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The End of Belt Loops


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Yea Do away with Everything that A Scouter can do Outside scouting...Oh Wait, There would be No Scouting Left..Outside of Earning Ranks What is there Unique About Scouting...Community Service, Nope Now days your Required to have so Many Hours To Graduate from High School...Camping..Nope there Are Now Clubs that promote Camping at all ages...Not just to Boy Scout Age or Venture Aged Scouters..

 

Name one single Merit Badge that is so Unique to Boy Scout Activity It is Not Taught somewhere or learned outside Boy Scouts..Yea I know No one can Award a "Merit Badge" because BSA Lawyers will chase you down like a Fox..But You can teach someone Computer Science, Metalsmithing, Cooking, Fishing, Archery, and every other so called Merit Badge Activity also.

 

Do Away with Physical Activities Because they should be Having Recess and Physical Education in School everyday..So No Need for those in Scouting

 

Citizenship...Nope got those Classes in Schools also no need for Redundancey..

 

Only thing Unique In Scouting is the Manner it is Presented and Taught..

 

For Cubbies, yes almost all want some sort of Patch or award...As they age out, they lose importance

What a ridiculous comment. No one is saying that all things taught in Scouting need not be represented in the program because they can be learned elsewhere.

 

Like I said above, things that have nothing to do with the intent and purpose of scouting should possibly be removed from the program. Baden Powell has had to be turning in his grave over the years as we've introduced new awards for things like video games and frisbee.

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I vote bad. Belt loops are something that I've included in my program. We also had belt loop round up day in the summer. I guess we'll just have to see what they are replacing it with. Sometimes it wa

I am very very unhappy about this. I have 3 sons all 2 years apart. My eldest 2 have been busy earning as many belt loops as possible at home on their own, at pack meetings, at den meetings and at s

It is my hope that they are eliminating the belt loops to put in place a different program that offers the boys immediate recognition for activities other than those they earn for their rank badge. Th

I just realized something. I don't mind the topics of the Belt Loops. I think it's great that scouts can get together and play kickball or badminton and get something to remind them they did it.

 

USABILITY ... I just hate the belt loops. If my son earned 20, I'd have a nightmare trying to put them on a belt and put the belt in the pants and then somewhat regularly wash the pants. The belt loops would be in a drawer and never used.

 

PRICE ... Plus, the belt loop is too expensive. It should be a buck or less. And you get a pin and a belt loop for close to the same thing? What? And the pack pays once for the pin and once for the belt loop. What?

 

PRESENTATION ... When belt loops are presented, they are usually still in the card board with the plastic cover on them. Does not look nice. But it's the only way to keep labeled and somewhere to put the person's name. I guess you could tape it to an advancement card, but we don't do that. Just looks poorly presented.

 

Give me a pin or a patch. Heck, I'd like to see a patch jacket be more common.

 

In our pack we present them to to the boys at the Den meeting, they are announced at the pack meeting. But it is a more personal presentation at the den level.. If you follow the requirements for the pins they should be much harder to earn. I'm the CC so I do my best to make sure that they are earning pins for actually doing the requirements. I think the pins help the boys transition to the Boy Scouts where they have to prove they know the material to earn the Merit Badge.

 

I also think that the Tigers and Wolfs really enjoy getting bling, the webelos are too cool for loops :-)

Webelos should be too cool for loops, especially the Webelo 2s. I would hope that at that point they are focusing more on skills they'll need to transition into the Troop and get the Scout rank.
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I LOVE the belt loop program and have implemented it alongside rank requirements. It works well and ensures that all boys get several recognitions at ceremonies - I am very sad to hear the belt loop program may be going away, and I will try to do as many belt loops as possible next year as a pack and individually with my two boys. I have a son who will be eligible for scouts in 2015, so I guess he'll never be able to do the belt loop program unless I buy them ahead of time ... perhaps an idea?

 

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Rather than trying to discuss the New Cub Scout delivery system in one big topic, I'd prefer breaking out the changes into separate discussions.

 

So, no more Belt Loops after May 2015. Good, Bad, or Meh?

 

Can you provide a source for this? I can't find anything online that says the belt loops are going away. It would have quite a big impact on the program - it would require rewriting a lot of the Webelos requirements and a huge chunk of the NOVA program, both of which require the earning of specific belt loops.

 

As for whether or not it'd be a good idea - I'm on the side with others that say they should be kept. It seems that most of the arguments against them have to do with specific Pack decisions about whether or not to focus on them or how they are presented, which don't really strike me as reasons to dump the program.

 

I will say that they do make the belt kind of a hassle to get on, and smaller kids (like mine) will surely run out of space on the belt if they earn enough, but I say that's a good problem to have.

 

We had a new scout join our Bear den recently. His mom decided that Scouts would be a good way for her son to bond with her new fiance, so the boy wasn't completely sold on the notion, either. At our first meeting, I picked up immediately that he was very shy and didn't feel he fit in. Therefore, I changed my meeting plan at the last minute and had the boys earn the Music belt loop, since it was something I could do with materials I had on hand. His attitude towards Scouts changed 100% the following week at the Pack meeting when he got to stand up in front of everyone and get an award.

