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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Well, I’m back, pretty much safe and sound, thanks to the skill and knowledge of the two neuro-surgeons who were on call when I ended up in Providence ER.
While I was indisposed for 6 weeks, an interesting thread was played out in the Cub Scout forum of Scouting Community.
If you’re not familiar with Scouting Community, it’s an internet service of MyScouting sort of like face book or twitter but limited to members of BSA over thirteen year of age. There are many blogs, groups and forums that cover a remarkably wide range of Scout interests. It’s still a little flaky since they are still running a Beta version that doesn’t seem to follow W3C HTML standards. If you are not yet a member, I would suggest you should look it over. You will need your BSA membership number (it’s on your BSA card) to register.
The thread started with questions about what CS 2010 will mean to the future of the Cub Scout program and quickly morphed into “just what is the Cub Scout program?”
I sensed a bit of mystery about how the Cub Scout program was developed and is managed. There seems to be a view that a list of “official” activities is prescribed by some august gurus and permanently chiseled in stone that everyone is expected to follow. It’s actually quite simple and really straight — forward — at least it was up to now. There was a Cub Scout Division in National: a Director of Cub Scouting and a few Associate Directors — all pros mostly with strong local council experience. They were in charge of the Cub Scout Program. They recruited volunteers who manned the various committees and task forces and were the ones who actually ended up writing most of the Cub Scout literature. It is hardly permanent. It has seen many changes over the years as many diverse folk have had their hands on the tiller,
Over the years I worked with many of these people on both local and National projects. They were, on the whole, talented, dedicated Scouters with lots of unit experience who were capable of producing clever, high quality material for unit leaders.
Strange as it may seem, very little of the Cub Scout program actually originated in this bunch. After the original program was laid out in the 1930’s by Huber Hurt (the pro) and Earnest Seton (the volunteer) the National group paid close attention to what was working in local packs and districts and incorporated the best ideas into the program. These best ideas included den mothers, pinewood derbies, Pow Wows, Webelos, men as den leaders, women as Cubmasters and committee members, pack campouts, most of the songs in the CSSB and most of the games and tricks in the Den Chief Handbook. None of these were part of the 1930 Cub Scouting. They all originated in local Scouting groups, succeeded locally, were noticed and then incorporated as “official” Cub Scout program. If it were not for active den leaders, Cubmasters, and parents of Cub Scouts doing their own things, we would have indeed a dull and limited Cub Scout program.
Ed Hesser, an Associate CS Director (now retired) once told me that during his first year on that job he didn’t even know he had a desk at National headquarters because his boss, Bud Bennett, always had him constantly out in the field checking on pack meetings, roundtables and Pow Wows. From the very beginning, National has been interested in what new and effective stuff was going on in their programs. This shouldn’t be surprising. Several tens of thousand den leaders working directly with boys are bound to come up with better ideas than a couple dozen people at National most of who haven’t led a den in years — or at all.
The folks at National — both volunteer and pro — were, however, excellent at picking out these best ideas and organizing them into useful resource material. Program Helps is a prime example. It is a low cost publication full of plans for den and pack meetings and has been, for many years, the best program resource for den leaders and Cubmasters. Cheri Pepka, a volunteer from Seattle, has been the leader in writing and editing PH for some time now.
Cheri is a real genius at organizing and planning. We had the good fortune to have her on our Jamboree committee in 2001, where she pulled our whole enterprise together in one spectacular afternoon planning session.
Actually all those great Cub Scouting resources that National provides: PH, The How-To Book, Sparklers and the rest, are meant as guide lines for units. Most people are aware that what works for one den of ruffians in blue may flop badly with other dens in other locations with other leaders. COs, Cubmasters and den leaders need the flexibility to make the program work for their people and their resources, At Philmont Training Center in 1963, Director of Cub Scouting, Bud Bennett was asked just what activities would qualify as Cub Scouting. Bud’s reply:
“If it’s safe, home and neighborhood centered, and promotes the aims of Scouting, then it is Cub Scouting.”
Our friend, Commissioner Marcel from Spokane recently reminded us of this on Scouts_L.
“The Chartered Organization Agrees to:
Conduct the Scouting program according to its own policies and guidelines as well as those of the Boy Scouts of America.”
From the chartered partner agreement.
