Jump to content

What happened in 1973?


Recommended Posts

20 minutes ago, roljers said:

this may be...I don't know about AOL....but I do know that we could not be a Boy Scout, therefore a tenderfoot, until we were 11..."To become a TENDERFOOT SCOUT, you must be at least 11 years of age..." page 34, BOY SCOUT HANDBOOK,  Seventh Edition, 1965, Boy Scouts of America.

I am also a product of scouting in the sixties, and as such agree that while it is now possible to blitz through  with the minimum time in rank, and reach Eagle while still 11; that was not the case back in the day.  As you state, you had to be 11 to join a troop and become Tenderfoot.  From that point on, assuming minimum time at each rank, it would have been possible to reach Eagle while 12.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • Replies 40
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Posts

Please, can we simply move on.  This will never go away for those of us closest to it, and few would question that it absolutely pushed every limit and bent every rule, to the point of local protests

Long story short, I think the Improved Scouting Program of '72 is the primary culprit.  It tried to revamp the entire BSA, and not for the better.  Any thing "outdoors" went on the back burner.  I may

Tenderfoot rank does not currently have a tenure requirement; however, it does have a fitness tracking requirement for 30+ days (requirement 6b.).

(Added in 2016) Second Class rank has a personal fitness tracking requirement for 4 weeks (requirement 7a), and it cannot start until after all of the Tenderfoot fitness requirements are completed.

(Added in 2016) First Class rank has a personal fitness tracking requirement for 4 weeks (requirement 8a), and it cannot start until after Second Class requirement 7a is completed.

https://www.scouting.org/programs/scouts-bsa/advancement-and-awards/

Tenderfoot - 30+ days fitness tracking
Second Class - 4 weeks fitness tracking
First Class - 4 weeks fitness tracking
Star - 4 months active tenure as First Class Scout
Life - 6 months active tenure as Star Scout
Eagle - 6 months active tenure as Life Scout
The minimum time to Eagle Scout is now about 19 months due to the Second Class and First Class fitness tracking requirements that were added in 2016.

If a Webelos Scout earns the Arrow of Light rank and joins a troop on their 10th birthday (or close to it), then it is mathematically possible to earn the Eagle Scout rank prior to the 12th birthday.

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
34 minutes ago, skeptic said:

Please, can we simply move on.  This will never go away for those of us closest to it,

Brand new to me so I had no idea that it was such a widely known and infamous situation.

After rereading the rules, it is apparently possible and within the rules if the scout crossed over shortly after turning 10 and earning AOL. I assumed (and perhaps it was an older rule) that a scout had to be 10 1/2 with AOL to cross over.

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
7 minutes ago, Hawkwin said:

After rereading the rules, it is apparently possible and within the rules if the scout crossed over shortly after turning 10 and earning AOL. I assumed (and perhaps it was an older rule) that a scout had to be 10 1/2 with AOL to cross over.

 

 

I think that some people are misinterpreting the rule.  If you have a Webelos Scout who is in the 5th grade but young for his or her grade level, then the Scout is likely meeting the AOL rank tenure requirement based on grade - not birthday:

"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."

Assuming that the Webelos Scout is 9 years old when completing the 4th grade, he or she might not turn 10 years old until August (or even September), but could meet the "since completing the fourth grade" part of the requirement as early as November, which would put their age somewhere between 10 and 10.5.

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, skeptic said:

Please, can we simply move on.  This will never go away for those of us closest to it, and few would question that it absolutely pushed every limit and bent every rule, to the point of local protests and National actually being involved.  It overwhelmed unit leaders and district volunteers, to the point of some throwing in the towel, and touched at least 6 units counting cubs.  Far too many mistakes and "just make it go away" issues, always with the subtle threat of a parent who is a lawyer and lived vicariously through his kids.  The Scout actually had lots of promise, and I am not sure that even he today, entering full adulthood very soon, will want to have a serious discussion of how badly this went down.  Even at the time, I know that he would not look me in the eye when it finally came to the end where the video shows.  I still harbor a little hope that he will at some point face this personal demon and find a way to feel actually good about it. 

Just about the classic example of adults taking the Scouting experience away from their children and then setting a very poor example as to how to circumvent or bend by ploys and threats.  I can assure you that those of us near, or peripheral to this not only took a lot of deep breaths,

But, as I said, let us not again beat this horse.  Thank you.

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

No, it won't go away until it is explained to me ...I was a 12 year old Eagle Scout that had to obtain the lifesaving merit badge, not emergency preparedness. As explained, it was tough, real tough, and I did not pass it the first time. And, by the way, I am an attorney. So, I see the time limits have been changed since I was an 11 year old Tenderfoot...I understand it is possible to become an Eagle at eleven because the rules have changed, ...so, what was the problem? My issue remains, its easier to become an Eagle now without having to attain lifesaving...

Link to post
Share on other sites

Please, don't re-litigate it, I litigate for a living. But for us 12 year-old Eagles from 1965, please tell us what the issues were or are. I don't want to remain in the dark, but some of the things I see I don't like...feel free to change my mind...

Link to post
Share on other sites

Long story short, I think the Improved Scouting Program of '72 is the primary culprit.  It tried to revamp the entire BSA, and not for the better.  Any thing "outdoors" went on the back burner.  I may have mentioned it already in this or another thread like it, when I earned the camping MB in '76 the border of the badge had the "not-required" thread color. 

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...