What To Do With First Year Scout

[mt_goodrich]

I have a young man who will be going to summer camp for the first time.

All the other Scouts his age went to camp last year and went thru the "Scouting Skills" in which they concentrate on those requirements needed to reach 1st Class. The one at the camp we attended last year was very good and I was impressed. I had five boys going thru it and I attended most of the class with them and was more than satisfied they were being taught correctly and that they were actually retaining what they learned.

I think this Scout would really benefit from this program and would help him catch up to the others advancement-wise. He has been in the troop over a year; however, he doesn't get to meetings on a regular basis because his parents are divorced and he splits time between both parent's homes.

My concern is that since he will not be with any of the other boys in this program, he may end up having a bad time.

I would more than likely go to the classes with him a few times until he made friends with some of the other Scouts, but not sure what to do. Should I have him be in this program to get him caught up or let him take the merit badge like the rest of the boys?

[AquilaNegra2]

Which option does HE want to do?

Maybe he doesn't care about catching up to the others, but really has an interest in Fishing. Sure-fire way to make sure he doesn't have a good time is to force him into a class he doesn't want to be in.

[Mrw]

How far behind is he advancement-wise?

If he has really earned nothing rank-wise, he might benefit from the program. If he has a number of things completed, but has not quite finished the early ranks, he will probably be better served and happier to earn a few merit badges and work with you or a couple other older boys to get them finished in some of the non-scheduled time.

Using your older boys as teachers helps them review the subject matter at the same time.

[deweylure]

I would let him do meritbadges and then work with him at night on rank requirements. If he passes the swimming test sign him off for the appropriate rank.
Making it an enjoyable camp may just spark his enthusiasm although it sounds like the parents may be the problem. A discussion with parents seems to be needed. I had the same problem with my ex-wife. Her visitation night was on the same night as the meeting I offered to switch it for her. I know many other Dads who work it out . One scout actually has his dad and step- dad involved with the troop they come to meetings and outings. No problems

Dewey

[WVBeaver05]

How far behind is he advancement-wise?

If he has really earned nothing rank-wise, he might benefit from the program. If he has a number of things completed, but has not quite finished the early ranks, he will probably be better served and happier to earn a few merit badges and work with you or a couple other older boys to get them finished in some of the non-scheduled time.

Using your older boys as teachers helps them review the subject matter at the same time.

I think this is the key. The same thing happened to one of our Scouts a few years ago. He and I sat down the first night at camp and discussed the options. He was slightly over a year into Boy Scouts but had not attended summer camp. He did have slightly over half of the T-2-1 requirements completed. He decided that he would work on merit badges but there were a couple requirements that were going to be covered at camp that we were going to have trouble getting done. I had a couple discussions with the camp staff and he attended those sessions and I helped with them so I witnessed him doing them and we were able to get them signed off and he earned 3-4 merit badges AND he became more active.

YiS

[pipestone1991]

I think scouting skills would be a good thing atm for him. He can work on mbs when it comes down to Star,Life and Eagle (he only needs 21).

[milominderbinder2]

Another option for an older First-Time summer camp Scout is to take core merit badges at camp instead:
* First Aid
* Swimming
* Camping
* Orienteering

First Aid and Swimming are included in many First Year programs since by First Class you cover most of these requirements anyway.

Orienteering covers much of the compass-work and is a lot of fun.

After a year in the program this boy will may already have over 20 nights of camping by this summer camp. Plus Camping includes cooking, hiking, and so many other basics.

This is not much more than a First-Year program but adds three Eagle Requried Merit Badges. It offers more challenge with a lot of return.

- Craig

[mhjacobson]

The combination of working on MB, which is more age appropriate, and on the basic skills seems to be the way to ensure that he both has a good time at camp, and makes advancement. Without both in place, you can be assured that he will never want to come to camp again.

[alex gregory]

If you steer this boy away from MBs he will resent you as a leader and lose interest in scouting. He can satisify all or most TFC requirements through various core MBs, and there are always the other 11 months of the year to work on advancement.

I would add Pioneering and Envir. Sci. to milominderbinder2's list of MB options that will crank out TFC requirements. But First Aid and Swimming would be at the top of my list. Frankly, I reccommend these core MBs for first-time summer campers, and love to see at least one or two Eagle required badges get done the first year of camp.