This has all changed during the last year or so. With the reorganization of National, the Cub Scout Division no longer exists. There is no official word yet but the various Cub Scout committees and task forces were totally absent at the last National meeting and may also no longer exist. In fact there was hardly a mention of Cub Scouting anywhere at the meeting in Orlando except for a rather awkward outreach session attended by bout half a dozen people. It is not clear at all how or by whom the Cub Scout program is being run.
Much of the Community’s CS 2010 thread, debated whether or not the internet, especially the independent Scouting web sites, helped or threatened the Cub Scout program. Fear was expressed that unless there was some BSA control, all sorts of dangerous or inappropriate activities would be introduced to unsuspecting new leaders. Two such treacherous examples have been cited recently:
I would guess that leaders go to these independent Scout web sites because that is where they most easily, and where best, they find help. The IT people at National seem to have trouble putting up web pages that actually help Cub Scout leaders. I have occasionally found suggestions in the independents with which I disagreed but then I also disagree on occasion with stuff that comes from National. However there are many more resources on the independents, they are much better organized and many independents provide excellent navigation tools to find what you need.
The old Cub Scout Division produced a lot of those wonderful program items that fill the How-To Book, PH and the RT Guides in electronic form. Hopefully it all still exists that way and could be easily and cheaply published on scouting.org. With a little bit of talent — either professional or volunteer — the IT people might even do it wiki form. (No, that’s too much to hope for.) Right now they seem incapable of upgrading Scouting Community from their Beta version.
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Training Tips
Training Tips
How good it is to see that National is now excited about Cub Scout retention, and how den meetings fit in, after decades of depending almost entirely on more recruiting to make up for membership losses. Cub Scouts 2010 is the new approach to provide structure to den meetings. A lot of the structure is based on advancement in the boys’ Cub Scout books. That is a significant improvement in that much advancement — especially the requirements — is there specifically to support Scouting’s Aims. Almost anything that pushes us to do that seems OK with me.
Retention has, for many years, been a problem in Cub Scouting. We have long known many of the causes for boys dropping out of the program: dull, inconsistent meetings, untrained leaders, and especially failed dens. Some attention has been paid over the years to improving pack meetings and particularly to outdoors and summer-time programs but problems in den programs were generally ignored. Once we started measuring retention at the den level, it became apparent that as many as a third of our drop-outs were from dens that had completely disappeared from our membership roles. Our den support has been systemically weak, and it is heartening to see how Cub Scouts 2010 emphasizes the den.
The delivery schedule has been markedly improved over those of earlier changes. CS-2010 will not come into general effect until the fall of next year. That provides time for updating support material like Training and Roundtable Guides. I remember the debacle when we introduced the new Tiger program in 2001 with no support — not even the boys’ books — available for months — even a year — later. This is a significant change and I’m personally glad to see it seems to be scheduled in a deliberate, measured manner.
Another advantage is that there is a lot of advance information available on the internet. This does much to ameliorate rumors and apprehension. Many of my own questions that arose from the lack of information available at the national Meeting last June have now been satisfactorily answered. Lack of transparency has plagued program changes in the past. This is a huge improvement!
That doesn’t mean everything will be perfect right from the start. There will be a learning curve for all of us and we should expect more changes as we gain experience. Our unit leaders are a clever lot and I expect that many of them will be suggesting all sorts of ideas to make it even better.
I heartily encourage every Scouter to sign up for the https://myscouting.scouting.org/ Scouting Community on My Scouting and join groups that interest you. This is the best venue to air your views to the Scouting world. So, login, sign up if you haven’t and start participating. (You will need the ID number on your BSA membership card to register.)
Pack Meetings and Themes
I wonder how dropping themes will affect Pack meetings. Of course not all packs follow themes but most of the really successful ones do base their pack meetings and activities on some inspiring, fun idea. I have read two versions of how CS-2010 plans to organize Pack Meetings: one based on Character Connections and the second based on following National and/or Council activities. The first sounds sort of dull and the other begs the question: Isn’t the mission of councils supposed to be to serve units, not the other way ’round? The promotional material pays lip service to retaining and even increasing the fun of Cub Scouting but I certainly hope that someone is busy working on it.
The good news is, that along with themes, goes a lot of the busy, cute craft projects that have been the bane of our program for so long. Let’s replace craft with games, magic and outings.
