The requirements for TENDERFOOT should be...

[Cito]

I'm starting a couple of these for debate. These are the existing requirements for Tenderfoot, but what should they really be? Add, subtract or a total rewrite?

 

Tenderfoot Rank Requirements:

 

Present yourself to your leader, properly dressed, before going on an overnight camping trip. Show the camping gear you will use. Show the right way to pack and carry it.

Spend at least one night on a patrol or troop campout. Sleep in a tent you have helped pitch.

On the campout, assist in preparing and cooking one of your patrol's meals. Tell why it is important for each patrol member to share in meal preparation and cleanup, and explain the importance of eating together.

a. Demonstrate how to whip and fuse the ends of a rope.

b. Demonstrate that you know how to tie the following knots and tell what their uses are: two half hitches and the taut-line hitch.

c. Using the EDGE method, teach another person how to tie the square knot.

Explain the rules of safe hiking, both on the highway and cross-country, during the day and at night. Explain what to do if you are lost.

Demonstrate how to display, raise, lower, and fold the American flag.

Repeat from memory and explain in your own words the Scout Oath, Law, motto, and slogan.

Know your patrol name, give the patrol yell, and describe your patrol flag.

Explain the importance of the buddy system as it relates to your personal safety on outings and in your neighborhood. Describe what a bully is and how you should respond to one.

a. Record your best in the following tests:

Skill Current After 30 days

Push Ups __________ __________

Pull Ups __________ __________

Sit Ups __________ __________

Standing Long Jump __________ __________

1/4mile walk/run __________ __________

b. Show improvement in the activities listed in requirement 10a after practicing for 30 days.

Identify local poisonous plants; tell how to treat for exposure to them.

a. Demonstrate how to care for someone who is choking.

b. Show first aid for the following:

- Simple cuts and scrapes

- Blisters on the hand and foot

- Minor (thermal/heat) burns or scalds (superficial, or first degree)

- Bites or stings of insects and ticks

- Venomous snakebite

- Nosebleed

- Frostbite and sunburn

Demonstrate Scout Spirit by living the Scout Oath and Scout Law in your everyday life. Discuss four specific examples of how you have lived the points of the Scout Law in your daily life.

Participate in a Scoutmaster conference.

Complete your board of review

 

 

[dkurtenbach]

The requirements for the Tenderfoot should be . . .

 

FIRST, get rid of the Joining Requirements and "Scout" as a non-rank rank. Acceptance of the application form and fees should be sufficient to officially be a Boy Scout.

 

SECOND, stamp out the practice of putting multiple separate rank requirements into a single numbered requirement. For example, the two sentences of TF requrement 3 would be separated into two requirements. ("On the campout, assist in preparing and cooking one of your patrol's meals. Tell why it is important for each patrol member to share in meal preparation and cleanup, and explain the importance of eating together.")

 

THIRD, replace the lazy "Tell," "Explain," and "Discuss" requirements with "Demonstrate" requirements wherever possible.

 

FOURTH, return to the requirements structure of the late 60s/7th Edition of the Boy Scout Handbook: Tenderfoot was basic knowledge/citizenship, Second Class was focused on hiking skills, First Class was focused on camping skills.

 

Dan Kurtenbach

Fairfax, VA

[Oldscout448]

Catch and roast a snipe!

 

[Oldscout448]

Dan I'm with you on point three, kids can say anything and have forgotten it in five seconds. But if they have to remember it long enough to actually DO it...

Also I'd like to see the running, jumping ,pullup bit moved to 2nd class. or perhaps done away with altogether. Never seen a req. so misused as that one. and add some basic knife safety so the poor guy is allowed to use a knife (which he has been doing since bear for goodness sake) once saw a scoutmaster take a knife away from a first time camper who was opening a can with it. (and yes he was using the can opener, not the blade) Leave ax and saw for 2nd as it is

just my .02

think I'll ask the PLC next meeting...

