crossover to Scouts

[frankj]

i have 7 boys in my webelos 2 den. As we approach the crossover to Scouts, I am reminded of the contest between the hare and the tortise. 3 of these guys are "tortises." They showed steady progress over the past 18 months and they will easily meet or have already met the requirements. Among the other 4 boys, I anticipate that some of the parents will adopt the "hare syndrome" and sign off on a lot of stuff at the last minute just so their boys qualify for the Webelos patch. I don't look forward to the prospect of challenging these folks on whether they completed some of the required activity pins in the proper spirit, but it cheapens the work the other boys did over the long haul. Since they started the Webelos program in the 4th grade I have kept parents apprised of the requirements and progress, so as to avoid this situation, but here we are. Any suggestions?

 

[Kevin M]

I don't envy you. Remember that requirements are signed off by the den leader in Webelos. If you allow the parents to initial requirements after a boy completes work, the boy should have no trouble recalling for you what he has done so you can give final approval. You can thereby get an idea of the boy's "spirit" in completing the requirements. Unfortunately, I saw a boy "temporarily" signed off on his Arrow of Light the night of Blue & Gold Banquet, with the agreement that he'd finish before going on to Boy Scouts. What does that say to the other boys?!

[frankj]

I should have been clearer. I do sign off on the items they need to complete for the Webelos patch, but as you probably know, parental involvement is how some requirements for activity pins are earned. We don't complete every requirement in den meetings or on outings. My plan has been to get an activity underway and then let the boys and parents know there are some additional requirements to do in order to earn the pin. This has worked for the "tortises" mentioned above. The exercise portion of the Fitness activity is an example of one where I have to take the parents and the boys word that the boy actually did the exercises. I have one parent and possibly two who have simply never spent time going through the Webelos book in order to understand what is required.

[jmcquillan]

It is an unfortunate, but unavoidable, circumstance that we have no way to 'police' parents in scouting. It sounds like you're doing about all that you can by keeping the parents informed of what the boys need to be working on with them and the 'need' for the boy to 'actually' do the work. It's never too early to counsel the boys about that need to really 'do the work' and not just try to slip by with minimum or no effort. Once the boys reach Boy Scouts where Mom & Dad have little to do with advancement, the boys will begin to realize that they need to 'work' to advance. When I was a Cubmaster, I would work with the Den leaders to make sure they understood this, but that in the long run, if Mom & Dad say Johnny did the work, it's really tough to question that. One can only hope that the boys come to understand what the reality is. One thing that I did do was to start each year with a meeting with all 'new' parents to make sure they understood that while Cub Scouts is supposed to be FUN, it's also a learning environment, and learning doesn't happen well if the work is avoided.

 

[TheCommish]

frankj,

 

I can appreiate your frustration, but in Cub Scouting "Akela" is not only the Den Leader but an adult (parent)as well. It is hard for the parents to understand that when the boy leave the Cub program they enter the world of Merit Badge Councilor (i.e. the first job interview). I do have a suggestions for your turtles and you might even be able to rope in some of the parents so here it is;

 

Do a parnet meeting and tell them you are setting up a "Webelos Activity Pin Fair" for the doing the required pins the boys need. Tell the parents they need to help teach some of the pins. Try to get your Pack Committee, COR and Unit Commissioner to help as well. Do a training session with them, schedule the day, and have pizza afterwards. If you do this and some still do not get the Arrow of Light, but have done everything else to cross over, at least you have done all you can.

 

For your future WEBELOS that are coming up, you might want to suggest they do a pseudo Boy Scout New Scout Patrol, this lessen the shock and get the boys moving as a team, including advancing together.

 

Hope it helps.

 

 

[frankj]

Replying to post from the Commish: That is interesting about the Activity Pin fair. What I did was communicate in writing to all the parental "Akelas" telling them the schedule for completion of requirements with the request that they call me with any questions. In my view, the responsibility for advancement should be split about equally between me and the den leader and them as the parents. Some of the guys have only a few things left -- the ones who have a lot left to do simply will not make it. I made it clear that any of the boys can enroll in the Scout troop, it is a question of whether they will do so with or without the Webelos and Arrow of Light. Regarding the activity pin fair you suggested, I wish I had thought of it earlier in the program. At this stage, it strikes me as a little too much like spoonfeeding the program to the boys and parents, something I don't want to do. In any event, thanks for your post. I started with these boys in kindergarten as the Tiger Coach, and moved along with them to this point. The years flew by! It has been hectic, frustrating, rewarding and fun for me. The experience reinforced my previously held beliefs that boys NEED fathers or father-figures to guide them and that Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts is a great forum for development. A co-worker, who happens to be an Eagle Scout said, " What society would NOT WANT an volunteer organization like this working with boys?" This in reference to the fallout from the Supreme Court decision on the Scouts' right to exclude the gays as leaders.