Bill's Unofficial Cub Scout Roundtable
A compendium of Ideas For Cubmasters, Den Leaders and those who help them.
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Bill's Unofficial Cub Scout Roundtable
A compendium of Ideas For Cubmasters, Den Leaders and those who help them.
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The Den Chief is an older Boy Scout, Varsity Scout or Venturer who works with a Cub Scout or Webelos den. He is selected by the Scoutmaster and the troop Senior Patrol Leader in cooperation with the Cubmaster. He may be of any age or rank, but he can be the greatest help if he is a former Cub Scout and if he is mature enough to assume this important responsibility. As a selected leader of younger boys, he has the opportunity to help them complete their Cub Scout or Webelos Scout advancement requirements and live up to Cub Scouting's ideals in their everyday lives.
The Den Chief is a member of a leadership team which also includes the den leader, assistant den leader, and the denner. The den chief is already what every Cub Scout and Webelos Scout would like to be - a Boy Scout. As far as the younger boys are concerned, he is the person they would most like to follow, and that makes him a natural leader for them. By directing this natural leader wisely, we can influence the den of boys under his leadership
Den Chiefs are gods.
Den Chiefs don't make your job much easier, but they do make the Cub Scout experience better. They require coaching and direction to be successful but when they succeed they bring a unique spark to a Cub Scout's life that no one else can. Most children today live in an age-stratified culture where there is little interaction between older and younger kids. Just having an older Boy Scout take an interest in a seven or eight year old is a big deal. When a Webelos Scout visits a troop and one of the older Scouts recognizes him and even knows his name, it's an even bigger deal. These relationships can play an important part in a boy's growth and the effects may be long lasting.
But don't expect a young teen-age lad to be a natural leader. He needs help: coaching, support and acceptance. He must feel that he is a true member of the leadership team. Include him in the planning of your program. Give him explicit responsibilities. As he gains confidence, he will surprise you with his abilities.
Who should be a Den Chief?
Any Boy Scout or Venturing Crew member may be selected to be a Den Chief. Some units and even councils add age or rank qualifications. It works best when there is a significant age difference between the Den Chief and his charges. Also it may be advantageous to graduating Webelos if his former Den Chief is still active in the troop he joins. Try to do what is best for both the den members and the Scout.
Since young women may be Venturing members, they also qualify to be Den Chiefs. I have used pronouns he and him throughout just because it was easier. So I apologize to all those wonderful female Den Chiefs for this slight.
Why would one want to be a Den Chief? In a very real sense, the service qualifies as a leadership position for advancement to certain ranks. Den Chief is an official Boy Scout office and Scouts selected for this job are recognized as troop leaders. At a personal level, the experience can be quite rewarding. Having six or ten rag-a-muffins treat you as some sort of living god once a week is good for the self-image thing. All you have to do is teach them the same games, skits and jokes that you remember doing when you were their age and WOW!!!!
When one of my own sons was a Den Chief, he formed a close relationship with the den leader and her husband. It seems that the husband worked for a lithograph works that printed covers for albums (vinyl in those days) The walls of his room, his school text books and everything else were papered with Rolling Stones album covers. Very cool, back then.
Den Chief Responsibilities
Helping At Den Meetings
Gathering Period - Helps teach boys tricks, puzzles, games, while den leader is busy checking attendance and collecting dues. The activities he uses here could be related to the monthly theme.
Opening - Helps den leader organize boys and get them ready for the more serious part of the den meeting. He could hold a uniform inspection during this time.
Business - He will have some good ideas for theme activities, service projects, trips, etc. Give him a chance to voice his ideas.
Activities - This is when the den chief can be the most help. He is the activities assistant, leading boys in games, songs, craft projects, etc.
Closing - Helps restore order and quiet for closing ceremony. He can help make announcements.
After Meeting - Be sure to include him in your planning for next week and assign him specific responsibilities.
(Note: The Webelos Den Chief helps a Webelos den similarly. In addition to the suggestions above, he helps Webelos Scouts learn Boy Scout requirements for the Webelos badge and Arrow of Light Award and helps with demonstrations and teaching of activity badges, as needed.
Helping at Pack Meetings
The den chief should be included in the planning for monthly pack meetings. He can help with any of the following:
Den Chief Trainingis for Scouts who wish to become Den Chiefs for Cub and Webelos Dens. Den Chief is a leadership position in the Troop. This training works best when the Boy Scout and the Cub/Webelos den leader go through the training together so that they become familiar with what he learns there. The Cubmaster of the pack should also attend, as well as any troop leadership.
Den Chief Training Conference
This one day training experience is intended for those Boys Scouts who meet National Qualifications and would like to serve in a leadership position while giving service to brother Cub Scouts. Elements of this training include:
WAYS TO KEEP YOUR DEN CHIEF HAPPY
LINKS
The Den Chief Role. The Virtual Cub Leader's Handbook
Cub Scout Den Chief. Scouting.org
Den Chief Service Award. US Scouting Service Project
You Are Boy Scouting!. Suzanne Wilson, Scouting Magazine.
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Training Tips
Training Tips
To earn the Arrow of Light, a Webelos Scout must visit a Boy Scout troop meeting and outdoor activity with his den.
He will be making an important decision in his life: the choice: whether or not to join Boy Scouts and, if so, which troop. As he matures, he will be faced with may other important decisions, and this is a good place to start developing his decision-making skills. Judgment is an attribute of mental fitness - part of the aims of the Boy Scouts of America.
Cubmasters, Webelos leaders and parents should be prepared to help him and coach him. Get a list of nearby troops and Scoutmasters from your Commissioner or District Executive. If any families have special needs like a particular religious affiliation, there may be troops nearby that fit those needs.
Call the Scoutmaster and arrange times for your den to visit both a troop meeting and an outdoor activity. Many Webelos Scouts visit more than one troop. There is no requirement that a boy must join a particular troop. It is his choice so try to give him a reasonable selection to choose from.
Prepare both the boys and their parents for what they will see. Invite troop leaders and older Boy Scouts to visit your den or pack meeting to talk about Boy Scout activities. By now the Webelos Scouts are quite familiar with the Scout Oath, Law and Motto and should be able to relate them to what they hear and see.
After the visits to the troop meetings, hold a reflection session with the boys about what they saw, what the did and how they felt. There is a good write-up on reflection in Chapter 11 of the How-To Book. Use it for both den meetings and your individual discussions in the Arrow of Light requirements.
The Boy Scout Motto is Be Prepared, so your Webelos and their parents should prepare themselves to make those important visits to neighboring troops.
Boys probably want to look for:
A Scout is Friendly — Will he have friends in the troop? Being alone isn't fun. On the other hand, if the Scouts — especially the older ones — are genuinely friendly, it can be a great experience for him.
