This section is from the book "Handbook For Scoutmasters. Volume 1 & 2", by Boy Scouts of America. Also available from Amazon: Handbook For Scoutmasters.
When the Patrol Leader is satisfied that the new boy has learned the subject of the Tenderfoot Requirements, he advises the Scoutmaster that the boy is ready-and the moment has come for your greatest opportunity, for fulfilling your greatest duty in Scouting-meeting the boy, as a friend, talking over with him what Scouting is going to mean to him, sowing in him the seed of the Scout Law and the Scout Oath, and love for his country, showing him the first simple skills of an outdoors-man. The Scoutmaster is specifically charged with the responsibility for examining in the Tenderfoot Requirements. (By-Laws, Art. XV, Sec. 2.)
It is of extreme importance that the Tenderfoot Requirements be treated as the living things they are, and not as numbered steps to be taken toward procuring a badge.
Chief West emphasizes this when he says: "If the Scout Law is simply to a candidate a part of Tenderfoot Requirement No. 1, knowledge of The Flag, Requirement No. 2, and knot tying, No. 3, we might as well give up right then and there. Those subjects- or any other Scout subjects for that matter-must never become simply numbered Requirements. The Scout Law is not a Tenderfoot Requirement, but the code by which the boy is to live his future years. The Scout Salute is not a Requirement, but the secret sign which opens the door to World Scouting and makes the boy a brother to more than two million other Scouts all over our globe. Knowledge of The Flag is the wedge by which loyalty to his country and pride in it enters his mind, and knot-tying his first step toward becoming a pioneer, a frontiersman.
"The only point in calling them requirements is that a boy is required to master them to prove his worth."
Three important aims are striven for in the examination of the boy by his Scoutmaster. The first is to guarantee that the boy has met the Scouting standard, the next, to give you an opportunity to know him, and finally, to give him an opportunity to know you.
The examination is an interview between a boy and a man-the boy and the man. It should be given to only one boy at a time, and should be no formal affair but rather a friendly "talking-it-over." In this way, the boy will be more at ease-he's just discussing, not being quizzed. He will come much nearer to conveying his knowledge to you, and will give you a better opportunity to judge him. Be kind and sympathetic, yet firm and insistent on the fulfillment of all Requirements. If he has not made adequate preparation, try to get him to suggest that possibly he isn't ready yet.
To aid the boy, it is recommended that the examination start with the Requirement involving the use of his hands, that is, tying the Tenderfoot knots. This may be followed by The Flag, the Scout Badge, the Sign and Salute
As you come to the Scout Oath and Law, you must be very certain that the boy understands their full significance. Talk them over thoroughly and make him enthusiastic about living the life of a Scout.
Then after the boy has met his Requirements, speak to him about his Scouting future. Make him realize that both his Patrol and the whole Troop expect him to stick and remain active in Scouting for four years and more, and to aim to climb to the top of the Scouting ladder.
With your talk finished, give him your left hand for a warm Scout Handclasp, and put in it all that it may contain: "I trust you," "Count me for a friend," and "Congratulations."
The National Constitution and By Laws make it clear that although a boy may have met the Tenderfoot Requirements he is NOT A SCOUT and does not have the privilege of earning achievement nor of wearing the Uniform and the Badges and Insignia of the Boy Scouts of America until he has been properly registered at the National Office (through the Local Council). Furthermore his tenure as a Scout is not started until this registration has been completed.
It is of great importance, therefore, that you have the boy registered immediately. A delay would be a grave injustice to him.
The boy should be provided with an Application for Membership (Form No. 501B) which he will fill in and on which he will secure the approval of his parents or guardian.
From this blank the Troop Scribe will make out an Additional Enrollment Blank (Form No. 515) to be mailed to the Local Council Office with the required Registration Fee.
If the Scout registers at the beginning of the Troop charter year his fee is fifty cents. If, however, he registers during the charter year, he will need to pay a smaller fee that is computed on the basis on the number of months remaining in the charter year.
When a Troop operates on a Troop Budget Plan (see Chat 19) the new Scout will pay the full fifty cents to the Troop when he first registers, even if he registers during the charter year, so that he may immediately receive the benefits that all the Troop's members gain from the Budget Plan.
The Investiture Ceremony with its candles-its simple ritual-its solemnity-opens high roads of Scouting to the expectant Tenderfoot.
As soon as the boy has been registered there is forwarded to him through his Scoutmaster his Registration Certificate which entitles him to the opportunities and privileges of a registered member in good standing of the Boy Scouts of America, including the right to wear the Scout Uniform.
This Registration Certificate will be presented to the boy at an Investiture Ceremony.
The moment has come when the boy stands before his leader and the fellows who in months and years to come will be his best comrades, and with his right hand raised in the Scout Sign, he slowly, solemnly dedicates himself to the Scout Oath. Invisibly, yet with the sureness of tomorrow's sunrise, a mantle gently drapes those triumphant young shoulders. It is the cloak of Scouting which envelops a growing character progressing towards a fuller participating citizenship.