I would encourage the scout to sign up for at least one or two core MBs with his same age buddies. If he is active and outdoorsy, steer him toward the campcraft and waterfront options. If he is more scholarly, perhaps the nature badges might work best. Sounds like this boy wants some direction, but let him decide for himself what he really wants to do. If he is gung-ho to spend his week of camp at the rifle range and doing crafts, that's great! Summer camp is about having fun first, advancement just happens along the way.

Instead of "forcing" him into TFC if that is how he perceives it, spend a little extra time in the afternoon on TFC requirements (but only if it's "his" idea of how he wants to spend his time).

It sounds like the scout in question is under age 15, so what's the rush? If he learns that scouting is about having fun, he'll stay in the program and do just fine.

[smtroop168]

My two 1st year guys did Rifle Shooting, Fishing and Swimming MBs as well as Tenderfoot requirements with one of my ASMs. They can't wait to go back next year.

[9009scoutmaster]

My 1st year campers take First Aid and Swimming MB along with the camps year campers program. Usually they are able to earn 3-4 merit badges at camp.
Six out of seven that I have used this program with have returned to camp the following year. Hopefully next year this number will be eight out of nine.

[alex gregory]

First year summer campers fall into two general categories, the "I want merit badges!" category and the "I like to catch crayfish" category.

My son at his 1st year of summer camp was determined to get MBs after getting all the Webelo achievements (he still tinks he is going to get every MB - hey, go for it kiddo). He came home with 6 badges including Swimming and Env. Sci. That was his idea of fun, and he still had plenty of time to be silly. I encouraged him to do what he wanted to do, but left him on his own and his own pace. This year he's determined to get another 5 MBs. I wish he applied himself with the same determination in school, but hopefully this too will come to pass.

Other 1st year summer campers were as gung-ho as my boy, but about half came home with maybe one or two completed MBs and maybe partials in one or two other MBs which they worked on through the rest of the year or plan to finish this summer. They preferred to play and maybe be a little bit more silly than I would have liked, but they had fun. They are all coming back for 2nd and 3rd years of summer camp, and focussing more on advancement.

The point is that 1st year summer campers are usually 11 and 12 year old boys, and they are still kids who really just want to have fun. Let the boy decide how he wants to spend his week of summer camp and have his fun, and I have no doubt that he'll be back next year with a little more maturity and ready to focus more on advancement.

[cballman]

Its been a while so how did the new camper do at camp? How is he doing now? has he caught up with the others yet? Please give us an update on the scouts and summer camp.

[AquilaNegra2]

Alex, you might want to read this thread thoroughly: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1397

Your son is going to need a lot of organization, and a lot of family support if he wants to reach his goal.

The nice thing is that the MB program is pretty well-rounded. The skills will transfer over to his school subjects (maybe not the GRADES, but the knowledge . If the citizenship badges are done with vigor, they cover at least a semester's worth of civics. More importantly, the topics are relevant to the Scout, and he RETAINS it.

[alex gregory]

[quote="AquilaNegra2"]Your son is going to need a lot of organization, and a lot of family support if he wants to reach his goal.quote]

If he really wants every MB that's fine - it is a remarkable achievement. My main concern is what would he give up in order to get lots of MBs. My son is realizing that getting every MB is a lot more work than getting all Webelo Achievements. He's doing OK, 12 1/2 and I think he's at 18 MBs. He also is realizing that being a great scout and having fun in scouts is not always about having lots of patches on the brag rag (he'll probably be happy with one more than Dad - just like being one inch taller).

[ronin718]

My son is like yours, Alex. He set the goal of all 121 MBs and earning Eagle before he turned 13. Well, reality has set in, and the timetable for Eagle has been altered slightly. He's also realized the effort required for all the MBs, and so I think he's letting that one slide as well. However, he is still doing well. He boarded Life at 12 years, 5 months, and he's now at 25 MBs. He has four remaining Eagle MBs to go, with completion on two of them all but assured by the end of October, so his new goal is to finish his Eagle by June.

I know what you mean about the "one up Dad" drill. My boy was quite pleased with himself when he put on Star, allowing him to "pull rank" on Dad. That worked until I reminded him that ASM outranks Scout, and Dad outranks Son. And I still have the inches and shoe size. For a couple more years.