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This is is fourth in a series of posts abut the new rank requirements that take effect on January 1, 2016.
Scout | Tenderfoot | Second Class | First Class | Star | Life | Eagle
Exactly how the new requirements are phased in is explained in this PDF document – Notes on Transitioning to the New Requirements.
I found the new requirements in this PDF – 2016 Boy Scout requirements—parallel comparison.
First Class Rank Requirements
Here are my reflections on each requirement, followed by an explanation of how I would change them myself.
CAMPING and OUTDOOR ETHICS
1a. Since joining, participate in 10 separate troop/patrol activities, six of which include overnight camping. These 10 activities do not include troop or patrol meetings. On at least five of the six campouts, spend the night in a tent that you pitch or other structure that you help erect (such as a lean-to, snow cave, or tepee).
Previously: “Since joining, have participated in 10 separate troop/patrol activities (other than troop/patrol meetings), three of which included camping overnight.”
The number of activities which include overnight camping “in a tent or other structure you helped erect” has doubled for First Class – here’s an overview of how this has changed in all the ranks:
| Old Requirements | New Requirements | |||
| Total Activities |
Overnight Camping |
Total Activities |
Overnight Camping |
|
| Tenderfoot | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2nd Class | 5 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| 1st Class | 10 | 3 | 10 | 6 |
1b. Explain each of the principles of Tread Lightly! Tell how you practiced them on a campout or outing different from the Tenderfoot requirement 1c and Second Class requirement 1b campout or outing.
A new requirement that follows the emphasis on outdoor ethics in Scout through First Class ranks.
If you have read the other posts reviewing the new requirements I am sounding like a broken record, but, honestly, how many times do you have to read the second half of that tortured sentence and flip pages back and forth before you understand it? It’s not that difficult to write clearly (see the “how I would do it” section below.
COOKING
This was “Cooking and Tools” in Second class, confused? Imagine how a Scout would feel.
2a. Help plan a menu for one of the above campouts that includes at least one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner, and that requires cooking at least two of the meals. Tell how the menu includes the foods from MyPlate or the current USDA nutritional model and how it meets nutritional needs for the planned activity or campout.
Previously:“Help plan a patrol menu for one campout that includes at least one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner, and that requires cooking at least two of the meals. Tell how the menu includes the foods from the MyPlate food guide or the current USDA nutrition model and meets nutritional needs.” This wording invites a lot of questions :
- Why was “patrol” dropped in the new requirement?
- What is the difference between meals that are cooked and meas that aren’t? Is it the application of heat? Please explain why this is an important distinction.
- What does “help plan a menu” mean exactly?
2b. Using the menu planned in First Class requirement 2a, make a list showing a budget and the food amounts needed to feed three or more boys. Secure the ingredients.
No change.
2c. Show which pans, utensils, and other gear will be needed to cook and serve these meals.
Only change here was changing “tell” to “show”.
2d. Demonstrate the procedures to follow in the safe handling and storage of fresh meats, dairy products, eggs, vegetables, and other perishable food products. Show how to properly dispose of camp garbage, cans, plastic containers, and other rubbish.
Only change here was changing “explain” to “demonstrate”.
2e. On one campout, serve as cook. Supervise your assistant(s) in using a stove or building a cooking fire. Prepare the breakfast, lunch, and dinner planned in First Class requirement 2a. Supervise the clean-up.
Dropped “Lead your patrol in saying grace at the meals and supervise cleanup.” from the previous requirement.
TOOLS
3a. Discuss when you should and should not use lashings.
3b. Demonstrate tying the timber hitch and clove hitch.
3c. Demonstrate tying the square, shear, and diagonal lashings by joining two or more poles or staves together.
Slight change, a breakdown of the previous requirement – “Discuss when you should and should not use lashings. Then demonstrate tying the timber hitch and clove hitch and their use in square, shear, and diagonal lashings by joining two or more poles or staves together.”
3d. Use lashings to make a useful camp gadget or structure.
Addition of “or structure”.