Participation — A Scout is courteous. He should be invited — even urged — to be part of the program and part of the team. Sitting on the sidelines and just watching is not good.
Safe Haven — A Scout is Kind. He should feel welcome and safe. Intimidation or hazing is a definite turn-off. Never push a boy into a troop where he feels unwelcome, unwanted or prey.
Order — Webelos are often more comfortable in a structured environment. The activities should seem to be planned and under control.
Fun and Adventure. Scouting is a game with a purpose. Camping rules! It should not look or feel like school.
Parents and leaders should probably be aware of:
Safety — Are the Leaders trained? How many have attended Youth Protection training? How large and how involved is the troop committee?
Boy Leadership. Activities should be led by boys. Adults should observe from the sidelines. At any meeting, several boys should take on leadership roles. Do not be alarmed if a boy has trouble trying to lead — it's a learned skill. How do the adults handle this? Is this what you want for your boys as they grow to take on leadership roles?
Adult Guidance — How do the adults work with boys. Ask them about priorities, Junior Leader Training, and program planning. Look for indications that the Scout Law, Oath and Motto get more than occasional lip service.
Cost — You should know, up front, how much this will cost you in dollars and time.
Boy Leadeship
One of the most obvious differences you might notice when visiting a troop is that, in Boy Scouts, boys are totally in charge: they are out front leading all the activities while the adult leaders are off to the side apparently doing very little. At least, that is the way it should be and that is the way most really successful troops operate.
Now leadership is a learned skill. Pushing a boy out in front of a troop and telling him to lead is sort of akin to pushing a non swimmer into the deep end of a pool and ordering him to swim.
Probably won't work in either case.
Acquiring a skill usually takes some demonstrations of how to do it, then practice, practice, practice. Troop meetings are the arenas where the Patrol Leaders and Senior Patrol Leaders practice this craft. Just as in learning other skills like swimming, playing the violin or hitting curve balls, these practice sessions are rarely without flaws. Most good troop meetings run on the very edge of chaos. This doesn't mean that the practice sessions are not successful. There must be ample opportunity for boys with different levels of experience and skill levels to get in there and try leading. The adult leaders' job is to observe and coach each Scout to improve.
Remember our aim is not to have perfectly run troop meetings but to provide an environment where boys grow into responsible, effective men.
Other Things to Look For in a Troop:
The Patrol Method — where patrols work independently under their own leadership. You should easily identify patrols.
Program for the meeting — is it planned, are the SPL and the PL's following the program? The meeting should progress in some orderly manner with different Scouts having responsibilities.
Uniforms— especially on the older boys (they set the example.) Is there pride in their appearance and their conduct?
Boys' attitude towards Scouting, each other, visitors. Is the Scout Law in use there? Just repeating the Law at the opening is not enough — it should be evident in their actions.
Boy Adult relationship. — Boys should lead, adults should observe, coach and support.
Other parents participating in the program. — Is there an active Troop Committee and Merit Badge Counselors?
Advancement: — Look for rank advancement. Are there Boards of Review and signs of mentoring?
Is there an active outdoor program? — Check for an activity schedule. Is some part of the meeting devoted to preparation for an out door activity?
Questions to Ask:
Links:
Some links to thoughts about the Patrol Method:
The Boy Scout Patrol Method, Westchester-Putnam
Council.
Patrol Leader Training
Creating the Patrol Method, White Stag, A web site
devoted to a classic Scouting program
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Training Tips
Training Tips
Ever since you were about ten years old, looking cool was probably one of your priorities. Certainly in high school and early adult life it was often an advantage to act the suave urbane winner. Would your spouse have been attracted to you is you were a klutz — a buffoon who wore weird clothes and who would suddenly break out singing nonsense songs? Of course not!
Now things are different. You are a parent of a Cub Scout and looking cool doesn’t always count much in the eyes of a seven year old. It’s just not in the nature of boys this age to constantly take things seriously. They crave fun, adventure and revel in the unexpected. Now that you are the parent of one of these creatures, give him and his buddies all these things.
Cub Scouting has just got to be fun. If it’s not fun, no one will stick around long enough to get any benefit out of it.
Be Nutty!
Lose your inhibitions and have uproarious FUN. Do all the zany songs, cheers, run-ons and stunts. Wear crazy costumes and play outrageous games. Do this a lot in Cub Scouts because as the boys get close to Boy Scout age they lose much of their appreciation of madcap humor — especially by their parents.
I recall a new Pack Chairman who came to one of our training sessions. He was a corporate lawyer, very proper, but certainly open to new ideas and immediately recognized the value of pure fun. I can still, years later, vividly remember him in his three-piece business suit, leading a hilarious audience participation story in front of laughing, shouting Cub Scouts.
Cub Scout age boys have an extraordinary ability to instantly switch between the zany and the profound. They see no problem with the “Clown” who hands them an award in an inflated balloon one moment and the same person a few minutes later in a Scouter’s uniform delivering a serious Cubmaster’s minute.
Kids by age six are very clever. I have found that they can pun, they utilize sarcasm, and drama in their everyday communications. I have NO doubt that they “get it” when I am goofing, and they “get it” when I am serious.
Michael J. Seligsohn,
Cub
Master Pack 117, Golden Empire Council.
Games, ceremonies and outings rule!
Everything else is boring and dull. Gather a list of games, songs, sparklers, cheers, and all the other zany stuff that will work for you and your pack. Fill your ceremonies with cheers, drama, explosions, and such to make them exciting and memorable. What's wrong? Never been to a rock concert? Punctuate your calendar with lots of outings and service projects. Above all, don't hold meetings; they're boring! Put on productions.
Sean Scott tells us in Cub-Scout-Talk:
The point is that you get the boys expecting something exciting, and
they get pulled into the story. It's more than the story of how the
Indian brave climbed the mountain or whatever. There's a personal
interest for the boy in the 'magic' ceremony.
For 'minor' awards I like things that have action. Scubas suits,
Frisbees, cowboys, pirates, astronauts, athletes, catapults, radio
controlled cars, balloon rockets, etc. are all excellent means of
“delivering” the awards to the boys. It has action and
interest for the boys, and is something more than the baggie and
handshake ceremony.
True, these require some advance planning. You don't just pull
these off at the last minute, while the Program Helps is as easy as
reading a passage, but aren't the boys worth the extra work? Don’t
they deserve some pizzazz and show for their efforts? Definitely!
