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The
Scout advancement program is a subtle tool for the Troop. It places a series of challenges in front of a Scout in a manner that
is fun and educational. As
Scouts meet these challenges, they achieve the aims of Scouting. A boy advances and grows in the program in the same way a plant
grows in the right environment. The job of adults concerned with advancement
is to provide that environment. Some
of the best fun and best satisfaction in Scouting comes from working on
badges and advancing in rank. There
are occasional special events open only to Scouts of higher rank and a boy
normally can’t get to be a Patrol Leader unless he is at least a First
Class Scout.
The ranks
of Boy Scouts, from lowest to highest, are:
· Boy Scout (at least 11, or earned Cub Scout Arrow of Light)
· Tenderfoot
· Second Class
· First Class
· Star
· Life
· Eagle (must earn before age 18)
A Scout
badge recognizes what a boy is able to do; it is not a reward for what he
has done. The standards for
advancement are listed in the Boy Scout Handbook and in the current Boy
Scout Requirements book. No
council, district, unit, or individual has the authority to add to, or
subtract from, any advancement requirement.
Measurement
is done by means of skills, but skills do far more than measure. They accommodate the three aims of Scouting: participating
citizenship, growth in moral strength and character, and mental and physical
development. Certainly there
are requirements for hands-on tasks like first aid and fire building, but
when a badge and certificate are awarded to a Boy Scout to recognize that he
has achieved a rank, besides these physical tasks they represent that a boy
has:
· Been an active participant in his Troop and Patrol;
·
Shown Scouting spirit;
·
Met the other requirements and/or earned the merit badges for
the rank;
·
Participated in a Scoutmaster conference; and
·
Satisfactorily appeared before a board of review.
In the
advanced ranks like Star, Life and Eagle, the badge represents that the boy
has also:
· Served in a leadership position in the Troop;
·
Earned the requisite number of merit badges; and
·
Performed service to others.
A Boy Scout
advances from Tenderfoot to Eagle by doing things with his Patrol and his
Troop, with his leaders, and on his own.
It’s easy for him to advance if four opportunities are provided for
him:
A Scout
learns by doing. As he learns, he grows in the ability to do his part as a
member of the patrol and the troop. As
he develops knowledge and skill, he is asked to teach others; and in this
way he begins to develop leadership. Scouts
do much of the teaching and most of the leading in the Troop.
The process for all of the ranks is the same.
Older scouts will demonstrate skills to the new scouts.
This does
not mean to say that we are a Troop run by teenagers who know everything and
do it well. There are plenty of
adults there to guide the planning process and to ensure that the program is
safe, falls within the Boy Scouts of America’s guidelines, accounts for
the needs of all scouts in the Troop, and to provide answers to those
questions the teenagers missed out on in Life 101.
His patrol
leader, Scoutmaster, Assistant Scoutmaster, a Troop committee member, or a
member of his Troop may test a Scout on requirements.
The Scout doing the testing must be at least two ranks higher than
the rank being tested.
When a boy
has completed all the requirements for a rank he will participate in two
evaluations. The first is a
Scoutmaster’s conference. The
Scoutmaster will take this opportunity to set goals for the boy, to discuss
the requirements of the following rank, and to get the Scout’s opinions
about the Troop so we can improve. Then
comes the board of review. For
Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life and Eagle Palms members of
the Troop Committee conduct the review.
The Eagle Scout board of review is conducted in accordance with local
council procedures and typically involves officials from the District and
the Council, too. The idea behind the Scoutmaster’s conference and the
board of review is for the adult leadership to feel comfortable the Scout is
knowledgeable and understands his future goals, to ensure the Scout is happy
in the Troop, and to be aware of any potential conflicts.
When the
board of review has certified a boy’s advancement he deserves to receive
recognition as soon as possible. Normally
this is done at the closing of the next Troop meeting.
The certificate for his new rank is presented later at a formal Court
of Honor in front of all Scouts and their families.