NAVIGATION
4a. Using a map and compass, complete an orienteering course that covers at least one mile and requires measuring the height and/or width of designated items (tree, tower, canyon, ditch, etc.).
No Change.
4b. Demonstrate how to use a handheld GPS unit, GPS app on a smartphone, or other electronic navigation system. Use GPS to find your current location, a destination of your choice, and the route you will take to get there. Follow that route to arrive at your destination.
New requirement.
NATURE
5a. Identify or show evidence of at least 10 kinds of native plants found in your local area or campsite location. You may show evidence by identifying fallen leaves or fallen fruit that you find in the field, or as part of a collection you have made, or by photographs you have taken.
Adds specifics for types of evidence, otherwise unchanged.
5b. Identify two ways to obtain a weather forecast for an upcoming activity. Explain why weather forecasts are important when planning for an event.
5c. Describe at least three natural indicators of impending hazardous weather, the potential dangerous events that might result from such weather conditions, and the appropriate actions to take.
5d Describe extreme weather conditions you might encounter in the outdoors in your local geographic area. Discuss how you would determine ahead of time the potential risk of these types of weather dangers, alternative planning considerations to avoid such risks, and how you would prepare for and respond to those weather conditions.
Three new requirements, a welcome addition from my point of view. This is really a core camping skill.
FIRST AID AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
7a. Demonstrate bandages for a sprained ankle and for injuries on the head, the upper arm, and the collarbone.
No change.
7b. By yourself and with a partner, show how to:
- Transport a person from a smoke-filled room.
- Transport for at least 25 yards a person with a sprained ankle.
Slight rewording.
7c. Tell the five most common signals of a heart attack. Explain the steps (procedures) in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
No change.
7d. Tell what utility services exist in your home or meeting place. Describe potential hazards associated with these utilities and tell how to respond in emergency situations.
7e. Develop an emergency action plan for your home that includes what to do in case of fire, storm, power outage, and water outage.
7f. Explain how to obtain potable water in an emergency.
Three new requirements aimed at increasing preparedness, a good set of skills.
AQUATICS
6a. Successfully complete the BSA swimmer test.3
No change.
6b. Tell what precautions must be taken for a safe trip afloat.
No change.
6c. Identify the basic parts of a canoe, kayak, or other boat. Identify the parts of a paddle or an oar.
6d. Describe proper body positioning in a watercraft, depending on the type and size of the vessel. Explain the importance of proper position.
Two new requirements that enhance the safety afloat basics.
6e. With a helper and a practice victim, show a line rescue both as tender and as rescuer. (The practice victim should be approximately 30 feet from shore in deep water.)
No change.
FITNESS
8a. After completing Second Class requirement 7a, be physically active at least 30 minutes each day for five days a week for four weeks. Keep track of your activities.
8b. Share your challenges and successes in completing First Class requirement 8a. Set a goal for continuing to include physical activity as part of your daily life.
Two new requirements that follow the emphasis on fitness in Scout through First Class ranks.
CITIZENSHIP
9a. Visit and discuss with a selected individual approved by your leader (for example, an elected official, judge, attorney, civil servant, principal, teacher) your constitutional rights and obligations as a U.S. citizen.
Slight rewording.
9b. Investigate an environmental issue affecting your community. Share what you learned about that issue with your patrol or troop. Tell what, if anything, could be done by you or your community to address the concern.
9c. On a Scouting or family outing, take note of the trash and garbage you produce. Before your next similar outing, decide how you can reduce, recycle, or repurpose what you take on that outing, and then put those plans into action. Compare your results.
9d. Participate in three hours of service through one or more service projects approved by your Scoutmaster. The project(s) must not be the same service project(s) used for Tenderfoot requirement 7b and Second Class requirement 8e. Explain how your service to others relates to the Scout Law.
Three new requirements. 9d follows the emphasis on community service in Scout to First Class ranks. 9b and 9c are okay, but they aren’t really in grounded in life of the patrol as well as they could be. I don’t think Scout age boys will find them particularly compelling or interesting, something that would be easy to do if the approach was altered slightly (see “how I would do it” below).