There is no ceremony in Scouting more potent in its influence than this simple ritual. Here he stands at the portals of this new, and to him, unknown world and looks beyond the circle of his immediate surroundings out over the realm of Scouting. He is fascinated by the winding trail that leads to the mountain tops of achievement. The summit of attainment is obscured from his vision for the time, but nevertheless, holds the mysteries which he feels will some day be a part of his life.
The boy expects a ceremonious welcome into Scouting and it is the duty of the Scoutmaster to see to it that this expectation is realized. It need not be- should not be-elaborate. A brief ceremony, simple yet dignified, inspirational and well prepared-will meet the need.
And remember, if the Tenderfoot Investiture is to retain its meaningfulness, no boy who is not a Scout should be permitted to be present.
Such a ceremony was suggested by Lord Baden-Powell in Scouting for Boys.
The Troop is formed in a horseshoe formation, with the Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmaster in the gap. The Tenderfoot with his Patrol Leader stands just inside the circle, opposite the Scoutmaster. The Assistant Scoutmaster holds the neckerchief and Badge to be presented to the Tenderfoot. When ordered to come forward by the Scoutmaster, the Patrol Leader brings the Tenderfoot to the center. The Scoutmaster then asks: "Do you know what your honor is?"
The Tenderfoot replies: "Yes. It means that I can be trusted to be truthful and honest." (or words to that effect.)
"Do you know the Scout Law?" "Yes."
"Can I trust you, on your honor, to do your best To do your duty to God and "our Country, and to obey the Scout Law, To help other people at all times, To keep yourself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight?"
Tenderfoot makes the Scout Sign, and so do the whole Troop, while he says:
"On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my Country, and to obey the Scout Law.
To help other people at all times,
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight."
Scoutmaster: "I trust you, on your honor, to keep this promise. You are now one of the great brotherhood of Scouts."
The Assistant Scoutmaster then puts on the boy's neckerchief and Tenderfoot Badge. The Scoutmaster shakes hands with him with the left hand. The new
Scout faces about and salutes the Troop. The Troop salutes.
The Scoutmaster gives the word, "To your Patrol, quick march." And the new Scout and his Patrol Leader return to their Patrol.
(1) The Scoutmaster may put the neckerchief on the Scout while saying: "I give you this neckerchief, bearing the colors of- our Troop, to show you that you truly belong in our group." (2) The Patrol Leader may step forward and fasten a Patrol Medallion on the new Scout's sleeve. (3) The Badge may be pinned on to the boy., upside down, to be kept in this position until he has done his first Good Turn as a Scout. (4) Emphasize the fact that the boy is plain "Bob Jones" before the ceremony, but ."Scout Jones" after it.
For further suggestions relative to Investitures, see "Cab Graduation Ceremony" in Chat 22, and "Ceremonies" in Volume II.
And Then-
The new Scout starts out on the Scouting road of romance and achievement.
"Remember," says Baden-Powell, "that the boy, on joining wants to begin 'scouting' right away; so don't dull his keenness. . . . Meet his wants by games and Scouting practices, and instill elementary details bit by bit afterwards as you go along."
Every boy who enters the Troop will not be a new boy with no previous Scouting experience. Occasionally a Scout transfers from one Troop to another, or a Scout who has previously dropped out requests to be reinstated.
These Scouts learn by doing. Here they are making fire with only two matches as they go on to Second Class Rank.
In both instances, the boy should be properly registered and invited into a Patrol to participate in the life of the Troop.
The transfer of a Scout may take place because he has moved to another neighborhood, or because of some other good reason. It is a principle of Scouting that a boy may select the Troop which he joins. And furthermore, Scoutmasters should realize that boys differ in mental, emotional and physical makeup, which means that in some cases it may be to a Scout's benefit if he is allowed to transfer to some other Troop which is better able to meet his peculiar needs.
But, in the interest of sound procedure, no Troop is permitted to accept as a member a boy who is already registered with another Troop, unless he has the written approval of his former Scoutmaster.
To register him into the Troop, a Transfer Credit Certificate (Form No. 502A), signed by the Scoutmaster of his former Troop and by the Scoutmaster of the Troop he is joining, should be sent to the Local Council Office with the Charter Renewal or Additional Enrollment Blank and with the necessary fee. The fee will cover the period from the date of expiration of the charter of the Scout's old Troop to that of his new Troop. In some cases this will call for a credit to be applied to the transferred Scout's fee when the next application for Troop Charter renewal is filed at the Local Council Office.
To reinstate a dropped Scout, an Additional Enrollment Blank should be filled out with his name and sent to the Local Council Office with the necessary fee. If the Scout has been registered previously for the year, no fee is necessary. If not registered previously for the current year, the full registration fee of fifty cents should be transmitted so that the Scout may enjoy a record of continuous registration.
 
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