Roundtables
A new Roundtable Guide that supports Fast Track and CS-2010 has been announced. I would expect the quality to be at least as good as the current one. Roundtables will change. A lot of the burden will fall on local districts to respond to the needs of the unit leaders they serve.
Training
Training will have to be updated as well. There should be much that was useful from the pilot programs. The quality of the present training is the best I have seen in my forty odd years of Cub Scouting. The group headed up by Ted Rohling and Sam Thompson raised the bar for training manuals to new heights last year and it would be a shame to lose that quality. Unless Ted or someone with equivalent background and education is involved in producing the updated training, I worry about what we might get.
The same concerns may also apply to updated versions of other resources such as The Cub Scout Leader Book and the How To Book. Both of those are presently as good as they have ever been. It would be shameful to mess these up with a rushed update.
Parents
There has been some question as to whether Fast Tracks could potentially turn Cub Scouting into a drop-off day care program, rather then a program that stresses family involvement. I hope not. Home and family involvement has been one of greatest attractions of Cub Scouting. It makes our program rather unique, not only in Scouting but also in programs for American youth. Over and over we see the strongest and most successful packs are those that make parents and families an important part of their programs.
So far it seems that some advancement will be completed in the den, presumably as part of fun or adventurous activities and other advancement will be completed at home. This has worked admirably in the Tiger program for some eight years now.
I must admit that some of the presentations at the National Meeting last June were disappointing in the way they dismissed parent participation but I’m not sure that they were truly representative of CS-2010.
Conclusion
There is much to cheer about in this venture. There is a promise and an expectation that many of the barriers that have hampered leaders in the past may now be removed. I look forward to it.
But there is also a huge challenge ahead. Getting it right will take a lot of time and a lot of hard work. Don’t expect things to fall in place overnight or work in every den, every pack in every neighborhood. For instance, small packs with multi-rank dens will have difficulty fitting into this. Things that work well in one locality will fail in another.
A lot will depend on the make-up and dedication of the various committees and advisory panels that become parts of the process. Updating support materials and creating new versions require that the people involved meet with each other, often several times. Getting a group of Scouters together who represent diverse communities and factions of Cub Scouting is a time consuming and expensive procedure.
Trying to do it on-line may not work. When I was organizing a committee of about two dozen experienced, mostly IT-capable Scouters for a Jamboree exhibit, I was devastated to realize that emails, chat groups and such were of little help. Face-to-face discussion beat everything else for what we were trying to do. My spectacular friend, Sue Hauser, had much the same experience when she led the task force writing the first Tiger Book. I had helped her set up a private Yahoo group for her committee, but only when the entire group get together in Nashville did everything jell and the process took off. A lot of what has to be done now will take lots of travel and lots of meetings. Don’t expect instant success.
It will also take professional input that is intimately familiar with Cub Scouting, especially what goes on in dens. This isn’t trivial. Most professional Scouters were never den leaders and must rely on volunteers who were. Sort of accidentally, I took over the den leadership when my grandson’s DL was suddenly posted to Europe. After some thirty-five years of adult Scouting experience, serving on three National task-forces, and four years as Council Vice president, I thought being a den leader would be a snap. Boy, was I wrong! No one knows what it’s like to lead a den until you face that gang in blue busting though the door and challenging you to do your best. My experience as a parent, Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, or instructor failed to prepare me. Being a DL is an adventure that has to be lived.
I don’t expect CS-2010 to be perfect, just better.
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Training Tips
Training Tips
Much of the ideals of Cub Scouting are about promises. We are all familiar with the promise a boy makes to win his Bobcat Badge. It’s a serious moment for all when he makes that promise and becomes a Cub Scout.
Making a promise is awfully important for a six or seven year old. He has been aware of promises for some years now. Making and keeping promises are basic parts of family life. They are often the glue that binds family members together.
That old line from Robert Service’s poem about “The Cremation of Sam McGee”:
A promise made is a debt unpaid.
May be a bit beyond our younger Cub Scouts but the sentiment is right on target.
If you promise something, you must keep that promise. You really must do it! You can’t back out of it, you can’t pretend you didn’t make that promise; you must come through and do it. No excuses.