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Rather than trying to discuss the New Cub Scout delivery system in one big topic, I'd prefer breaking out the changes into separate discussions.

 

So, no more Belt Loops after May 2015. Good, Bad, or Meh?

 

Can you provide a source for this? I can't find anything online that says the belt loops are going away. It would have quite a big impact on the program - it would require rewriting a lot of the Webelos requirements and a huge chunk of the NOVA program, both of which require the earning of specific belt loops.

 

As for whether or not it'd be a good idea - I'm on the side with others that say they should be kept. It seems that most of the arguments against them have to do with specific Pack decisions about whether or not to focus on them or how they are presented, which don't really strike me as reasons to dump the program.

 

I will say that they do make the belt kind of a hassle to get on, and smaller kids (like mine) will surely run out of space on the belt if they earn enough, but I say that's a good problem to have.

 

We had a new scout join our Bear den recently. His mom decided that Scouts would be a good way for her son to bond with her new fiance, so the boy wasn't completely sold on the notion, either. At our first meeting, I picked up immediately that he was very shy and didn't feel he fit in. Therefore, I changed my meeting plan at the last minute and had the boys earn the Music belt loop, since it was something I could do with materials I had on hand. His attitude towards Scouts changed 100% the following week at the Pack meeting when he got to stand up in front of everyone and get an award.

My almost 11 year old son now has two belts- one was his father's. He had to split his loops in half between belts. He has maybe earned half the loops.
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I'm pretty sure the belt loops are not essential to the program. Scout son made it from Tiger to Life without earning one' date=' wasn't a den priority. I'm pretty sure his journey will be complete without them...[/quote']

 

Except that if your son earned every Cub Scout rank he earned multiple belt loops, as they are required for several rank requirements. Not to mention it would be hard to not accidently earn some of them.

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I'm pretty sure the belt loops are not essential to the program. Scout son made it from Tiger to Life without earning one' date=' wasn't a den priority. I'm pretty sure his journey will be complete without them...[/quote']

 

Except that if your son earned every Cub Scout rank he earned multiple belt loops, as they are required for several rank requirements. Not to mention it would be hard to not accidently earn some of them.

Show me where a belt loop is required to be earned for advancement?
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I'm pretty sure the belt loops are not essential to the program. Scout son made it from Tiger to Life without earning one' date=' wasn't a den priority. I'm pretty sure his journey will be complete without them...[/quote']

 

Except that if your son earned every Cub Scout rank he earned multiple belt loops, as they are required for several rank requirements. Not to mention it would be hard to not accidently earn some of them.

Citizen Webelos Activity Badge

Do 1-8 and two of 9-17:

8. Earn the Citizenship belt loop while a Webelos. At a Webelos den meeting, talk about the service project Good Turn that you did.

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I'm pretty sure the belt loops are not essential to the program. Scout son made it from Tiger to Life without earning one' date=' wasn't a den priority. I'm pretty sure his journey will be complete without them...[/quote']

 

Except that if your son earned every Cub Scout rank he earned multiple belt loops, as they are required for several rank requirements. Not to mention it would be hard to not accidently earn some of them.

Even in the instance were the belt loops isn't a required it is one of the allowed option (do 5 of 8, etc) so while not required there really isn't a good reason not to do it if it ties into something else in the program. Even as an addition to doing a requirement.

 

Anyway belt loops might be going away but they will be replaced by something.

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I'm pretty sure the belt loops are not essential to the program. Scout son made it from Tiger to Life without earning one' date=' wasn't a den priority. I'm pretty sure his journey will be complete without them...[/quote']

 

Except that if your son earned every Cub Scout rank he earned multiple belt loops, as they are required for several rank requirements. Not to mention it would be hard to not accidently earn some of them.

Well Hell's Bells...you're right. Scoutson did get at least one belt loop, though i'm still hard pressed to remember it...still, that just makes the point, you can run a good Cub program without them.

 

I'll refrain from commenting about Cubs from now on, it was so long ago...I'll just show myself out the door...

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Glad they are departing. A good lesson to learn early in life: every experience' date=' or newly learned skill, doesn't always result in a gold star, belt loop, patch or pin. [/quote']

Great idea! Maybe that should be the new Cub Scout Motto! I'm sure it would really help enrollment numbers. :rolleyes:

You sound just like me......I need to share a cigar and beverage with you sometime.
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I cannot tell you how many hundreds of belt loops and pins I pick up off the fellowship hall after the pack meeting.

 

The boys don't care......the parents do.......

 

I think I maybe partly responsible for this, because I posted on bryan asking why there was no nose wiping or I didn't cry belt loops. Because we have them for everything else.

 

The boys know they are meaningless. The bb and archery are complete jokes, sit thru the safety talk and shoot a few times and you have earned it.

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