SCOUT ADVANCEMENT EXPECTATIONS

Friday, 13 March 2009 00:00

SCOUT ADVANCEMENT EXPECTATIONS
A. General Expectations: Advancement through the ranks of Boy Scouting can be
described as the “art of meeting a challenge.” Scouts are responsible for participating
actively in Troop and Patrol programs, where scouting skills required for advancement are
learned and perfected. Scouts are responsible for setting their own advancement goals
and working towards them.
B. BSA Handbook: In this book the Scout will record his advancements as he
progresses. It is each Scout's responsibility to maintain all of his advancement records
from Tenderfoot to Eagle. He must not rely on someone else to do it form him. While an
individual Scout's records are maintained by Advancement Committee Member on
computer in our Troop, each Scout is expected to also carefully retain all of his rank and
merit badge cards and emblems. Some Scouts purchase a notebook and use trading
card plastic pages to hold their accummulating MBA Blue Cards.
Scouts are encouraged to attend a long-term summer camp with the Troop. Summer
camp provides the activities and environment where Scout advancement skills can be
learned and advancement requirements met.
SCOUT ACHIEVEMENT
Boy Scouts earn advancement in these major ways:
• Rank advancement and service hours
• Merit badges.
• Troop Leadership
A. Rank Advancement: includes the ranks of Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First
Class, Star, Life and Eagle. Each rank requirement is increasingly more detailed as the
Scout moves up the advancement trail.
1. The first rank is Scout and those requirements can be completed within
the first 90 days of joining a Scout Troop.
2. The second rank is Tenderfoot and can be earned within the first 6
months of joining.
3. The third rank is Second Class and can be earned within the first 12
months of joining. During this time a new scout can also be working on the
second major achievement award-Merit badges.
4. The fourth rank is First Class and can often be earned at the beginning of
a Scout's second year.
5. The fifth rank to be earned is Star and can often be earned during a
Scout's third year.
6. The sixth rank that can be earned is Life Scout, which can often be
earned by the end of the Scout's fourth year.
7. The seventh and final rank to be earned is Eagle. A Scout will have
earned a minimum of 21 Merit Badges by the time he has reached the rank of
Eagle. The Eagle can often be earned by the end of the Scout's 5th year
and must be completed by the time he reaches 18 years of age.
Scouts who have completed advancement requirements are responsible for scheduling a
Scoutmaster conference and Board of Review.
B. Board of Review: are held on a regular basis. For all ranks below Eagle will consist
of a group of at least three adult leaders or committee members. Boards of Review for
Eagle Rank will consist of
The Board of Review does not test the Scout about his Scout skills. The Board of Review
looks at the Scout, the advancement, the maturity and application of the Scouting
principles to life. They can, and should, ask the boy to recite the Scout Oath, the Scout
Law, the Motto, the Slogan, and the Outdoor Code.
They can also ask the Scout to tie a square knot. However, the important question is:
How have you used the square knot during a camp-out? Scout skills relate to Scouting,
camping and life. It is important that the Scout see and experience this connection. The
Board of Review determines if the Scout has made this connection. So, they might ask
how many meetings have you attended since you passed Tenderfoot? How many Patrol
activities did you organize while a Patrol leader?
The Board of Review does not "fail" scouts. Instead, the Board of Review points out
places that need attention or work and then suggests a date that the boy and Board of
Review should meet again.
Steps to set up a Scoutmaster Conference and Board of Review:
1. The Scout should contact the Advancement Committee member to ensure his
Scout records are accurate and up-to-date, and consider if he has completed the
requirements for advancement
2. Contact the Scoutmaster for a Scoutmaster Conference. This may be done
with any ASM as well. Note: Boys may not have a Scoutmaster conference, or a
Board of Review, with a member of their family.
3. If the rank of Eagle is being sought —the conference needs to be held with
the Scoutmaster.
4. After the Scoutmaster Conference, the Scout then needs to contact the
Advancement Committee member to schedule a Board of Review. The Committee
may impose a time limit of one or two weeks before a Court of Honor in order that
badges and awards may be processed for the Court of Honor in a timely manner.
5. Boards of Review may be held also for Scouts who are not advancing for long
periods of time, to ensure they are being served properly by the program and
troop.
6. When the Board of Review is completed, the Scout should return the signed
Application Card to the Advancement Committee member who signs for the
Troop.