The promise is an essential tool that Scouting uses to build character in boys. Keeping promises is being responsible. Keeping your word is what we expect from our best leaders and our best and closest friends. Someone who is trustworthy is one who keeps promises. Our communities, our governments, our culture depends on this kind of trust.
We expect that level of trust from the boys. How about the leaders?
Scouting.org makes these promises to prospective Cub Scouts:
In Cub Scouting you’ll have lots of fun, adventure, and activities with your den and pack —
Some of the best things about Cub Scouting are the activities you get to do: camping, hiking, racing model cars, going on field trips, or doing projects that help your hometown and the people who live there. Cub Scouting means “doing.”
Or consider this from joincubscouts.org
Cub Scouting means “doing.” Everything in Cub Scouting is designed to have boys doing things.
The video on http://www.joincubscouting.org shows Cub Scouting as 85% outside fun. Are they making a promise there? Some cynical adults may say, “That’s just advertising.” A six year old may differ. He might think that it what is promised.
It’s pretty easy to make these sorts of promises, especially if you are never called upon to pay up. A little too often we do just that. We promise boys an adventure full of fun activities: camping, bb-guns, games and sports with friends and family and then, what if it doesn’t happen.
How does a six-year-old react to broken promises? Does he develop better character, or does he copy his role models and learn that it is OK to make big promises and never keep them? Like, for instance, the Cub Scout Promise.
Keeping a Promise.
About fifteen years ago, when I was a novice Council Membership Chairman, I was paired up with Rick Barnes, a new Field Director as my advisor. One of Rick’s first pieces of advice was that we should do something about keeping promises. He was concerned that when we went into schools and communities in September, we told boys that they could go to camp and have all sorts of fun. They could shoot bows and arrows and bb-guns and do lots of other neat stuff. They couldn’t, of course, until they went to camp in July and that that was ten long months away — an eternity for a six-year-old. Rick considered that a promise — debt unpaid.
A DE in our council out on the coast that experimented with what he had called Tiger Days: a sort of gathering of Tigers and partners at various community events. We thought that we might do something like that at one of our camps. We enlisted the help of our Program Director, Dave Proehl who enthusiastically opened out biggest Cub Camp every Saturday in October and developed a program to introduce all our new members into the fun of outdoor Cub Scouting. Over the next several years, there were the three of us every October Saturday at 6:30 AM putting up signs, setting up targets, building a campfire and getting ready for another gang of eager adventurers. This idea spread to, or erupted spontaneously in, other councils across the country and is now a regular feature of our outdoor program.
By the way, Dave went on to National where he was instrumental in developing the Cub Scout Outdoor Program Guidelines, and is now Pastor of Technical Ministries — Abundant Life Church, Happy Valley, OR and Rick is now Scout Executive of The Great Salt Lake Council. Both are still keeping promises.
How about the rest of us, do we make promises to prospective Cub Scouts? Do we keep them? If you expect the boys in your pack or den to keep the Promise they make, then you had better pay attentions to what you told them the night they joined.
And whose job is it to keep the promises made by other people: those in the District, or in the Council, or at National? Is a den leader responsible for those “debts” incurred when a boy and his family logged into http://www.joincubscouting.org ? If not, who is? And when should it be settled? Are we going to let it wait until next summer, if and when they go to camp before they get to do all those neat things they saw on the flyers we handed out last month?
Take a good look at your pack’s plans for the coming year. Think of it as sort of a balance sheet full of assets and debits of fun and good will. It’s up to each one of us to do our best to make sure that every Cub Scout gets the full measure of fun and adventure that was promised. Whether we are den leaders, Cubmasters or just the common folk who support and help them, we all have important roles in keeping those promises. It may not matter who made the promise; if the boy believed it, it is a promise made, and we must keep it.
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The Cub Scout program of the Boy Scouts of America underscores the relationship of the family to the Scouting program and the 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.
Families are the basis of society. It is in the family that a child learns at an early age about love, values, social interactions, self-esteem, and preparation for today’s world. Today’s’ family has been targeted as vital to the future of our nation and our world.
The BSA Family Program
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. While most other Cub organizations conducted a sort of “junior Boy Scout” program, with a few leaders in each pack, the BSA opts for something quite different: fun stuff right in and near his home.
