SM conference for AoL

[Trevorum 24]

The Arrow of Light requirements include: "... arrange to visit ... a meeting of a Boy Scout troop ... Have a conference with the Scoutmaster."

 

Does this conference need to be one on one? Are group conferences acceptable in which the SM leads a discussion with the whole den?

 

[acco40 95]

I've been a Webelos Den leader and am currently a Scoutmaster. Here is my take on that requirement.

 

1) First, I don't sign off on Webelos requirements. That responsibility resides with the Webelos den leader. I have written notes, explaining that I have performed a SM conference with a Webelos Scout but do not sign his book.

 

2) I try to make the SM conference as close to as possible to those I give in the troop. A SM conference should be one on one (within the guidelines of G2SS) and I let the Scout ask questions of me, ask what the Scouts goals are, tell him about Boy Scouts in general, etc. They usually last about five minutes.

 

3) If a whole den visits our troop, I will let the boys experience a troop meeting as Scouts and I will usually talk to their parents in another room. Time doesn't allow for a SM conference with 6 - 8 or more boys visiting. However, I have traveled to a den meeting to perform SM conferences with Scouts and have also had conferences with Webelos Scouts on outings and even right before a Blue and Gold banquet that the boy was being presented his AOL!

 

 

 

[SWScouter 34]

I think it's important to read the whole requirement, not just that quoted above. It is:

 

After you have completed all five of the above requirements, and after a talk with your Webelos den leader, arrange to visit, with your parent or guardian, a meeting of a Boy Scout troop you think you might like to join. Have a conference with the Scoutmaster.

 

To me, the boy should be going to the meeting with his parents and himself, not with the den. In this situation, the problem of a "group" SM conference tends to go away doesn't it. Oh, and one of the previous five requirements is to go to a troop meeting with your den so the boy needs to go to at least two troop meetings, one with his den and one with his parent or guardian.

 

SWScouter

[Trevorum 24]

SWS, I apologize for redacting. However, I disagree with your interpretation of the requirement. The way I read it suggests that the Webelos visits a Troop meeting with his parent, during which he participates in the SM conference. I don't understand why you interpret it to mean that the parent participates in the conference as well. No other SM conferences are done that way.

[SWScouter 34]

Trevorum, I agree with you and did not mean that the boy has a SM conference that includes his parent/guardian. I apologize for the confusion.

 

My point though, is that the Webelos needs to go to at least two troop meetings, one with his den and one with his parent/guardian. Also, as stated, at the latter, he should have a SM conference. Since the latter visit is without the den, the issue of a group SM conference really shouldn't come into play.

 

SWScouter(This message has been edited by SWScouter)

[Trevorum 24]

Acco, thanks for the idea about the written verification. I'll make up a certificate to use. I think I agree with you that 5 minutes should be enough. And with a den of 6-8, an hour should be plenty to hold 1:1 conferences for all.

 

SWS, OK, I see.

 

Well then, let me ask this, since other SM conferences can be given on campouts (IMHO, the best setting!), can the SM conferences for Webelos be held during a campout where the Webelos (and his parent) is visiting the troop? I don't see why not, but I welcome other views.

[acco40 95]

Sure, why not?

 

Now, if a youth (Webelos) visited our troop with his den and his mom and his dad and received a SM conference at the meeting I'd say he met the two reqs stated by SWScouter.

 

If we really wanted to get technical, I'd have to ask who arranged the meeting. :-)

 

After you have completed all five of the above requirements, and after a talk with your Webelos den leader, arrange to visit, with your parent or guardian, a meeting of a Boy Scout troop you think you might like to join. Have a conference with the Scoutmaster.

 

[madkins007 10]

My 2 cents worth is that a SM Conference for rank and the Webelos 'have a conference with an SM' are not the same thing.

 

It is my impression that the Webelos requirement can be paraphrased thusly:

"Go to some Scout troop meetings and get a feel for where you wish to go after AOL. Your parents are a part of this decision- bring them along. After the visit, speak with the SM."

 

Purpose of the meeting is unspecified, but it is my impression that it is a chance for the SM to have a last word with the boy(s) and maybe answer questions from the Webelos or their parents.

 

I see nothing inherent in the use of terms, the phrasing, or the purpose of the requirement that prevents it being a group thing.

[SWScouter 34]

First a little bit more background on the Webelos AOL requirements. There are seven total. Requirement 6 (the one we're discussing) is to be done after the first five. The first five are:

tenure

knowledge of Boy Scout joining requirements

activity badges

With den: boy scout troop meeting, boy scout outdoor activity

Webelos campout or hike

The sixth requirement is the one we're discussing, and the seventh is the honesty character connection.

 

Okay, now back to the discussion. Trevorum, I think that the SM conference can be done in an outdoor setting as you suggest. However, I don't think it can be done if the outing is being used for one of requirements 4 or 5 since then it wouldn't be after requirements 1-5 are complete. and the Webelos hasn't spoken to his den leader.

 

SWScouter

[SWScouter 34]

Acco40,

 

You know, that just might work. I think though, that the Webelos would have had to finish all the rest of requirements 1-5, go to the meeting with his den, have a quick talk with his den leader, then run out the door with his parents and then come back in to the meeting and have the SM conference. Oh, and somewhere in there he will need to set up the conference with the SM.

 

Seriously, I think the intention of the AOL requirement is that requirement six is one of the last things the boy should do so that he will immediately start going to troop meetings as soon as he crosses over. Don't forget that one important part of the requirement, "you think you might like to join." This really is a requirement that the boy should do with his parent since it really is for him to join the troop. This requirement used to have another step that was removed in the 2003 update. That step was, "Complete and turn in a "Join Boy Scouting" application to the Scoutmaster during the conference."

 

SWScouter(This message has been edited by SWScouter)

[Lisabob 13]

I suppose we could debate the exact meaning of the requirement but here's how we did it.

 

After attending various troop meetings and activities we invited the SMs from the troops our webelos wanted to join to come to den meetings. That's where they did the conferences (individually). In a couple cases, boys who couldn't decide which troop to join met with more than one SM. Neither SM had a problem with this approach, they were glad that we were doing the conferences at all - apparently most packs in our area somehow miss this requirement (don't ask me how, I don't know!).

 

As an added benefit, one boy who *really* wanted to join boy scouts and yet whose parent was on the fence managed to get the SM to help him convince the parent to change his mind. Parent had wanted the boy to stop after AoL due to other commitments - SM took parent aside and explained how the troop was flexible regarding sports schedules, etc., and that parents didn't have to attend all events. It isn't like we (cub leaders) hadn't already explained this, but it seemed to matter to this parent more coming from the SM, with the boy standing right next to him.

 

If we'd arranged it so that the boys had to go elsewhere (not a den meeting) to have their conferences, I doubt this parent would've attended at all and we probably would have lost the boy after Blue & Gold.

 

Lisa'bob

A good old bobwhite too!