Old scout

[skeptic]

Old Scout; now I know the real reason snipe hunts are on the no-no list. Too many caught and roasted; so they are endangered. Never realized some had been so successful over the years, as we never were, so unable to sample their succulent, savory meat.

 

Would agree that joining should be completing the app and registering, nothing more. Pullups should be reconsidered for sure, as most kids simply cannot do them, even with a lot of practice. Have even seen some very fit scouts and adults that cannot really do them; part of it is body and muscle structure.

 

Tote-n-Chip should be a tenderfoot basic, or at least the knife part of it.

[dkurtenbach]

If the idea is to keep the same general structure rather than make wholesale changes . . . Here are my thoughts on requirements 1 through 9. Deletions in [brackets], additions _underlined_.

 

1. Present yourself to your leader, properly dressed, before going on an overnight camping trip. Show the camping gear you will use. Show the right way to pack and carry it. _Campout dates:_______________ _

 

2. Spend at least one night on a patrol or troop campout. Sleep in a tent you have helped pitch. _Campout dates:_______________ _

 

[3.] _3a._ On [the] _a_ campout, assist in preparing_,_ [and] cooking_, and cleaning up after_ one of your patrol's meals. _Campout dates:_______________ _

 

_3b. On a campout, eat every meal with your patrol._ _Campout dates:_______________ _ [Tell why it is important for each patrol member to share in meal preparation and cleanup, and explain the importance of eating together.]

 

4a. _On at least three separate occasions at least two weeks apart, demonstrate_ [Demonstrate] how to whip and fuse the ends of a rope. _Date:__________ Date:__________ Date:__________ _

 

4b. _On at least three separate occasions at least two weeks apart, demonstrate_ [Demonstrate] that you know how to tie the following knots by using them to properly set up a dining fly or guylines for a tent[and tell what their uses are]: two half hitches and the taut-line hitch. _Date:__________ Date:__________ Date:__________ _

 

[4c. Using the EDGE method, teach another person how to tie the square knot.]

 

[5.] _5a. Present yourself to your leader, properly dressed, before going on a patrol hike of at least five miles. Show the hiking gear you will use. Show the right way to pack and carry it. Hike date:_________ _

 

_5b. With your patrol, go on a daylight patrol hike of at least 5 miles. Hike date:_________ _

 

_5c. On a daylight patrol hike, demonstrate safe hiking practices_ [Explain the rules of safe hiking], both on the highway and cross-country, [during the day and at night] _and techniques to prevent becoming separated from the patrol_. _Hike date:_________ _

 

_5d. On a daylight patrol hike, demonstrate_ [Explain] what to do if you are lost. _Hike date:_________ _

 

_5e. On a daylight patrol hike, demonstrate Leave No Trace hiking practices in areas with established trails and in areas without established trails. Hike date:_________ _

 

_5f. On a daylight patrol hike, demonstrate how to read and follow at least two different types of trail markers or blazes. Hike date:_________ _

 

_5g. With your patrol, go on a night patrol hike of at least 2 miles, demonstrating safe practices for hiking at night. Hike date:_________ _

 

6. (No change) Demonstrate how to display, raise, lower, and fold the American flag.

 

7. Repeat from memory and explain in your own words the Scout Oath, Law, motto, and slogan _and the Outdoor Code_.

 

[8.] _8a. At a troop meeting, outing, or activity, stand in front of the troop and give your patrol name, explaining what the patrol name means._

 

_8b. At a troop meeting, outing, or activity, stand in front of the troop and show your patrol flag, explaining what each word, symbol, or other part of the flag means._

 

_8c. At three different troop or patrol meetings, outings, or activities, lead your patrol in giving the patrol yell._ [Know your patrol name, give the patrol yell, and describe your patrol flag.] _Date:__________ Date:__________ Date:__________ _

 

[9.] _9a. At three different troop or patrol outings or activities, demonstrate proper use of the buddy system. Date:__________ Date:__________ Date:__________ _

 

_9b._ Explain the importance of the buddy system as it relates to your personal safety on outings and in your neighborhood.