Family involvement is an essential part of Cub Scouting. When we speak of parents or families, we are not referring to any particular family structure. Some boys live with two parents, some live with one parent, some have foster parents, and some live with other relatives or guardians. Whoever a boy calls his family is his family in Cub Scouting.
Purposes and Methods of Cub Scouting
When we fail to involve the parents and the rest of the family in the Cub Scout program, we deliver a second-rate value to the boys. It will lack one of the important aims of the program: Family Understanding. We should be building those traits that will help the boy grow to become a good husband and father. Making family an integral part of Cub Scouting helps to make that happen.
Of course, it is not always easy to do that. It doesn&#*217;t work automatically. It takes a certain amount of knowledge and skill to convince a reticent parent to get involved. It might also take some effort and patience to sell the benefits to over worked, busy parents. It might seem easier to take the shortcut and leave the parents and family out of the picture.
Every time I hear the excuse that parents in our pack just won’t cooperate, I wonder how much effort was taken to find out what those adamant folk wanted for their sons. How much time was taken to get to know the parents, and to explain how valuable their interest and involvement would be to the boy’s development.
Do those uncooperative parents love their kids? Do they care about their sons’ growth and what sort of adults they will turn into? Or are we so caught up in our own roles as Cub Scout leaders that we take the easy route and not even bother trying — let alone do our best.
Most parents of Cub Scouts will be influenced by one or more of the following factors:
How many minutes does he get?
Bringing a boy’s family into his Cub Scouting fun and adventure has the effect of multiplying the benefits many times. When I was a Cubmaster, my direct contact with any one boy was miniscule. No matter how hard I tried, how many zany costumes I wore, funny songs and rousing cheers I led, or solemn minutes I preached, my one-on-one time with each Cub Scout was measured in seconds once a month. I soon learned that I had little or no practical effect on a boy’s growth. My job was to enhance the ability of others to do that.
Den leaders spend more time with each Cub Scout. A good DL will have quality one-on-one experience for several minutes every week with each Cub Scout. Just think of how much more personal growth is possible in one hour a week with six or eight rambunctious, very unique Cub Scouts. Obviously much more effect than what a mere Cubmaster can provide.
However once the parents become part of his Cub Scouting, the time element explodes. Something as simple as preparing a meal (Wolf Req. 8C) can be as much as an hour of quality one-on-one time for just that boy. A lot of ordinary family living is described in the boys’ books and so can be part of Cub Scouting. Each boy spends a lot more time with parents and other family members than he does with pack or den leaders. The parents have ample opportunities to either enhance the benefits of our program or diminish them. Which do we want?
The key, of course, is to convince parents, right from the start, that they are Akelas, that they have the abilities and the responsibilities to use the time they spend with their sons to achieve those ten purposes of Cub Scouting. Almost any of the activities that families engage in can relate back to Cub Scout ideals and methods. Whenever we can accomplish this, we greatly multiply our power to help the boy grow. Cub Scouting then, is no longer just one hour a week, but becomes as much time each boy spends with his family. This is a huge improvement over what we can accomplish by ourselves..
We leaders must take on the job of selling this concept to parents as soon as their sons join. Fast Start, Parent Meetings, face-to-face interviews, messages delivered in ceremonies, newsletters and web sites all can be used effectively to get parents on board. The Scout Parents Unit Coordinator Fast Start on E-Learning and the Scout Parents web site have more good ideas. We really want parents to understand the purposes and Character Connections in our program and then use them in every day life.
The Yankee Clipper Council gives this advice to parents:
As you learn more about how Cub Scouting works and what goes on in a den and a pack, you will see that the program helps your boy in these five important developmental needs.
The uniqueness of Cub Scouting is that you, as his family, join the program with your boy. You will help him all along the way.
Cub Scouting and Your Family
Getting parents involved is not an easy task for leaders to do. It takes planning, a total commitment of the pack leadership, and often an unbelievable amount of patience to pull it off. For some leaders, it will take a complete turn around in attitude. It’s so easy to treat parents as uncooperative Philistines looking for baby sitting. Yes, parents are busy and have all sorts of competing priorities but they also love their kids and want them to get the best out whatever they do. We have a great program of ethical education mixed with fun and adventure. It’s our job as leaders to convince parents that Cub Scouting has wonderful tools for them to use with their Cub Scout sons.