Run-ons
Kriste Ryan had a wonderful description of what she calls quick, simple, easy Run-on Awards for Webelos Activity Badges on Cub-Scout-Talks on Yahoo Groups. She relates what Jo did for some of the Webelos Activity Badges:
Aquanaut: I had on a swim vest, mask, and flippers and carried
a big swim noodle. I had a whistle around my neck and I interrupted
the meeting by coming in with the flippers on and whistling and
yelling Everyone out of the pool!" and the Cubmaster, asked "What
is going on here?". Then I said, "Well, there are some boys here
tonight that have worked very hard on their Aquanaut badge, and I
have them here in my pail. I pulled them out of a sand bucket and
the Cubmaster announced their names, gave them the awards and a
handshake while I told a 30-second commercial of what kinds of
things go into an aquanaut badge. Then I pulled a water spray
bottle out of my bucket and sprayed the boys hair. And then the
entire pack gave them a cheer.
The meeting went on and soon I interrupted again. This time
I was a newspaper boy and I came in with a newspaper bag yelling
"Extra! Extra! Read all about it! and I was throwing newspapers
towards the various dens as I went. The Cubmaster demanded to know
what I was doing again, and then we did the same sort of thing for
the boys who earned their communicator badges. I had the badges
inside the newspaper bag.
The meeting went on and for my final interruption; I was dressed
as a tourist with a camera, a map, a visor and a roll-behind
suitcase. As the Cubmaster was talking about popcorn sales, I was
visiting a Wolf, Tiger or two with my map asking "Do you know how
to get to Baltimore?" and things like that. By this time the kids
were kind of yelling out to the Cubmaster "She's here again!". So
finally, I award the Traveler badge from the suitcase.
What Kriste describes also shows preparation, A lot of the fun came when the Cubmaster, playing the straight man role, pretended to be irritated by the interruptions.
Songs
There is nothing that compares with a good rousing song fest. If your pack has anyone who can lead songs, you are in luck. Good Cub Scouts songs are lively, easy to learn, fun to sing and need not make much sense. The Cub Scouts of St. Mary’s 3rd Hayes Group near London England show how much fun there is in a good song.
Audience Participation
These are easy to do, plentiful, easily adapted to themes and are lots of fun. Whether it’s a theme related story at a pack meeting or a ghost story at a camp fire, these are sure fire winners. A variation of the audience participation tale is the old Mad-Lib fun where Cub Scouts insert random words into a story. Sometimes, just mixing up the nouns in a normally serious story results in great comedy. I liked to print words on 3X5 index cards randomly distributed to Cub Scouts worked great.
Cheers
Every den needs at least one den cheer. Every pack meeting must provide dozens of reasons for dens (or parents) to cheer. And, of course, there are the yells and cheers in Group Meeting Sparklers that everyone joins in on. Beware of quiet meetings.
Here are some FUN Pack Photo Galleries:
Pack 112, North Babylon, NY
Pack 60, Mt. Arlington, NJ — pack nights
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Training Tips
Training Tips
The Cub Scout program of the Boy Scouts of America stresses the relationship of the family to the Scouting program and importance of the family in the development of the Cub Scout age boy. Cub Scouting gives families sets of age appropriate activities structured so that parents and other family members have considerable control of how the Cub Scout grows.
In Cub Scouting, boys and their families have fun and adventure in a program that builds character and instills values. Cub Scouting embraces the values of citizenship, compassion, cooperation, courage, faith, health and fitness, honesty, perseverance, positive attitude, resourcefulness, respect, and responsibility. These values come to boys in all parts of the Cub Scout program — all while they’re having a great time with their friends and families.
The Cub Scout program of the Boy Scouts of America is unique among the various Cub programs in the World Scouting movement. Our method is based on activities a boy could do around his own home or in his immediate neighborhood with members of his family.
Family involvement is essential to Cub Scouting’s success. When we talk about "family" in Cub Scouting, we’re sensitive to the realities of present-day families. Many Cub Scouts do not come from traditional two-parent homes. Some boys live with a single parent or with other relatives or guardians. Cub Scouting considers a boy’s family to be the people with whom he lives.
Without the support and involvement of a boy’s parents, Cub Scouting becomes more or less another form of child care with some entertainment value.
Getting Parents Involved
There’s no magic bullet for getting parents involved. It takes dedication, persistence and a commitment by all the pack’s leaders to make it happen. All the key pack leaders must agree that parents are going to be involved in their sons’ Cub Scouting.
Several tactics do work.
Parent participation must be the top priority of every pack leader. It is essential for the success of the pack.
The Parent Agreement
When a boy joins a pack, we ask his parents to sign the Parent Agreement on his application. The parents agree to help their sons in several important ways:
At joining night, I tell parents to read that Agreement carefully and I explain the reasons why it is necessary and tell them that if they don’t intend to follow those points they should take their boy home and don’t waste their time and money. Their boy is not going to get a first class Cub Scout experience if they won’t cooperate.
Now I did not learn these things when I took the basic training for Cub Scout leaders. I did learn some of it later in Philmont Training Center, but what really brought it home happened at my first Pow Wow.
I attended a session on Ceremonies. The leader demonstrated all sorts of elaborate props including the Career Arrows his pack presented to graduating Webelos. These were spectacular, gold with broad-head points mounted on mahogany plaques. When questioned on how much work all this entailed, he replied that it was easy when you have sixty people on your pack committee. It seems that his pack required each family to supply an adult leader or a committee member in order for their son to join.
Doesn’t that keep boys from joining? He then explained that their program was so good with all that help that they ran out of room and had a waiting list. More boys wanted to join and more parents wanted to help than they could handle.
Since then I have seen a number of Cub Packs that took similar hard lines on parent participation. In every case the packs provided top-notch programs that attracted more families and retained more boys.
Don’t think of your Cub Scouting job as being “just for the boys.” Your job is to work with other adults to help boys.
Being a leader is a great example for your own kids. They really benefit from seeing what it takes for their pack to work. It doesn’t happen by accident: someone has to plan, gather the stuff, drag it all to the meeting place and then tell everyone what to do. Then pick it all up afterwards.
Yes, you can overdo it - you can take on so many jobs that your own kids are forgotten or even neglected and they may resent what you’re doing. So, don’t over do it. Do one job and do it well.
That’s why I preach that all leaders should be selfish. Do it because you want to show your own children how to live. If you want to help other kids in your community, tell their parents that they had better get involved and be just as good a role model as you are. Kids of Cub Scout age are learning how to live by copying their parents. If the parents are lazy, and break the promises they made when their boy joined the pack then their kids are learning to be the same kind of turkeys. You can’t change it by trying to be some kind of pseudo parent for the whole neighborhood.
One of the most important tasks a Cub Scout leader does is to convince other parent how important it is for them to get involved in their sons’ Cub Scout program and how this helps their families and their boys’ development.
Never, never do anything that you can possibly get another parent to do.