LEADERSHIP
10. Tell someone who is eligible to join Boy Scouts, or an inactive Boy Scout, about your Scouting activities. Invite him to an outing, activity, service project, or meeting. Tell him how to join, or encourage the inactive Boy Scout to become active. Share your efforts with your Scoutmaster or other adult leader.
No change, and a distressingly missed opportunity to expand on leadership (see “how I would do it” below).
SCOUT SPIRIT
11. Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Tell how you have done your duty to God and how you have lived four different points of the Scout Law (different from those points used for previous ranks) in your everyday life. _______ _________ __________ _________
Addition of – “Tell how you have done your duty to God”.
11. While working toward the second Class rank, and after completing Second Class requirement 11, participate in a Scoutmaster conference.
I can’t figure out the logic of this change. Can anyone explain it to me?
12. Successfully complete your board of review for the Second Class rank.
Previously – “Complete your board of review.”
NOTES:
- For Varsity Scouts working on Boy Scout requirements, replace “troop” with “team” and “Scoutmaster” with “Varsity Scout Coach.”
- The requirements for Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class ranks may be worked on simultaneously; however, these ranks must be earned in sequence.
- Alternative requirements for the First Class rank are available for Scouts with physical or mental disabilities.
3 See the Swimming merit badge requirements for details about the BSA swimmer test.
How I would Do It!
See my notes about my rationale in the “How I would do it!” part of my review for Scout Rank
I’ve left numeric and letter designations off the requirements below, I know they are probably needed, but I never liked them, they look tiresome.
First Class Rank Requirements
CAMPING
Since joining, participate in a total of ten separate troop/patrol activities.
You can count the activities applied to the Tenderfoot and Second Class requirements towards the total of ten.
Six must include overnight camping.
You must have stayed in a tent or shelter you set up in at least five of the ten overnight camping activities.
| Qualifies for | Troop/patrol activity (other than meetings) | ||
| TENDERFOOT | 1 | OVERNIGHT | TENT* |
| SECOND CLASS | 2 | ||
| SECOND CLASS | 3 | ||
| SECOND CLASS | 4 | OVERNIGHT | TENT* |
| SECOND CLASS | 5 | OVERNIGHT | TENT* |
| FIRST CLASS | 6 | ||
| FIRST CLASS | 7 | ||
| FIRST CLASS | 8 | OVERNIGHT | TENT* |
| FIRST CLASS | 9 | OVERNIGHT | TENT* |
| FIRST CLASS | 10 | OVERNIGHT | TENT* |
*To qualify this activity you must spend the night in a tent that you pitch or other structure that you help set up (such as a lean-to, snow cave, or tepee).
OUTDOOR ETHICS
Tread Lightly
Explain each of the principles of Tread Lightly!
Tell how you practiced these principles on a campout or outing that was not applied to Tenderfoot or Second Class Rank.
COOKING
Food Safety
Explain the procedures to follow in the safe handling and storage of perishable foods such as –
Fresh meats,
Dairy products
Eggs
Vegetables
Planning Preparing and Serving
(The menu you will plan prepare and serve must be cooked during a campout different from those applied to Tenderfoot or Second Class Rank.)
Plan a menu for your Patrol
The menu you plan needs to written down.
Include at least one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner.
At least two of the meals you plan should require assembling ingredients and cooking them over a fire or stove.
Discuss how the menu includes the foods from MyPlate or the current USDA nutritional model and how it meets nutritional needs for the planned activity or campout.
Get the ingredients for your menu.
Make a shopping list of ingredients to prepare your menu.
Show how you determined what amount of each ingredient required for the menu.
Get the ingredients.
Prepare to cook the menu.
Make a list of the pans, utensils, and other gear needed to cook and serve your menu.
Prepare your Menu
Supervise your assistant(s) in
Using a stove or building a cooking fire.
Prepare the breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Serving the meals to your patrol.
Cleaning up.