A
successful first year is critical if a boy is to remain in scouting.
Our goal is to provide a program that will enable a new boy to
progress through the ranks of Boy Scout, Tenderfoot, and Second Class,
obtaining First Class rank before the anniversary of his joining.
We do our best to provide a program in which boys will transition
from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts, have a great first year, and position
themselves to reap the rewards of a scouting career.
The Boy
Scouts is a much different program than Cub Scouts, with the emphasis on
boys taking leadership roles and running the Troop.
For a new boy fresh out of Cub Scouts this concept can be a
challenge. No longer is an
adult responsible for the program. No
longer is everyone the same age. No
longer is everyone doing the same activity, and, probably most importantly,
no longer are adults responsible for the boy’s progress.
It is his responsibility to chart his own course and time scale.
The clock to Eagle stops at midnight of his last day as a seventeen
year old.
Star, Life,
and Eagle ranks follow First Class. Merit
badges and leadership fill the remaining time.
Most scouts will have earned a merit badge or two during the first
year, but they are not necessary to advance to First Class.
To advance beyond First Class to Eagle, a scout must earn merit
badges, provide service hours, and demonstrate leadership skills.
There are 21 merit badges required to reach Eagle rank.
Service hours can be earned in numerous ways and most boys in high
school are familiar with the concept of community service.
Leadership
is the concept that sets Boy Scouts aside from most other youth activities.
The boys run an ideal troop. They
choose and plan the year’s activities, they understand a budget and
utilize resources to develop funds, they respond to community needs, and
they make the scouts within the Troop achieve their goals.
Leadership can come from taking care of the new scouts, looking after
our equipment, maintaining the Troop records, and so forth.
All these positions hold scouts accountable for the activities of
others.
Merit
Badges
Merit
badges are similar to activity pins in Webelos - a series of tasks to
perform within a given subject area. Also
like Webelos pins, most are discretionary, but some are required to earn
ranks. The average badge
requires about four hours of work. If
a scout tears himself away from the television for one hour a week he can
earn 13 merit badges a year. From
age twelve through eighteen, that’s 78 merit badges.
All for an hour a week! A
lot of satisfaction comes from completing badges, too, and Scouts will be
glad they learned how to do things a lot of other guys can’t do; but, as
with other aspects of Scouting, they
have to do it themselves.
Talking to
the Scoutmaster is the first step in obtaining a merit badge.
If he feels the Scout is capable of the undertaking, the Scoutmaster
will issue the boy a “blue card,” which is used for record keeping
throughout the process. If a
badge is difficult, such as the badges for Atomic Energy or Environmental
Science, the Scoutmaster may ask the Scout to wait until he is older to
attempt it. After receiving the
blue card, the Scout must contact a merit badge counselor, who may not be
directly associated with our Troop, to arrange a meeting.
The counselor will guide the boy through the process.
Some counselors give instruction, some expect the Scout to find and
use other resources, reporting back occasionally on progress.
When he feels the boy has completed the requirements-no more, no
less-the counselor will sign the blue card indicating the badge has been
earned. It is then the
Scout’s responsibility to bring the blue card to the Scoutmaster
for signature and to deliver the completed blue card to the Advancement
Chairman for recognition and processing.
For each
merit badge there is an individual booklet that defines the requirements and
offers excellent conceptual instruction.
A merit badge counselor may or may not require a Scout to buy a copy
of the booklet. Another great
reference is Boy Scout Requirements (year), which summarizes all
of the badge requirements. While
it does not contain complete information, this book is a good way for a boy
to select what badges he wants to pursue.
A new requirements book is issued every year.
And, naturally, the requirements are also available on the internet.
It is
important for the Scout’s to keep the merit badge cards and blue cards in
a safe place. They are the
means to prove that a badge has been completed and proof will be required
for advancement to the Eagle rank. Most
boys keep their cards in a three-ring notebook in clear plastic pages
designed to hold baseball cards.
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