Many parents attend their first Cub Scout meetings ready to be involved as leaders in their son’s pack. All it takes is for us to find out why they want to, and then tie that reason to our invitation. When you sell your pack’s Cub Scouting program to prospective parents, make sure you tell them why they would like to get involved. Here are some of the important reasons why parents in your pack may want to be leaders or help in other ways:
LOVE — Most parents love their children and want to express their love in tangible ways. Getting involved with their son’s Cub Scout program is a very special way of showing him how much they love him.
CHILDHOOD MEMORIES— Many adults have fond recollectiions of their own good times with youth organizations like Scouting. They want their children to have similar opportunities and are willing to work to make it happen.
AIMS AND IDEALS — We want our children to grow up to become good citizens with strong character traits and to be physically and mentally fit. Giving Good Will, Helping Other People, and Duty to God and Country, are important educational goals.
STRENGTHEN THE FAMILY — The Cub Scout program is designed to strengthen communication and respect between family members. It is structured so that even the busiest of us with the most stressed family structures can take advantage of the achievements and electives to build strong bonds between ourselves and our Cub Scout sons.
RESPECT OF FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS — We all like to look good in the eyes of our friends and neighbors. It is important that parents are personally invited to help by someone in their community whom they know, trust and respect. They should feel that they were selected, not recruited.
BE A ROLE MODEL— Parents are role models for their children. Taking an active part in their son’s Cub Scout program is a way of teaching boys how to make things happen. Every boys deserves to see his parents doing something important for his pack or den.
COMMUNITY SERVICE — Most Americans expect to perform some service to their communities. Scouting offers an ideal way for busy parents to become involved in making their communities and their neighborhoods better places in which to live.
Some helpful items to involve parents:
Parent Information Form — Colonial Virginia
Council
Parent Guide — Sam Houston Council
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Training Tips
Training Tips
This month’s column adds onto last month’s column where Cronk’s Club was introduced to Baloo Readers. This column is aimed at district workers, especially trainers and Commissioners. Pack trainers will find it interesting as well.
Last month at the National Meeting in Atlanta, there was a lot of attention being paid to retaining the Cub Scouts we recruit. Check last month’s Training Tip to read about some of these efforts
This is not anything new. Years ago, each of the boys’ books listed the number that was printed each year. There were always many more Wolf Books than Bear Books printed and more Bear Books than Webelos Books. It was obvious then that we were losing about half our members each year. We always seemed to count the boys we recruited but hardly ever noticed those who quit. It’s good to know that people now care.
We do lose a lot and now it seems that there are moves afoot to do something about it.
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Boys quit Cub Scouting because they don’t like the meetings, or because there are no meetings. |
When they leave, they are telling us that their pack and den leadership failed somehow.
Two main reasons for failed leaders and dull programs were offered. Both had had to do with training. Either the leaders were not trained or their training was flawed. I can easily support both reasons. In most districts I have seen, many leaders — sometimes most — were never trained. Webelos den leaders especially miss out on training.
Over the years Cub Scout leader training has vacillated between long sessions over several weeks to short one day affairs. They were all rather dull and often filled with a mixed bag of audio visuals that typically were long on cute and short on useful information.
The good news is that people are now working hard to fix things.
I was pleasantly surprised at the National Meeting to learn the plans for new training that is scheduled for later this year. There is a good team working on improving. It will be up to every council and district worker to quickly get on board and to make the changes succeed.
Why are so many of our leaders untrained? A lot stems from the practice of pressuring parents into leadership jobs with unrealistic promises and job descriptions. It’s only going to take and hour a week! We often do a poor job of recruiting leaders and often fail to recruit the best. Selling training must be part and parcel of recruiting leaders.
We don’t sell training very well. Commissioners should make trained leaders their highest priorities. Each Unit Commissioner should have an accurate and up-to-date picture of the training status of each unit served and work hard to improve it. Roundtables are excellent places to promote training.
The folks that lead our dens and packs are busy people. Their time is valuable and we must make our training worth their time and effort if we want them to attend. If, in addition to all the time spent preparing and holding pack or den meetings, you are expected to attend long training sessions and Roundtables, then those extras had better be good. For many leaders that also may require arranging or purchasing child care. Training isn’t cheap.
The cost of untrained leaders is even higher. It is measured by the frustrations of volunteers who watch dens disintegrate and families pull out despite all their efforts and grief. This cost is borne by disappointed boys who were promised so much when they joined but never experienced the fun and adventure we advertise. Also the cost is paid with the reputation of Scouting when we make these empty promises knowing all the time that we lack the resources to keep them.
We also have to make our training available when and where it fits the schedules and life styles of the leaders who need training. District training teams need the strength and flexibility to make training available when any leader needs it.
Training must be there at the drop of a hat.
Our present training is lackluster and just plain dull. There’s no reason for it. Pow Wows and Universities of Scouting (often staffed by those same trainers) are often fun and exciting. The new training scheduled for later this year promises to be more interactive with lots of learn-by-doing stuff.
We need to send our leaders back to their packs and dens knowing how to make their meetings boy friendly. We must teach our leaders to do their primary jobs: leading with enthusiasm and flair.
One of the keys to building stronger training teams is the Trainer Development Conference. This is typically a Council run event. All district training team members, pack/troop trainers, Roundtable staff, and commissioner trainers should attend. Two vital concepts in the present conference are:
The Trainer Development Conference incorporates numerous contemporary training techniques and emphasizes the importance of experiential learning, or “learning by doing.” The training sessions not only demonstrate good training methods, but give participants an opportunity to interact and practice what they have learned.
Monmouth Council
References:
How Adults Learn, J. R. Kidd, Association Press.
Adult Education, G. G. Darkenwald, S. B Merriam. Harper & Row.
Cronk’s Club — Cub Scout Leader Training Challenge, Sioux Council
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Training Tips
Training Tips
At the end on May, I attended the National Meeting of the BSA in Atlanta. I saw a lot, met a lot of special people and learned a lot there. One session, however stood out above all the rest for me, and for the readers of this column.
William “Rick” Cronk is the president of the BSA. He is an ex Assistant Cubmaster and he is concerned with the quality of the Cub Scout program. Here is his proposal:
Cub Scout Leader Training Challenge
"Because Every Cub Scout Deserves a Trained Leader"
Trained leaders provide an active, quality program at the den and pack levels and keep Tiger Cubs and their partners, Cub Scouts, and Webelos Scouts coming back for more fun week after week and month after month. When Cub Scouts participate regularly, the many purposes of Cub Scouting are achieved. Trained leaders increase boy retention and leader tenure.