 

_9c. In a patrol skit, demonstrate at least two different types of bullying behavior and how to respond to a bully._ [Describe what a bully is and how you should respond to one.]

 

Dan Kurtenbach

Fairfax, VA

[qwazse]

Eliminate "using the EDGE method" from 4c.

[Eagle732]

I'd like to see increasing service hours.

Maybe 1 hour for T, 2 hours for 2nd, and 4 hours for 1st Class.

[qwazse]

Not a fan of the service hours obsession. (IMHO the phrase "counts for service hours" should be banned from all announcements.)

 

I wouldn't want Tenderfoot advancement to be held up because of a troop that had not scheduled a project suitable for a young boy's age and skill level. Frankly, I would like to think that you could use rank as a rough guide to which boys are suited for certain projects. (For example, setting a bunch of pre-Tenderfoot scouts to road-side litter pick-up is a recipe for failure. Tenderfoots, on the other hand, should have learned the basics of hiking on a road, so any safety instructions are reinforcing old material, not presenting new material.)

 

When you think of T2F as preparing a boy to serve, it kinda makes sense why clocking hours isn't so explicit.

[dfscott]

>> FIRST, get rid of the Joining Requirements and "Scout" as a non-rank rank. Acceptance of the application form and fees should be sufficient to officially be a Boy Scout.

 

This one has always confused me anyway. If a boy shows up to a Troop and he can't tie a square knot, does that mean I can't take him in the troop? Or do I take him and don't give him a scout badge?

[Eagle732]

Roadside clean up under the PLs supervision with adults driving a chase vehicle has always been safe for us.

All our service projects are suitable for all ages of scouts.

 

Roadside clean up April and October. 3 hours each, total 6 hours a year

Trail clean up March and September, 2 hours each, total 4 hours a year

Scouting for Food, two days one late Feb the other early March. Each 2 hours, total 4 hours a year

Assist with community fair in May. Could be more than 12 hours if you help the entire time.

Flag retirement with the local American Legion, June and November, 2 hours each, total 4 hours a year

That's over 30 hours and those are just the usual projects. Several other pop up during the year, there's something going on almost every month. No reason why a scout can't earn hours whenever he needs them, in fact I've never seen a scout held up due to lack of service hours.

 

I agree that doing service just for hours is not the goal, a sense of community service is what we are going for. Our troop has very good participation in service projects, scouts always have way more hours than they need. When you have every Life and Eagle Scout in your unit showing up for and even running service projects even though they don't "need" the hours you know you're getting through to the boys.

 

As you can see I'm a big fan of community service and our guys enjoy helping the community.

 

 

 

[qwazse]

... our guys enjoy helping the community ...

 

As most boys do. After all that's the slogan. So, why bother making it a requirement?

[dkurtenbach]

The "Joining Requirements" as we have them now may be vestiges of a notion of a trial period or "apprenticeship" before being accepted into the Scouting brotherhood. Here's how the 7th edition of the Boy Scout Handbook (late 60s/early 70s) describes it:

 

"Meeting the Tenderfoot Tests. Simply coming to a troop meeting and getting in with your future pals won't make you a Boy Scout overnight. There are rules you must follow and skills you must learn to be a full-fledged Scout. These rules and skills are spelled out in the Tenderfoot tests . . .

 

"Study the Tenderfoot tests carefully, then settle down to meet them. You will get plenty of help from the fellows in the patrol you expect to join, especially from your future patrol leader. . . . If you are a Cub Scout, you will learn the tests while you work for your Webelos badge in your Webelos den.

 

"When your patrol leader is confident that you know your stuff, he'll get you a Scout application form. Have your parents fill in this form and sign it. Then sign it yourself and take it to your Scoutmaster with your national membership fee.

