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Revised
26 Sep 2009
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SUMMARY OF RANK ADVANCEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
If you have any suggestions or other questions,
please contact The Advancement Chair at
advancement@troop7bsa.org.
PARENT EXPECTATIONS:
 | Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts are run on completely
different philosophies. |
| The primary responsibility falls back to the scout
to advance, ie. to work on merit badges, to ask an older scout to sign
off on individual rank requirements and to ask adults for a Scoutmaster
conference and a Board of Review. |
| The typical scout will advance in spurts and his
interest in scouting will probably wax and wane. |
| During sports seasons or a very busy school
schedule, allow your scout the break from scouting with the expectation
that he will pick it up again. |
| Rely on the friendships your scout has formed in
the troop to keep him interested in Boy Scouts when he is on the fence
about continuing. |
| It is an uphill battle to force a scout to earn
the Eagle rank when he has not set that as a goal for himself. |
| Avoid letting the scouting program and advancement
become the battleground for teenage rebellion. |
| Focus on helping your scout find his niche in the
troop. |
| If your scout is not advancing, find out why. Is
he slipping through the cracks? Does he understand the advancement
process? Is he struggling with shyness? Or is he not interested in
advancing? |
ORGANIZATIONAL TIPS:
| Keep scouting materials together in one place. |
| Help your scout stay organized. |
| Ask your scout what he is doing. |
| Help him plan out a strategy for earning a merit
badge or knocking off a couple of requirements for rank advancement.
Break the process down into smaller steps so the scout will not become
overwhelmed so easily. |
ADVANCEMENT STRATEGY:
| The scout can work on the requirements for
Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class at the same time. |
| The scouts must plan ahead for some of the
requirements. Check the scout book before a campout. |
| The “talking requirements” can be done during
downtime on a campout or at a meeting. |
| The scout needs to remember to bring his book and
a pen to the Boy Scout meetings and campouts. |
| The scout needs to get his book signed off
immediately after completing the requirements. |
| The scout can earn merit badges at any point in
the rank advancement process (while a Scout, Tenderfoot, etc.) |
| Choose a “fun” merit badge and a harder
Eagle-required merit badge to work on at the same time. Fun merit
badges typically reflect the scout’s hobbies. |
| Detailed information on merit badges can be found
on the web at
meritbadge.org. |
| If your scout runs for a leadership position, make
sure that he will be able to be at the meetings for that six month time
period. |
| Another option to fulfill the “Position of
Responsibility” is to request a Scoutmaster approved project. (In the
past, these have included working with Webelo scouts and leading a
Klondike Derby team.) |
WHO TO ASK FOR HELP:
| Please remember that Boy Scouts is boy-led and
that it is up to the scout to ask for help. The scout needs to be
actively involved in his own advancement. |
| For parents, get involved with the Troop
Committee. |
| If you have concerns, please address them with
someone in the troop such as the Scoutmaster (program content),
Advancement Chair (advancement records), Committee Chair (oversight of
entire scouting program and leadership), etc. |
| Parents are encouraged to network with other
parents. |
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