Explain how to properly dispose of camp garbage, cans, plastic containers, and other rubbish.
Knots and Pioneering
Lashings
Discuss when lashings should be used, and when they should not be used.
Demonstrate tying the timber hitch.
Demonstrate tying the clove hitch.
Demonstrate how to join two or more poles or staves together using –
A square Lashing
A shear Lashing
A diagonal lashing.
Use lashings to make a useful camp gadget or structure.
NAVIGATION
Orienteering
Complete an orienteering course that is a minimum of one mile in length.
Use a map and compass to follow the course.
During the course demonstrate how to measure the height and/or width of at least two features (A tree, tower, canyon, ditch or other feature) shown on a map.
GPS
Demonstrate how to navigate using the Global Positioning System.
(You may use a handheld GPS unit, GPS app on a smartphone, or other electronic navigation system.)
Find your current location.
Select a destination at least 500 yards from your current location.
Determine the route you will take to get to your destination.
Follow that route to arrive at your destination.
NATURE
Native Plants
Identify or show evidence of at least 10 kinds of native plants found in the area you live or camp.
(You may show evidence by identifying fallen leaves or fallen fruit that you find in the field, as part of a collection you have made, or by photographs you have taken.)
Weather
Forecasts
Explain why weather forecasts are important when planning for an event.
Get a weather forecast from two different sources for an upcoming event.
Extreme and Hazardous Weather
Describe extreme or hazardous weather you may encounter in the outdoors in your local geographic area
Discuss the potential danger of these three hazardous weather conditions.
Discuss how to determine the potential risk of these types of weather dangers ahead of time.
Describe at least three natural indicators of impending extreme or hazardous weather
Discuss how to plan to avoid such risks.
Discuss how to prepare for these types of weather conditions.
Demonstrate the appropriate actions to take during these types of weather conditions.
FIRST AID
Bandaging
Using the contents of your first aid kit or imporvised materials
Demonstrate bandaging a sprained ankle.
Demonstrate bandaging injuries on the head.
Demonstrate bandaging injuries to the upper arm.
Demonstrate bandaging injuries to the collarbone.
Transporting
Demonstrate how to safely transport a person from a smoke-filled by yourself.
Demonstrate how to safely transport a person from a smoke-filled with a partner.
Demonstrate how to safely transport a person with a sprained ankle for at least 25 yards by yourself.
Demonstrate how to safely transport a person with a sprained ankle for at least 25 yards with a partner.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).
Describe the five most common signals of a heart attack.
Explain the steps (procedures) in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
Utilities
Describe what utility services exist in your home or meeting place.
Explain potential hazards associated with these utilities.
Explain how to respond in emergency situations involving these utilities.
Home Emergencies
Develop an emergency action plan for your home that describes what to do in case of –
Fire
Storm
Power outage
Water outage.
Explain how to obtain potable water in an emergency.
AQUATICS
Swimming
Successfully complete the BSA swimmer test.
Boating
Tell what precautions must be taken for a safe trip afloat.
Identify the basic parts of a canoe, kayak, or other boat.
Identify the parts of a paddle or an oar.
Describe proper body positioning in a watercraft, depending on the type and size of the vessel.
Explain the importance of proper body positioning in a watercraft.
Water Rescue
With a helper and a practice victim who is approximately 30 feet from shore in deep water.
Demonstrate a line rescue as a tender.
Demonstrate a line rescue as a rescuer.
FITNESS
Four Week Fitness Challenge
You must complete the Tenderfoot and Second Class fitness requirements before you begin.
During a four week period record how you are active for at least 30 minutes for five out of seven days each week.
Show your records, and explain the challenges and successes you encountered during the four week fitness challenge.
Set a goal for physical activity as part of your daily life. Explain how you are planning to meet that goal.
CITIZENSHIP
Constitutional rights and obligations
Visit an individual approved by your leader (for example, an elected official, judge, attorney, civil servant, principal, teacher)
Discuss your constitutional rights as a U.S. citizen.
Discuss your constitutional obligations as a U.S. citizen.
