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Webelos &reviewing Their Books - Old Program


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I'm curious how others do their book reviews, sign offs, and tracking, for advancement with your WEBELOS.

Do you do a physical book review at meetings?

with parents or the boys or both?

How do you structure the activity?

 

Since I'm no longer Cub Mastering, my son's 2nd year WEBELOS DL has asked me to help him as his Assistant

As we are finishing up our den meeting plans, one thing the DL wants to do as we kick off the school year is to review where the boys are along their advancement trail.... in an effort to encourage them to finish AOL

.... and I would add the condition, "If they want it"

 

We're continuing with the old program, for what that's worth.

 

I think mostly he wants to do this so we can see if there's any big holes that we can work to fill in our meeting planning to help the boys along.

 

So he has an idea to have a welcome back pool party, and while the boys are swimming, we'll sit down with the parents and the books.

 

Personally, i think that I would rather sit down one on one with the boys.... but the parents will likely remember better which meetings they were at, and know what they have done

 

Just from my reviewing the book at home regularly with my son, he's done with everything except the time requirement, the troop visit with the den, and the scoutmaster conference....

I seriously doubt if any of the other boys are that far along.

 

Tracking advancement has never been a strong suit for us.  As Assistant DL in Tiger and Wolf, I was never very successful with it, finally coming to the conclusion that my tracking it really doesn't matter anyway (for CUBS)

I honestly don't think the boys care all that much.  There' just in it for the fun stuff and could care less about the book and patches

and the parents don't either....

I've never had much luck in asking them to let me know what has been signed off at home.

 

My concerns are these:

  • I have seen plenty of pencil whipping whenever groups have tried to discuss "where we are", as in a few times the DL tried to pull such a discussion together with the parents at den meetings.... at that drives me nuts!
  • and at the same time really poor interpretations of the confusing language in the book.... all in the interest of pencil whipping and laziness
  • I seriously doubt if most of the parents or boys have taken the time to sign off on much of anything in their books
  • We really don't take attendance to know who was there for what meeting
  • & I remember a few times where at a Den Meeting, the DL had set up to work on an achievement pin, but truthfully didn't hit every bullet point so some homework was needed, but the general statements made that we did that one.... so I doubt if most have looked through the books and followed through.... but if Akela says he did it.....
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blw2,

 

The Den Leader is signing off not the parents, right?  Only the Den Leader is to sign off on Webelos advancement.

 

How about an advancement chart/poster?  Update it as things are signed off.  Have it posted at every meeting, so scouts and parents alike have a reminder of what needs to be done, along with you and the Den Leader.

 

Something like:  http://www.scoutstuff.org/webelos-advancement-chart.html#.VcS6r7XJDIV

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Get Scoutbook.  Sync with Scoutnet, then enable parents to log in and update what they need to.  Have their Webelos update along side with them.  This is after the DL signs off on the book.  The WDL then goes in and accepts it all.

 

Done.

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blw2,

 

The Den Leader is signing off not the parents, right?  Only the Den Leader is to sign off on Webelos advancement.

 

How about an advancement chart/poster?  Update it as things are signed off.  Have it posted at every meeting, so scouts and parents alike have a reminder of what needs to be done, along with you and the Den Leader.

 

Something like:  http://www.scoutstuff.org/webelos-advancement-chart.html#.VcS6r7XJDIV

 

ah, no..... where is that written?

I had read that this was the case someplace unofficial a long time ago when we started WEBELOS, and went into it with that idea....

This was when i was Cubmaster and a new WEB dad.....

but we could find no requirement anywhere that spells that out about only the DL is to sign....

it's been a while now, but I'm pretty sure it even has the cub language in the old web books about parents being akela, and them signing....

so I left it up to the DL, and he has continued with either he or Akela signing....

 

I have to say I don't recall what they said in the online training video for WEBELOS Leader either.... but I would have been looking for this when I sat through it....

 

I agree though, that it would probably be better to do it this way.... it would certainly help to reduce the pencil whipping

and it would help condition the boys for troop life

which are the reasons I was originally buying into the idea and suggesting it to the DL.

 

My son's 1st DL back in Tiger, bought those posters, and then asked me to keep up with it.  Seems like a great idea, but they would never do it....