 

"Your Scoutmaster will go over the Tenderfoot tests with you to make sure that you know them and understand them. When he is satisfied, he will send your application and your membership fee to the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America through your local council office.

 

"Your Investiture. Now comes the big moment when you are received into Boy Scouting in a simple investiture ceremony.

 

"Some evening at a troop meeting or some night at a campfire, you stand before your Scoutmaster, the Scouts of the troop, and your parents. You raise your right hand in the Scout sign and solemnly dedicate yourself to the Scout Oath . . . From then on you are a member of the world brotherhood of Scouting and are on your way with your patrol and troop toward a life of outdoor fun and adventure, of service to others, of training yourself to become the kind of MAN you want to be."

 

The accompanying illustration shows the Scoutmaster lighting candles on a ceremonial stand. In front of him are two boys making the Scout sign, one in "civilian" clothes and the other in a Cub Scout uniform. Behind them are the Boy Scouts of the troop in uniform.

 

Ah, a simpler and more relaxed time when you didn't have folks thinking about insurance coverage and about getting application forms turned in so they can meet membership goals and about getting to First Class within a year. Then, the Tenderfoot tests required learning real skills and actually doing things to demonstrate that you were ready to be a member. In a way, it was like how Order of the Arrow membership works now -- you don't become a member until you can pass the tests of the Ordeal, and then you become a member in a ceremony.

 

Here's the equivalent narrative from the current Boy Scout Handbook (pages 16-17):

 

"The Scoutmaster and Scouts of a troop you visit will welcome you and talk about the exciting activities in store for you. If you decide to become a member, they can guide you through the BSA's joining requirements.

 

"

 

"That's all there is to it! Your Scoutmaster and the Scouts in our troop will welcome you as a new member, and you can proudly wear the badge and uniform of the Boy Scouts of America."

 

These days, when a boy comes to his first meeting, an older Scout or an ASM will take him (or the whole group, if several boys are joing together) aside and run through the Joining Requirements then and there -- or immediately sign off the Joining Requirements for any boys who earned the Arrow of Light. There is no sense of a boy earning his way into his "future" patrol, and no anticipation of "the big moment when you are received into Boy Scouting." These days, the Joining Requirements seem more like a little bureacratic drill, not a substantive and meaningful introduction to Boy Scouting and not a test of a boy's determination to become a Boy Scout. In other words, there is no real point to them anymore.

 

Dan Kurtenbach

Fairfax, VA(This message has been edited by dkurtenbach)

[Eagle732]

"After all that's the slogan. So, why bother making it a requirement?"

 

Well there must be a reason since service is required for 4 out of the 6 ranks. I just thought maybe an increasing (even if small) number of hours would be consistent with BSAs other rank requirements where each rank requires an increasing skill or participation level.

 

Your points against increasing service hours are weak at best. Examples:

 

"I wouldn't want Tenderfoot advancement to be held up because of a troop that had not scheduled a project suitable for a young boy's age and skill level"

Obviously not the case in my troop and I would guess that most units have plenty of opportunities for service hours.

 

"For example, setting a bunch of pre-Tenderfoot scouts to road-side litter pick-up is a recipe for failure"

Only an incompetent SM would send a new scouts out alone on a roadside clean up, it's not safe. Aside from the safety issue how can you fail at a roadside clean up? Maybe miss some trash?

 

"why bother making it a requirement?"

Because the OP asked for opinions on changes in the Tenderfoot requirements. It's just an opinion, I doubt BSA is going to change the requirement based on my opinion. If they do then I have some other suggestions for them!

 

In my opinion most kids in Scouting enjoy camping. So to follow your line of thinking why count the number of nights camping as a requirement? T - 1 and Camping MB all require nights camping.

 

 

 

 

[Tampa Turtle]

I echo Dan's requirement rewrite.

 

As for service hours I hate the requirement and would prefer it folded into scout spirit.