Rick Cronk, Boy Scouts of America national president and sponsor of Cronk’s Club, will recognize Scouters at all levels for their efforts in increasing the number of trained leaders who are delivering a dynamic program. A special neckerchief will be awarded to those who meet the challenge
Requirements:
COUNCILS
Council Key 3 and Council Training Chair:
Council Registrar:
DISTRICTS
District Training Chair:
Now, normally I view new ventures from National with a bit of skepticism. I’ve been down those roads too many times to get really excited. This time, I was totally impressed with a presentation by Rick and CS Director, Sam Thompson about their challenge to have 100% of CS leaders trained. I went into their session quite negative, really expecting the worst, but came out a true believer.
This time there were these differences.
First, there are the leaders.
Rick Cronk is a former Cub Scout leader and his son is a CS leader. I am
convinced that he really means to make this thing go.
Sam Thompson is for real. I have met a lot of Cub Scout Directors over
the years and I rate Sam right up there with the best.
Second, they all know what is wrong.
Well they know mostly what’s wrong. A lot of the training issues that were aired on email lists lately were also discussed in Atlanta. For example, we should be teaching DLs to run den meetings and Cubmasters to run pack meetings. And that meetings should be fun. The first thing they emphasized is to move Cub Scout Leader Specific Training ahead of New Leader Essentials. They reported that Essentials is a downer and contains “nice to know” stuff while Specifics has what leaders need to do their jobs. Moreover, Essentials often turns people off and they never return for more training.
Also all training must be improved. Sam is building teams of people who understand adult education. I’ve spent enough time with adult educators to be able to recognize when training is headed in the right direction. The gang in Atlanta and Associate CS Director Jamie Shearer were impressive. I’m expecting some great things from them.
For years, and many versions of our leader training, we have operated with a form of cookie-cutter training that tried to give all things to all people. That doesn’t work. Our leaders are a diverse lot, each coming with a unique set of skills, life experiences, resources, and needs. The single working parent and the suburban professional are different. They both have valuable skills and urgent needs as potential leaders, but they are not the same skills and the same needs. One rigid training session is not going to help both.
A Director of Field Service related to me that his council found that trained first year leaders didn’t understand their Scouting jobs until they attended a Pow Wow. Pow Wows and Universities of Scouting have the range and flexibility to better serve the needs of our leaders.
Finally, the Minsi Trails Council of Lehigh Valley, PA reported their success with mandatory training for all leaders. They will not reregister untrained leaders and they reject charter renewals if key leaders are not trained. They have made mandatory training a cornerstone of the best retention and strong membership growth. It can happen and it does work. (The Southern NJ Council has adopted this approach, too. www.snjscouting.org CD)
Just wishing for 100% training isn’t enough. It’s a complex job involving a lot of diverse people who have different agendas and different problems. it will take a lot of commitment and a lot of work to pull it off. It’s going to take a bit of time to get this train up to speed. It’s taken Minsi Trails several years to really make it happen. I also heard that there is a move to simplify the retaking of Specifics for trained leaders taking on new Cub Scouting jobs. Some councils are looking into on-line sessions and other non traditional methods. Again what will it take to get 100% in your area of concern? And what can you possibly do to help? I’m sure that every district will need more people to do things like creating lists of the untrained, doing promotion, helping with registration, record keeping, child care and all sorts of other support items as well as just conducting the training.
It is a major change in outlook and I would consider it one of the best pieces of news from National in many years. It’s not a slam dunk, but better than another technical foul.
Some more training links:
Hou Koda District — Crossroads of America
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Training Tips
Training Tips
Another important lesson not covered in my training, concerned craft projects. It wasn’t until a chance encounter with Bud Bennett, then National Director of Cub Scouting, when I learned how projects should work. One of Bud’s favorite admonitions was:
It’s not what the boy does to the board that matters;
it’s what
the board does to the boy.”
Den programs are about doing things, not making things. Boys join Cub Scouts to do things. It’s the action, the adventure, the joy of doing one’s best that lures them into the program. The motto is Do Your Best, not make the best or learn the most. Doing is the key idea here. Consider the following den meeting scenario:
After the opening ceremony, the den leader announces, “Boys, our mission
today is to create a ________” ( You fill in the appropriate magical word.)
Now describe the expressions on the faces of the boys.
Is it wonderment?
Anticipation?
Are they jumping up and down ready to start?
Or are
you greeted with yawns or blank looks?
What will it do?
When a boy makes or builds something, it should do something. Boys like to make things that do something. Pinewood derby cars, boats, kites and catapults do things. They run, fly, throw things or explode. Girls, at this age, are already aware of form and beauty — boys usually don’t care. Watch boys build things. They spend most of their time playing with a half finished model, visualizing what it will do. What it looks like is low priority.
What does he dream?
When a boy makes or builds something — like a model plane, a boat or a car — he often imagines it in action: flying, sailing or racing, as he works on it? It is essential that, whatever a boy makes, he can visualize it doing something or being used somehow, somewhere.
" His mind is as active as his hands.
Projects, like games, hikes, campouts and other Cub Scout activities, should excite the imagination and stimulate a boy’s creative juices. What wonders are possible? What cool colors can we create? How big can we build it? What great adventures will emerge as we proceed?
What is it made of?
Wood is good. Large is better. Messy is wonderful!
Collect large cartons, scrap wood and other similar stuff. He needs to learn to manipulate material. Start thinking of the help you will need to handle all this — let parents know you will need them.
One of the best resources for a den is a refrigerator carton. It supplies the team with wondrous material. I asked My Wonderful Wife, Shirley what her den would have done with one.
Forts, houses, tunnels, game equipment, sets for den skits — even ships — I remember Kevin Pate of Norman Oklahoma referring to a Kenmore space ship. All these lead into other adventures and provide fun while they’re being built and again when they’re being used.
If your den is going to do a skit at the next pack meeting, then do it properly with big props costumes and scenery - all made by the boys. Remember the great bicycle safety tips last month that the folks from Santa Clara Council gave us? Take a look at how some Cub Scouts had fun performing a bicycle safety skit on youtube. Even though the model car was just a prop in the skit, they must have fun making it and then using it.
I have seen boys making huge masks by covering large balloons with papier mâché. The balloons were suspended by strings from the ceiling and the floor protected by a tarp and lots of newspaper. If your den is into this kind of messy stuff (and I hope it is now and then) it may be wise to invest in some sort of protection for the boys’ uniforms. Old adult shirts make great smocks for painting and other fun stuff.
I have also seen boy made body puppets that they wore in a skit. They were made from large sheets of cardboard strapped to their bodies with a bungee cord. The arms were hinged to the bodies and eye holes cut out and disguised with paint. Think of a talking tree or a marauding moose.