7. The Advancement Committee member turns the Rank Advancement into the
Scout Office and picks up the appropriate earned badge and card.
8. The Advancement Badge is then presented to the Scout at the next Court of
Honors meeting.
9. Scoutmaster conferences and Board of Reviews are generally done during
regular Troop meetings on Tuesdays.
Handbook & Uniform Note: The Scout needs to bring his Boy Scout Handbook
to the Scoutmaster's Conference and Board of Reviews to document that all
advancement requirements have been met. He needs to wear the appropriate
class A uniform for the rank to which he seeks to advance.
C. Eagle advancement. The Scout must select a service project and complete the
Project Workbook. The Scout then must have his Eagle Service Project Workbook
reviewed and approved by the Committee prior to implementing. After the project's
completion the Scout must go through the steps to get a Board of Review and achieve
his Eagle rank. At the Eagle Rank Board of Review the Committee will review the project
with the Scout. Boards of Review for the rank of Eagle will be scheduled on an
individual, as-needed basis.
D. Service hours/projects We are here to make a difference in our community one
project at a time. Our Troop has participated in a wide range of service projects. If we do
not get the Scouts active in our community, they will never see that they can have a
positive impact on a negative situation for someone. We want them to see they can make
a difference if they will just do something.
In order to advance, each Scout must participate in a number of service projects such as
the planting of trees, cleaning up roadsides, conservation projects and the collection of
food for needy families. The beneficiaries of such service projects may be the community,
a church, a school, Cub Scout Den or Pack or a community service organization. From
time-to-time your son will be asked to help in a worthwhile service project.
A major requirement for the Eagle rank is the creation, planning and execution of a large
scale service project. These projects are led by the Eagle Candidate, but can involve
countless hours of accumulated work on the part of many, many people. Your son will
have many opportunities to help with such service efforts. He, too, will need help with his
Eagle project someday.
Activities and projects for which credit for service hours will be granted will be approved
and announced in advance by the SM.
E. Merit Badges The other major component of achievement is earning Merit Badges.
Merit Badge awards are earned for learning or doing a particular skill and fulfilling
individual requirements with the help of an adult counselor. The Scout needs to have a
minimum of 21 Merit Badges to achieve his Eagle rank. Twelve of these merit badges are
specific; the remaining nine are elective.
The Troop offers classes on a rotating schedule for those Merit Badges required for the
Eagle rank. Scouts are encouraged to start on the Eagle Merit Badge trail within the first
six months of joining the Troop. Scouts are also encouraged to begin working on elective
merit badges within the first year of joining.
A list of Troop adult leaders who serve as Merit Badge counselors is available on the BS
Website and the BS Handbook.
F. Boy Scout Merit Badge Blue Card
Merit Badges are earned during a ten-step process.
The steps are:
1. The Scout chooses a Merit Badge to complete and then the
Scout must identify the registered Merit Badge Counselor (MBC) for the
chosen Merit Badge (MB) from the list posted on the Troop 07 Website or from
the attached list.
2. The Scout must obtain a Merit Badge Application (MBA) blue card from
the Advancement Committee member. The Scout must fill out his card prior to
requesting approvals and signatures. The MBA blue card is divided into three
parts: Troop Record, Applicants Record and Counselors record.
3. The Scout must get the Scout Masterʼs Approval by getting the MBA blue
card signed by the Troop Scoutmaster.
4. The MBC and Scout have a conference about the MB.
5. The MBC explains which parts can be done at home and what is required
for proof of completion, what is required and expected for each and every
requirement, and which parts has to be presented in front of troop.
6. The Scout must complete the requirements for the Merit Badge and have
the requirements initialed by the MBC as each requirement is completed. MB
Worksheets can be used to help complete the requirements. The MB
Worksheets can be typed or hand written as long as they are legible. The MB
Worksheets are available on the following website.
www:
7. When all requirements are completed, the MBA blue card must be signed
by the MBC.
8. The MBA blue card is then given to the Advancement Committee member
who signs for the Troop.
9. The Advancement Committee member enters the Merit Badge into the
Troop Advancement database and keeps the MBA blue Counselor's record
card.
10. The Merit Badge is awarded at the next Court of Honor the Scout will
receive the Merit Badge Patch and his copy of the Merit Badge Card. Scout
receives the Applicants' record from the MBA blue card.