Parents do not have to change much of what they do in order to make it Cub Scouting. Just be aware of what Cub Scouting really is about and make it part of the conversations they have with their sons.
It’s a tough job but the rewards for the boys are so great that we should never hesitate to do our best to make it work.
The only things that can stop us are arrogance, ignorance and laziness.
And we’re not going to let that happen, are we?
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Good Plans Make Strong Packs.
Here are some things to consider in your planning.
Keep your pack financially sound. Make sure you plan a budget at the same time. Ensure that you have a full financial team: your treasurer, money raising chair, pop-corn chair and Friends of Scouting representative. Encourage them to work as a team.
Plan your roundup. You will need a roundup chair, and probably a new Tiger Den Leader or two. Who will check with the schools or church where you recruit to set the dates for school visits and roundup nights. Assign several people to attend the District Roundup Kickoff ( usually in late August.) The more who attend, the better chances you will have to recruit the leaders you will need next fall.
Plan a special event for every month. A visit, a party, a service project . These maintain excitement from month to month and take a load off den leaders. Assign one or more parents (NOT den leaders) to head up each event. A successful method is to allow parents to choose the month and event on a first-come-first-served basis. Their jobs are to arrange the details, set up any transportation needed, process tour permits and lead the event. These are once-a-year jobs that shouldn’t overtax most parents, but are very important to the success of your pack’s program.
Don’t let anyone leave until every boy has a parent doing something important for his pack. Every boy should have the chance to be proud of his mom or dad.
Invent jobs if you have to. Announce (with appropriate fanfare) all the names at your next pack meeting and print your schedule - with names - in your pack news letter or web site. If you don’t have either, there is another job!
Save a few jobs for the parents you will recruit in September.
Planning for Success
What does success mean? What will make your pack successful in the eyes of you and your fellow leaders. I surely can’lt tell you and neither can your Commissioner or your DE. Choosing your goals is totally up to you and your people.
What do you want for your pack this coming year? Do you want more advancement or more camping? Maybe it’s better parent participation or more assistant leaders or Den Chiefs. Some packs may want exciting pack meetings or just more meaningful ceremonies. Others may want better retention or more Webelos going on to Boy Scouts. How about earning a Summertime Pack Award or becoming a Quality Unit? What will satisfy your gang?
Setting goals is important. If you all agree on where your pack is heading, it makes it a lot easier to get there.
Planning to Reach Success
What will it take to reach these goals? Start with resources: people, Program helps, Cub Scout How-To Book, Council and Chartered Organization calendars, Guide to Safe Scouting and any other favorite tools.
Here are some of the questions asked at the Root River District Roundtable in the Milwaukee County Council:
Themes
Themes can make your pack and den programs easier and more fun. They can trigger ideas for ceremonies, skits, costumes, and activities. A theme provides structure and continuity for an entire month’s program. A huge advantage of using the recommended themes is that you will find a lot of support in Program Helps, Boy’s Life, and your district Roundtable.
Remember themes are there to support your pack and den activities. If you feel that the theme is restricting the fun and excitement then that one isn’t working for you. Choose themes with care. Not all themes work for all packs in all months nor in all parts of the country. When I visited a Roundtable in Florida, I was surprised to learn that planning good summertime programs involved more discussion of air-conditioned bowling alleys that good outdoor locations. They preferred to camp in January and I could hardly blame them. A good theme should excite the boys and stimulate lots of imaginative activities amongst the leaders. Don’t be afraid to juggle the schedule to fit your weather, your boys and your community.
And not every activity has to be theme oriented. I am often disappointed by efforts to mess up a good fun Cub Scout song by rewriting the words to fit the current theme.
Activities
Good packs have lots of special activities: Service projects, tours and visits, hikes, and campouts. What are the good nearby places? I enjoy surfing pack websites and I am continually amazed at the variety and quality of the pack activities I see in their pack calendars and photo galleries.
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Training Tips
Training Tips
Cub Scouting Communication
Good communication has always been essential in making the Cub Scout program successful. Our Cubmasters and den leaders get a constant flow of program ideas. They are the perpetual consumers of new games, projects, ceremonies, places to go and what to do. Running a pack or a den is not entirely intuitive; one usually needs help. Even if you start with a good supply of wondrous plans, it is amazing just how quickly the well runs dry and you are off to Roundtables, Pow Wows and anywhere else you can learn a new skit or magic trick.