Big Projects
There are many advantages to large den projects such as building skit scenery or cubmobiles. The den works on it as a team, planning it, choosing materials and sharing the work. Leadership emerges often from unexpected quarters as new ideas and concepts arrive. When a group of boys collaborate on one project there is a real change in the group dynamics from when they work on individual projects. Problems become challenges to be solved by cooperation rather than obstacles that halt progress. There is less boredom, misbehavior or complaining.
What is the process?
Using tools is usually popular. Do things that are as messy as you can stand. Big painting projects, and cooking fit this category. Dainty and cute are not going to make it here.
At this age, building projects help a boy in several ways: they stimulate imagination, they develop hand-eye coordination, enhance their abilities to go from a mind’s eye view to a physical creation. Use projects to build den game equipment, scenery and costumes for skits, camping gear and den snacks.
Cute is a Four-letter Word.
Cute stuff has no place in Cub Scouting.
Boys at this age have no interest in being cute or being with people who want them to be. One of our den leaders would summarily veto any program idea that evoked the word “cute.” Every pack needs someone like her. Check the link hidden in the box before this paragraph.
Some links to project ideas:
The Puppeteers, Scouting Magazine.
Papier Mâché, Wikipedia
Carpentry and Housebuilding for Children
Bicycle Safety, youtube
Dangerous Book for Boys
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Training Tips
Training Tips
Back in those early days when I was the Cubmaster of Pack 28 in Jackson, NJ, I took every Cub leader training available. I learned a lot about what I was supposed to do but there were some important subjects that were never covered in those training courses or covered so lightly and so quickly that I never really noticed how important they were.
These I learned by experience, sometimes by making mistakes but, more often, by heeding the advice of others, adding those things to my repertoire, and then seeing that their recommendations were valid.
Here is the first and, I think, the most important one.
Protect and Retain Den Leaders.
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The program runs on Den Leaders. Very quickly, I discovered that most of the real work in our pack was done in the dens. A lot of the advancement, the communication with parents, the den spirit, the building of self esteem, and living the ideals of Scouting take place in the den. Our job running pack meetings and pack activities was mostly to support and encourage the stuff that was going on in the dens and, through the dens, in the homes. Without the work done in the dens and the boys’ homes, we were nothing more than a monthly entertainment show. Only when our show supported and glorified the den achievements, did we became part of Cub Scouting. |
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Do anything to keep your DL happy and productive. Keeping den leaders is the most important responsibility of all those who support the Cub Scout program. I began to realize this when I was a new Cubmaster but it really struck home when I was given responsibility for membership of a large metropolitan council.
When a den or a den leader fails, Scouting stops for those boys.
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A good den leader is precious. To keep good den leaders happy and productive, it’s vital that they are, and feel that they are, valuable and successful. Dens and, in reflection their leaders, must shine at pack meetings and pack activities. Den flags, den cheers and den presentations must be the high lights of pack programs. |
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There are two classes of Cub Scouters: den leaders and those who help them. If you’re not one or the other, you probably aren’t helping the program much.
Get the best DL. Think of your recruiting like the NFL draft or your fantasy ball team. Den leaders should potentially be the stars of your team. Who has the rapport with the boys? Who seems to be imaginative and creative? Who is organized and goal directed? Who might get the cooperation and support of other parents? Who can bring fun and excitement to this den? Choose the best.
Support your DL.. Make sure they get trained. Sit with them through Fast Start and take them to training so you can be there to answer their questions and give encouragement. The Pack Trainer, the Cubmaster and the Pack Chair, all should be responsible for making sure this happens.
Help them getting assistance. Some den leaders like one or more assistant den leaders who are always there and others seem to prefer a continuation of what went on with Tigers and like a rotation of parental help. In any case, those who help at den meetings should at least go through Fast Start and as much other training as is practicable for your pack.
If at all possible, get them Den Chiefs (but more on that in months to come.)
Supply resource material. Your pack budget should cover the costs of at least Program Helps and a copy of the How-To Book for each den. If your leaders have access to the internet, provide them with the url of best resources. Build a good back library of Pow Wow books, back issues of Program Helps, other literature and CDs. Above all, get den leaders to your local Roundtable. If you feel your Roundtable needs improvement, rise up and make it better. Remember it’s your boys that benefit.
Don’t let anyone pile extra duties on your DL. They are not someone’s personal messenger or delivery boy and especially they are not your wait staff at the Blue and Gold Banquet.
When some new opportunity shows up in a Cub Pack that requires some organizing or record keeping it is customary to say, “Oh, the den leaders can do that.” That is courting disaster. There must be someone in every pack who stands firm and protects the dens.
Provide dens with star opportunities. Schedule regular spots at pack meetings for dens to perform. Leading ceremonies, acting out skits, leading songs, doing run-ons should make up a lot of your pack meetings. Expect displays of big projects and reports of special activities and go-see-its.
The opportunity to share the spotlight at the monthly pack extravaganza gives dens the incentive to prepare. Without this, dens often resort to mostly advancement work and den meetings resemble school more than Cub Scouting adventure.
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DL’s only job is to lead the den. Leading a den is a long and tough job. Those Tuesday (or whenever) meeting times inexorably roll around every week, ready or not. The DL has to be ready with games, ceremonies, encouragement, materials, and all the other magic in his/her bag of tricks as the gang in blue burst through the door. There is a strange belief that anyone can lead a den. People who run round-ups are fond of using that myth so they can collect the applications and go home. |
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Yes, it’s easy to run one den meeting for any reasonably able adult who has taken Fast Start and has a copy of Program Helps firmly in hand. I have done it on occasion so I can imagine that most people can. However it’s not just one meeting. It’s years of meetings.
There will be days when thing go badly. There will be the boy who had a bad day at school, the boy being picked by an older sibling, one whose pet gerbil died, or the one whose parent are fighting. There will be times when the big game just doesn’t work and day when the material for that fabulous project is just plain wrong. When boys don’t bring their books; when parents forget their promises. It only takes a few of these — say the four in November — to make a DL question why on earth are we doing this anyway.
Yet, the best den leaders I have met (and I have met hundreds) revel in what they have accomplished. They have indelibly shaped the minds and spirits of each one of that gang in blue. I think that Julie Erickson described it best in her wonderful poem I Am A Den Leader.
I do wish that the only time den leaders quit before their boys cross over to troops is when they have won the lottery jack pot and have retired to Tahiti to bask in the sun and sip cold drinks. They deserve it.
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Training Tips
Training Tips
By the time a boy starts Tigers he is already comfortable playing games. He likes rules and is learning how to adapt his behavior to fit rules and then how to deal with a new set of rules for a different game.