I tried through maybe half of Wolf year before giving up

It would never be done at the meetings.... they didn't have their books, or hadn't updated and signed off on anything....

and I even reminded them many times to just email me at their convenience, what they signed off on for their sons.....

nothing.

about all I would get was comments like, "yeah, I really need to sit down with him and his book.  Maybe I'll do it this weekend."

 

And then when I was Assistant Cubmaster, I researched heavily the idea into doing some form or another of these tracking programs or web sites..... 

 

But through all of this, I decided that with Cubs, there really is no need to track it beyond the scout's book.  It's just added work to collect data that nobody needs or cares about....

 

 

the only reason we care now, is to regroup and get a picture of what most of them need to work on.....

really Big Picture I guess, so we can get the most bang for the buck in the meeting plan....not so much caring about specifics of each bullet point for each boy

 

 

I've gotta say though, I do like your suggestions of just putting up a poster and leaving it to the boys &/or the parents to do it

or the online things

If they want it they will, and if they don't they won't

 

But I have enough track record with this group to know, they won't.

 

So that's why I was asking for 1st hand experiences on how other folks have done the sit down with the book thing at meetings....

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ah, no..... where is that written?

"old" Webelos handbook.  Parents guide page 10:

 

"When a Tiger Cub, Wolf Cub Scout, or Bear Cub Scout

completes requirements, a parent or guardian signs his book.

When a Webelos Scout completes requirements, he takes his

book to the Webelos den leader or an adult designated as the

activity badge counselor (often this is the parent or guardian

of a Webelos Scout). For projects that are done at home or

with the family and are not easily transportable, the parent or

guardian still may be asked to approve the Webelos Scout’s

completion of an activity badge requirement."

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So that's why I was asking for 1st hand experiences on how other folks have done the sit down with the book thing at meetings....

Our den used the chart.  Den Leader would then update Scouttrack.  Don't bring your book?  No update. No award.  You can't justify the award with out signoff support.  At Webelos, Scouttrack administrators, would only allow Den Leaders to update records.  Parents could update Tiger-Bear.

 

We were in a pack of 100+ and had to use the electronic tracking. It would be pretty messy to order advancement bling and present at a pack meeting without it.

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<<Tracking advancement has never been a strong suit for us.  As Assistant DL in Tiger and Wolf, I was never very successful with it, finally coming to the conclusion that my tracking it really doesn't matter anyway (for CUBS)>>

 

 

 

I've never been any good at that either.

 

As a Tiger Cub Den Leader,  I can put that on the parents.  Few of them are any good at it too!

 

I simply let parents know to notify me when their Tiger Cub is ready to be awarded his badge.  Anyone attending many of the meetings and activities is welcome to the badge as far as I'm concerned. 

 

I like to appeal to adult leaders to do things THEY ARE GOOD AT DOING or that THEY WANT TO DO.  That includes me.

 

In Cub Scouts,  we do our best.  Sometimes that's a high standard,  sometimes not.

Edited by SeattlePioneer
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Last year with my Weblos I had a sort of scout masters conference with them and there parent (YP) my assistant den-leader as running an activity and I pulled them in and talked to them about the requirements scout oath law extra point out stuff on the uniform they all did really well and most of the parents sat there and stared at there phones (the way I like it) and I would mark there book and my paper work to update out online tracking system the scouts really seemed to enjoy the meeting and the one on one time.  It was nice to interact with them that way and I could tell the ones that were into it and the ones who parents were into it

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Last year with my Weblos I had a sort of scout masters conference with them and there parent (YP) my assistant den-leader as running an activity and I pulled them in and talked to them about the requirements scout oath law extra point out stuff on the uniform they all did really well and most of the parents sat there and stared at there phones (the way I like it) and I would mark there book and my paper work to update out online tracking system the scouts really seemed to enjoy the meeting and the one on one time.  It was nice to interact with them that way and I could tell the ones that were into it and the ones who parents were into it

 

to make sure I'm getting what you are saying....

So your assistant ran some activity for the whole den

and while they were doing that, you called away each boy individually, one at a time, along with his parent.... to another room or area?

 

Was this a one time thing, or every meeting?

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