-September of the 5th grade wouldn't be able to meet the active tenure requirement until around February-March.) From what I have seen, the Scouts who take more than about 2-3 weeks to earn Scout rank is usually due to a lack of participation from their parent/guardian (required for reqt. #6).

That would be great. Thank you!

Yes, please!

When do all these new rules go into effect? Anybody know for sure?

The AOL rank requirement states: "1. Be active in your Webelos den for at least six months since completing the fourth grade or for at least six months since becoming 10 years old." (emphasis added). There are no AOL dens - there are only Webelos dens (although most packs have a den for 4th graders and a den for 5th graders), so the 6 month active tenure requirement starts when a Webelos Scout completes the fourth grade or when the Webelos Scout turns 10 years old (whichever comes first). Dens crossover at the end of the school year (for non-LDS packs). The exact date is determined by the pack committee. June 1 is just an arbitrary date by national.

I didn't really intend to start a tangent, but the way that the family life merit badge requirement is currently worded, it leads me to believe that part of the intent behind the requirement is for the Scout to think about what makes an effect father in order to get the Scout to think about his own potential future role as a father. "7a. Your understanding of what makes an effective father and why, and your thoughts on the father’s role in the family." That's why, in my opinion (and I could be wrong), it doesn't ask about what makes an effective mother or parent - although it does ask about the Scout's understanding of the responsibilities of a parent in the next requirement. That's also why, IMO, if they wanted to keep the same intent behind the requirement, it would make sense to change it to ask boys what makes an effective father and to ask girls what makes an effective mother - instead of the more generic "parent".

While I cannot speak for anybody else, as a female, I would have felt perfectly comfortable reading a magazine called "Boys Life". If I were younger and joining the BSA because of its program, I would not want or expect the program to change its name or that of its magazine just to accommodate me. Obviously, it would make sense to change a few things here and there (like the Family Life merit badge requirement on what it means to be an effective father). But I don't see why changing the name of the program or the magazine is necessary or "Thrifty".

Vote with your wallet.

I dropped my son's subscription as part of recharter. They recently tried to entice me back with their "very best deal!" of a subscription offer that would have been more expensive than what I would have paid at recharter time. 🙄

Maybe they will change the Lion image next. It looks awfully male with that mane and all. 🤔

I don't know about timing, but I predict the "linked troops" concept turns into co-ed troops fairly quickly, maybe with separate patrols. The option for boys troops / girls troops will still be there for a while, but having them as an option will probably go away more quickly with the departure of the LDS troops. And duty to God will be next on the chopping block - they will just make it "optional".

I was under the impression that they increased the membership fees in order to rebuild the insurance fund. Guess not.

Pedro and Petra / Pietra?

Yep.

The Cyber Chip is also required for Star rank (part of requirement #6). It was added as part of the 2016 rank requirement changes. https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/boyscouts/pdf/Star_rank_2016.pdf