Goodleaders become proficient at using these traits to both control behavior and to teach their charges. You can make almost any Cub Scout activity be some kind of game. It requires a bit of imagination and some understanding of what a game is. I have always believed that Scouting should be a lot of games, governed by Scouting’s Ideals, occasionally interspersed with a few ceremonies.
Rules are the essentials of many a game. For children, following the rules is often more important and even more fun than winning or losing. In fact many games they play and enjoy don’t have winners; all they have are rules.
For example, take the game where they sit in a circle and the first boy whispers a message to the ear of boy on his right. He then passes the message to the next boy and so on all the way around. The last boy then repeats aloud the message he heard to the whole den. No winners or losers, just fun.
In last month’s Bugle, Sean Scott described how to make awards ceremonies more exciting. He made giving out badges and pins into a game involving role playing and a lot of “let’s pretend.” When rules disappear and imagination takes over, games enter what I like to call the realm of pure play.
Pure play is about imagination. It rarely involves rules. When a boy plays with his partially completed pine wood car, climbs a tree, or stomps through a mud puddle, he is in a kind of dream world. He pretends he is someone else, somewhere else, having a great adventure.
The use of a monthly themelets a boy play the role of an astronaut, clown, explorer, scientist, or other exciting character. Boys find adventure in exploring the outdoors, learning about nature, and gaining a greater appreciation for our beautiful world.
The Benefits of Cub Scouting
The importance of play
A child’s life is largely made up of play, but that play is very real to
the child. Children not only pretend to be jet planes or astronauts, while
the game is going on they are jet planes or astronauts. They are disappointed
and disillusioned if a grown-up takes a game lightly, finishes it abruptly
before it is played out, or does not worry about keeping the rules.
The play-world is a very real world to children. In it they are learning
and testing out the rules of life which they have to observe as adults later
on. They will learn to give and take, to co-operate with others, to accept
defeat without complaining, and succeed without being boastful.
Scout base UK Scouts
People who study children’s games have traced games that have been passed on from generation to generation, some for more than a century with no adult involvement. Some of these games remain confined to a restricted area — even a neighborhood — and others are carried by children across oceans. The rules and structures rarely change with time even when transported to a new country with a different language.
Also last month, Russ of Timucua District game us some wonderful examples of simple timeless games in Take ’em outside and play TAG! I once watched a boy visiting here from Japan who immediately was able to join into tag games with the locals seamlessly with little difficulty.
Role playing and simulation games can be important teaching methods. Things like fire drills, first-aid practice and rescue breathing are standard methods to learn certain skills. I recently saw a bicycle safety clip on Youtube that was really a role playing game. It was hilarious but the boys seemed to be learning a lot.
Competitive Games
Boys usually enjoy games where they compete against each other or against a standard. It challenges them to do their best. The fun and excitement involved are effective tools for leaders to use in their Cub Scout programs.
Use a variety of these games in your den and pack meetings and especially in outings. Watch out for the boy who doesn’t like to compete, who hangs back and doesn’t seem to try. A good leader will discover his hidden talents and abilities and use a game where he will excel.
In competitive games, the rules tend to be selection processes that determine winners and losers. A sack race selects abilities like agility and concentration to determine who wins. The rules of a spelling bee select other qualities.
When choosing a competitive game, start by considering what abilities or talents will be needed to succeed. How much will chance or luck be a factor? Over a short period of time you should like each of your boys to gain the esteem of winning.
Most boys understand winning and losing so you don’t have to make a big thing out of it. We adults tend to over react to who wins and, in turn, stigmatize who loses. Some pinewood derbies have rules that tend to select only the most capable parents — even those who secretly purchase ringers — as winners. Then these qualities are validated by glorifying the winners with trophies and publicity. Can you imagine what would happen if the rules were changed so that the winner was the slowest car that crossed the finish line? What qualities and abilities would then succeed?
Over the years I have coached boys in sports teams and science teams as well as Scouts. I have rejoiced in their dedication, their inventiveness, and their indomitable spirit.
Some of my fondest memories are of those kids just doing their best. It was always fun and I guess that’s what it was supposed to be.
Some Interesting links on games and play:
Teaching Fire Safety for Kids
It’s more than fun and games
The Camp Wiki
Deep Fun
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Training Tips
Training Tips
It’s time to plan the details your pack’s summer time program. Shake off those wintry blues and get to work on the golden opportunities that wait your boys out doors.
One great way to do this is to give each boy a solid opportunity to earn the Cub Scout Activity Award. Just in case you don’t have a copy of the Official PamphletNo. 13-228 in font of you, it is here, printed in blue with a few of my comment interspersed in black with tips on the hows and whys.
Tiger Cubs, Wolf and Bear Cub Scouts, and Webelos Scouts have the opportunity to earn the Cub Scout Outdoor Activity Award. Boys may earn the award in each of the program years as long as the requirements are completed each year. The first time the award is earned, the boy will receive the pocket flap award, which is to be worn on the right pocket flap of the uniform shirt. Each successive time the award is earned, a wolf track pin may be added to the flap. Leaders should encourage boys t o build on skills and experiences from previous years when working on the award for a successive year.
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It’s not just to give the boys more awards. 
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Requirements
All Ranks Attend Cub Scout day camp or Cub Scout/Webelos Scout resident camp.
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If you haven’t started on your camp program yet, get moving on this.It takes promotion and organizing by pack leaders. Get boys signed up as quicky as possible. There isn’t much time. | o
Rank-Specific:
Tiger Cubs: Complete one requirement in Achievement 5, "Let’s Go Outdoors" (Tiger Cub Handbook) and complete three of the outdoor activities listed below.
Wolf Cub Scouts: Assemble the "Six Essentials for Going Outdoors" (Wolf Handbook, Elective 23b) and discuss their purpose, and complete four of the outdoor activities listed below.
Bear Cub Scouts: Earn the Cub Scout Leave No Trace Award (Bear Handbook, Elective 25h) and compete five of the outdoor activities listed below.
Webelos Scouts: Earn the Outdoorsman Activity Badge (Webelos Handbook) and complete six of the outdoor activities listed below.
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The Tiger requirement and the Webelos activity Badge should be almost automatic. The Wolf and Bear electives may require some creative promotion to ensure that every boy gets the opportunity to participate. |
Outdoor Activities
With your den, pack, or family:
The award requirements are detailed in the Cub Scout Outdoor Activity Award brochure,.
As a final thought, there are some essential procedures that Pack leaders must follow in order to make this Award Program work so that boys and families benefit from it.
Planning: If these activities are not built into your pack and den plans, they won’t happen. Set the dates, recruit and support the leaders, make the budgets and secure the permits.
Promotion: Make sure that everyone knows about it and has it on their calendar or PDA. Get it on your pack news letter and web site. Remind everyone with skits or run-ons at pack meetings.
