Commander Pier wrote:
- If a Pioneer has earned the Mountain Man rank, can he start working on the
- Trailblazer second class before he turns 12?
Jonathan Trower wrote:
The handbook states "A Royal Ranger cannot work on the requirements of the next higher outpost gourp until he is eligible for that required age/grade level." If the Ranger has finished all requirements of an age group (including Gold Track), is he not then eligible to begin working on the next higher age group? Is age alone to be our deciding factor?
If he cannot, then how are we getting GMA's at such a young age? And, what are we to do with those boys that do finish an age group early?
In the new program, it is specifically stated that boys can go forward into the next age group, or back into the previous age group, to work on advancements. So the problem has been addressed for the future.
However, the original question posed here was in reference to a boy who is not yet 12 who wants to work on the requirements for membership in FCF (at least, that was my perception of the question). All I gave was what the book states. This policy has been in place for as long as I can remember (back to 1969). The reasoning was that if a boy works ahead into the next age group, then what will he do when he is finally in that age group?
Before the Gold Track, Pioneers who completed their Pioneers advancements were allowed to work on merits, but not the Trailblazer requirements. Under the Gold Track system, they could still work toward the merits, which is how you are seeing 12 year old GMAs.
- I'm not trying to upset the proverbial apple cart, but these are problems that have plagued Rangers since its inception. Our Ranger manuals are for direction, not absolutes.
I've stated here before that the books give us the standard by which we should do Royal Rangers. Something like the age limits were in the books for a reason. We may disagree with the reasoning, but we should uphold the standards that are in the boys' books (and elsewhere in the Royal Rangers literature). Otherwise, what are we telling the boys? That "it's o.k. to ignore rules that we don't like or agree with"? That's not setting the right example for our boys. If we tell them it's o.k. to ignore one part of the advancement system or the rules, then they may want you to ignore another part too. Where does that stop?
When we disagree with a national policy, we should work within the system to bring about change for the good of everyone. That starts with commanders talking with their district leadership, who can in turn pass that feedback to their regional coordinators. The regional coordinators are in meetings with the national staff twice a year where policies like these are discussed and established. Feedback/input from the field is important to shaping those discussions and the ultimate policies that are put in place. Several items that were discussed and voted on by the national executive committee in their meeting last week were items that came from the field; they followed this path to the point where they were discussed, voted on, and some implemented, some defeated, and some sent to a committee for further evaluation.
Jonathan
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- Jonathan Conti
- NC Dist. Health/Safety Ofcr.
- Rocky Mount, NC
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__________________________________
Jonathan Trower
South Central Region Training Coordinator
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
phone: 254-420-1941
RR homepage: http://mis.baylor.edu/trower _______ Let the Golden Rule be your daily rule. Please pray for your list sponsor: http://eBible.org/mpj/ To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe rangernet" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://rangernet.org/subscribe.htm http://rangernet.org