The MBA blue card is the Scout's official record of completing his Merit Badge
requirements. If he should need to replace a lost or stolen Merit Badge, the Merit Badge
card must be presented. It is important to keep these in a safe place. The Scout will
need to present all of his MBA blue cards at his Eagle Scout Board of Review.
Note to Parents: DO NOT TAKE YOUR SON'S SCOUT HANDBOOK OR MBA BLUE
CARD UP TO A LEADER AND ASK HIM OR HER TO SIGN A REQUIREMENT. It is your
son's book, it is your son's advancement, and your son is the Scout. He should be
working on the advancement. In general, a Scout doing a requirement for the parent is
not sufficient (Family Life Merit Badge is a notable exception to this rule). If the boy has to
swim 100 yards, let the boy ask an adult leader to meet him at the pool to see him swim
the 100 yards before expecting to have the requirement signed off.
This means that requirements for Scouts cannot be passed when a boy is a Webelos
Scout. Cooking for your Patrol, for instance, must be done as a Boy Scout. Even though
your son might have cooked for his Webelo's den, that does not satisfy the Scout
requirement.
G. Becoming a Merit Badge Councilor Check with Scoutmaster on how to become a
Merit Badge Councilor.
H. How quickly can my Scout get through the ranks? This is a very hard question to
answer. In general, they should work at a pace that they set. Scouting is physical,
mental, and emotional.
A Scout may lag in advancement because he is not comfortable in camping when his dad
doesn't go. He probably needs some time to mature a bit. A Scout must be able to solve
simple algebra problems to get the electricity merit badge. A typical sixth-grade math
student is usually bewildered by the combination of Ohm's law and the Power Law. This
scout needs to advance in school before attempting the Merit Badge. A Scout might
know his knots and lashing, but he might not have the strength to pull the ropes to lash
together the monkey-bridge. This Scout needs another year of growth to see just how far
his Scout skill and his body and mind can take him.
Most 10 to 11 year-old boys take a year to get to First Class. I could imagine that a 14
year-old boy joining the troop might make First Class in six months. The maturation from
age 10 to 14 is tremendous.
In any event, Scouting does not offer "quick rewards." The process is one of growing,
learning and maturing. For a new Scout joining the troop, the Eagle Award is probably 5
or more years away. Scouting is designed to grow with the Scout.
This is very different from the Activity pins that the boy quickly earned as a Webelos
Scout. Parents and boys have to adjust their thinking about advancement when moving
from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts.
The requirements, the Scoutmaster conference and the Board of Review all help to set
the pace of advancement.
I. What should I do if my son's advancement is too slow?
Scouting is part "fun" and part "advancement." The boys do not want the advancement
portion of the program to rob them of the fun part. We should let the boys have fun in
scouting. Let them be active both in scouts and enjoy the program.
We would love for all our Scouts to make Eagle rank. Unfortunately, some won't. There
are interests that sometime conflict with Scouting, and boys sometime choose the other
activities. These other activities are important. We have to recognize and we have to
accept that not all boys are the same. They have different interests and priorities.
J. Is something wrong if my son is not advancing--even though he is trying? It is
important that your son enjoys scouting. If he is having trouble advancing, you need to
determine if he is having fun in scouting. If he is frustrated or bored, be careful, because
he is ready to quit scouting. If he is having fun, encourage him to keep trying.
It is not uncommon for Scouts to have 3 or so partial Merit Badges that they never
completes. Their brains do not register this partial merit badge as one of the simplest to
complete, and as a waste of time if they don't complete it. They always feel they have
plenty of time to finish the badge.
K. Court of Honor. It is a ceremony where a Scout will receive the insignia of his new
rank and other milestones in service and troop leadership since the last Court of Honor.
Courts of Honor will be conducted three times per year, in October, March and May. All
Troop members attending a Court of Honor will wear the appropriate class A uniform for
their rank.
The program will be set up by the Scouts with the support of the Committee. Troop funds
may be used for providing refreshments, or parents may be solicited by the PLC to
provide them, or both.
L. Eagle Rank Court of Honor: is to recognize a Scout who has advanced to Eagle rank.
It is arranged seperately and conducted for that sole purpose. It is scheduled by the
Scout concerned, and will be tailored by him and his parents to suit their desires, with the
assistance of the Troop. Eagle Courts of Honor should have the venue and program
decided by the Eagle Scout and his family. It may be held in conjunction with a Troop
Court of Honor. The Committee should provide resources and support where possible.

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Last Updated ( Monday, 16 March 2009 20:58 )

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