Recording: With things being done at pack outings, den meetings, Tiger Go See Its and family outings, you will need someone in charge of records. This is an excellent opportunity for another parent to become a hero in the eyes of that Cub Scout son. Theodore Roosevelt Council has a form that might be helpful.
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Training Tips
Training Tips
I would think that the most effective way to have a successful Cub Scout program is to get the best leaders for your pack or your den. When we see leaders who are knowledgeable, enthusiastic and confident — who command the respect of the boys, the parents and other leaders — who are committed to reaching the goals of the Cub Scout program — then we also see packs and dens operating at their best.
There’s no doubt about it. Good packs are led by good leaders.
Now the national council has a wonderful pamphlet:
However, much more often, I have seen the hunt for leaders in October go totally wrong. There was no selection. Quality was a non issue. It consisted mostly of a desperate organizer — Cubmaster, Commissioner or DE — begging someone — anyone — to step forward and take over this band of ruffians in blue. What we get then is a mixed bag. For most people, this plea for a sacrificial volunteer is the signal to sit on one’s hand and not move a muscle.
So, you may well ask, why don’t they use the method that National advocates?
Two reasons: first, hardly anyone has ever seen that pamphlet. I would guess that only a few of you have a copy of 13-500 sitting along side your copies of the Cub Scout Leader’s How-To Book and Program Helps. It just doesn’t seem to show up at Roundtables, Pow Wows or UOS very often. I rarely see a DE toting a bundle of them or a rack full in a service center.
Secondly, the steps in Selecting Quality Leaders can only work if you really know the individuals in the group you are selecting from. If you are trying to zero in on the best potential leader from a bunch of strangers, you are operating from a position of distinct disadvantage.
Just look at the list of qualifications in 13-500 to which we should rate each candidate as: Yes, No or Don’t Know.
How can we make a fair selection unless we know a lot about the parents of our Cub Scouts and others associated with the pack? Chances are we will end up with a lot of Don’t Knows.
Yet selecting leaders is our job. I know most of you are involved because you want the best for boys. But you can only get the best if you have the leaders and involve all the parents at some level. It’s our job — no matter what your position is in Scouting - to work with parents and leaders as well as boys. It’s also our job to ensure that the future of our pack lies in good hands.
Whenever I hear the comment: Well I’m in it only for the boys. I wonder if that gang of Tigers will ever make to Webelos or even get to trade in their orange neckerchiefs for the yellow ones.
It’s my job, it’s your job, it’s everybody’s job
In order to know them, you have to care about them. Here are a few ideas on how Cu Scout leaders can care about parents and others and get to know them.
Parent Parties (let’s not call them meetings)
Throw a party for the parents of your den, or the whole pack — or maybe the kindergarten class at your school. This can work for any group of parents. Make it informal and fun. Use refreshments, prizes and especially name tags. Get to meet as many as you can. Find out a little bit about them. You don’t need to push Cub Scouting at them — the object is to make friends and learn a bit about each one.
Local Organizations
Get involved with local groups at your school, your church, sports or recreation committees where you can see these people in action. PTA, RE committee in your churche and Home School support groups are often excellent good places to meet dedicated and talented adults. You may find that members of your pack are already in some of these groups. Enlist their aid when you select leaders.
Survey Sheets
The Parent Talent Survey Sheet provided at training and others like it are great tools. I have found a couple interesting examples available on MSWORD. Just building a data base of what parents can do and are willing to do can be very helpful when you search for help.
The main point here is to select leaders rather that beg for volunteers.
The Six Steps to Select a Leader
This is the method outlined in 13-500.
When you call to make the appointment, it is usually best to not reveal the specific request you will make. You may say, “We would like to talk to you about a situation in our Cub Pack that needs some help.” rather than, “We want you to take over the Webelos den next week.” This approach gives your selection team the opportunity to first tell the prospect why they think he or she is the best person to do the job.
Do Your Best
Remember, these boys are precious. They deserve the best leaders we can find. And these leaders deserve the best training and support that the rest of us can supply. Make sure that both boys and leaders get the best. That’s our motto.
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Training Tips
Training Tips
In Cub Scouting circles, ceremonies dominate our concerns during February. Big things go on and we want to celebrate them and commemorate them.
Ceremonies are one of the oldest forms of human communication. They pre-date history. Good Ceremonies are the ones that people remember. They commemorate something important that the people involved should remember.
Ceremonies also celebrate important events. We stop our regular activities and mark these times. We may rejoice, or we may mourn or perhaps we stand silently and focus on a mental picture. It’s when attention must be paid.
Think about the great ceremonies you have experienced: weddings, funerals, graduations, and family reunions. You may recall rights of passage like a confirmation, Bar Mitzvah, or a special anniversary. Ceremony can distinguish the awesome as it does in awarding a Nobel Prize, or the mundane — the coin-flip at the start of a football game. Ceremony is public in the coronation of a monarch and also private as it is in a confessional.
So what do you want in your ceremonies for your pack and your boys?
You want to the boy and his parents to remember, not just the ceremony, but what it all stands for.
Judy Yeager, that special Scouter from Heart of America Council, recalls:
Plus you can have fun, meaningful ceremonies that don’t take a lot of
time. My youngest will never forget his Wolf ceremony (and he’s 17
now.) He was called forward with a few of his peers who had also
finished and handed a balloon and a small plastic sword, accompanied
by a few meaningful words about the badge. The boys were told to
pop the balloons and voila--out popped a Wolf Badge!
That is the ceremony he remembers most - not the more verbose,
more serious ceremonies that accompanied some of his other badge
presentations.
To make your ceremonies that effective, try to incorporate drama, ritual, symbolism, and a message into each of the ceremonies that is celebrated in your pack or den.
Use costumes, props, and your imagination. Anything that requires throwing, catching, hitting, running, jumping, breaking, popping, bouncing, stomping, rolling, crawling, climbing, swinging or dropping is bound to bring a smile to the face of a nine-year-old.
Sean Scott
Ceremonies are important, even in the outdoors. Outdoor pack
activities usually call for an opening and closing ceremony (or
closing campfire). Outdoor pack activities that take the place of
regular pack meetings should also include advancement ceremonies so
awards can be presented promptly.
The outdoors is a good place to hold the Webelos Scout Crossing the
Bridge Graduation Ceremony when the weather permits. (See Staging Den
and Pack Ceremonies for more detail.)
Cub Scout Leader Book
Plan a ceremony to award a boy and his parents a Bobcat Badge. Make it memorable, meaningful, and dignified for all involved. And, oh yes, the boy happens to be blind.
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Training Tips
Training Tips