Environment
Choose an environmental issue affecting your community.
Investigate the issue and gather three different articles, videos, or recorded discussions that relate to the issue.
Develop a plan for action you, your patrol, and your community can take to effect the issue.
Lead your patrol in a project or action effecting this issue.
Waste and Recycling
On an outing with your patrol-
Make a list of the trash and garbage that is left over after the outing.
Using this information plan how you can reduce, recycle, or repurpose the trash and garbage during a second, similar, outing.
On the second outing apply your plan, make a list of the trash and garbage you reduce, recycle, or repurpose.
Discuss a comparison of the results between the first and second outing.
Service
Participate in a total of three hours of service to others.
The three hours must be completed at events or projects other than those used to fulfil the service requirements for Tenderfoot and Second Class.
The three hours can be completed in one or more events or projects.
Each event or project must be approved by your Scoutmaster to be credited to fulfilling this requirement.
Explain how your service to others relates to the Scout Law.
LEADERSHIP
Explain how you helped your patrol plan a camping trip, patrol meeting, or other activity.
Explain how you helped your fellow Scouts so they have fun and get the most out of what you have planned.
Recruiting
Tell someone who is eligible to join Boy Scouts, or an inactive Boy Scout, about your Scouting activities.
Invite him to an outing, activity, service project, or meeting.
Tell him how to join, or encourage the inactive Boy Scout to become active.
Share your efforts with your Scoutmaster or other adult leader.
SCOUT SPIRIT
Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath and Scout Law.
Explain how you have done your duty to God.
Choose four points of the Scout Law different from those you chose for Tenderfoot or Second Class.
__________ ____________ ____________ ____________
Explain how you have lived these four points of the Scout law in your everyday life.
SCOUTMASTER CONFERENCE
Participate in a Scoutmaster conference.
The Scoutmaster conference can be conducted any time after you have completed the Scoutmaster conferences for Tenderfoot and Second Class. During the Scoutmaster conference you will not be re-tested on the requirements you completed. You will be asked to discuss your experiences with your patrol and troop.
BOARD OF REVIEW
Successfully complete your board of review for the Second Class rank.
During the board of review you will not be re-tested on the requirements you completed. You will be asked to discuss your experiences with your patrol and troop.
Someday, the BSA will include earthquakes in their list of disasters. I’m beginning to think they just don’t include the west coast in their planning.
At least this is consistent with E. Prep MB, which also leaves out earthquakes.
#8 of Emergency Preparedness states the following:
Do the following:
a. Prepare a written plan for mobilizing your troop when needed to do emergency service. If there is already a plan, explain it. Tell your part in making it work.
b. Take part in at least one troop mobilization. Before the exercise, describe your part to your counselor. Afterward, conduct an “after-action” lesson, discussing what you learned during the exercise that required changes or adjustments to the plan.
c. Prepare a personal emergency service pack for a mobilization call. d. Prepare a family emergency kit (suitcase or waterproof box) for use by your family in case an emergency evacuation is needed. Explain the needs and uses of the contents.
I think this requirement covers the West Coast, as well as other areas of the U.S. that have disasters specific to their region.
I think Jim’s right about reminding everyone that the unlike BoR, SM conference can take place any time, not just after completion of the other requirements. I’ve pointed this out many times, and I still doubt that more than one or two Scouts or adults understands it.
I like your rephrasing of the requirements; they’re much clearer (but then, you weren’t part of a committee 😉 ).
I do see what they were getting at. I’m can’t argue with moving some of the requirements forward a rank as they have, or with increasing the camping nights required. But on the whole, when I look at these, they seem like they would encourage, if not almost require, adults to do more of the signing off of requirements. (Particularly the new Fitness, Citizenship, and emergency prep requirements).
Thoughts?
“Successfully complete your board of review…” What does unsuccessful look like? It’s not a test, it’s a checkpoint. I don’t understand where the bar is set here.
I’ll assume (HOPE) there will be changes to the program guide that will explain some of these changes. Some make sense, but other items don’t.