Monthly Roundtables continue to be the best venue for communicating program information to Cubmasters and den leaders. They provide the most effective media for getting the Cub Scouting program to the packs. When you attend a Roundtable, you employ more of your senses; you hear things, you see things, you do things. You experience the fun of games, the awe of ceremonies, and the satisfaction of acquiring a new skill. And it happens every month in each district so the information is timely and local.
At least that’s the way it should be.
I would guess that many of us have gone to one or more Roundtables where these hardly happened at all. I have sat through some long boring series of announcements, harangues and diatribes by pompous district officials, wondering all the time, if this is the way we are supposed to punish our Cub Scouts.
I have also gone to great Roundtables filled with exciting and informative events where everything I experienced served as models for just how pack and den meetings should be.
Also many — maybe most — good Cub Scout program ideas originate in packs and dens. Somehow these ideas need to reach other leaders. Someone needs to collect them and then communicate them to a central point and then reverse the information flow back to the rest of the Cub Scout universe.
How Does It Really Work?
Many years ago, I served as a member of a national Cub Scouting task force looking into the effectiveness of communication in our program. We looked into how information flows through the various levels, the committees and such, to reach the people who needed it and used it. A lot of our work focused on how den leaders and others in Cub Packs got the program. Did they get it from books or other publications or from people? If from people, then how did those folks get it? As best we could, we followed the trail back to its source, usually, but not always, to some national committee.
We learned that good old Program Helps was the most reliable source that pack leaders used. It was a direct channel from National and despite the limited size and long (almost a full year) lead time, Cubmasters, den leaders, RT staff and Commissioners cited it as their prime source of program ideas.
We were dismayed to learn that very little of use got to the same people via the official channels of their councils — either from the Scout Exec’s packet or from the Region Offices. A lot of information started that way but much seemed to get lost as it filtered through the various levels of council and district organizations. We also found that there was very little reverse flow unless someone deliberately visited packs to see what good stuff was going on.
Another surprise was that lots of information flowed through a sort of good-old-boy network formed by associations formed at Cub Scout Wood Badge and, to a lesser extent, at Philmont Training Courses. It seemed that friendships that originated there spanned council and even region boundaries. As more and more district Cub Scouters attended these courses, it was amazing to see how few degrees of separation existed between many den leaders and members of national committees. Many unit people could call on a district worker who was part of the network and were themselves in contact with someone on a National group. Telephone communication was rampant. Information flow was quick and surprisingly accurate.
“Sunday’s on the phone to Monday, Tuesday’s on the phone to me.”
© P. McCartney.
When Wood Badge changed from a regional to a local council affair, this network began to fade. People changed, contacts faded and this process lost its importance.
Enter the Internet
Scouting discovered the internet around 1990. Forums, such as Scouts_L, were active and gradually attracted Cub Scouters. Later that decade more forums dedicated to Cub Scouting began to appear on AOL, Yahoo and other sites. These quickly replaced the good-old-boy network as resources where leaders could ask a question and quickly get and answer. The forums were often monitored by knowledgeable Scouters from all Scouting levels who helped regulate the tone and accuracy of discussions.
Forums were also efficient at two way communication and have effectively solved the problems of spreading ideas that originate in even the remotest packs or dens.
Large web sites like USSSP emerged to provide all sorts of great ideas, categorized and sortable to make searching easy, and support to various parts of the program. About the same time, many local councils and units also developed their own web sites. Significant among these was Baloo’s Bugle started by Chris Reisel as a district Cub Scout Roundtable service.
The National organization slowly joined the cyber world, first with Scoutnet and then with a quiet web site offering limited information and little interactive service. In the last few years, this has markedly changed. We now have online training and Program Helps, podcasts such as Cubcast, Scoutstuff, and charter renewals. Scouting Community is a recent addition to the growing National menu of online services. This is a service a bit similar to Facebook or Twitter but limited to BSA members. With already some 16,000 members, it is scheduled to end its test phase as I write this and become part of the official BSA communication service. If you haven’t yet, register.
But We Still Need Roundtables
No written or online communication can replace Roundtables. Nothing beats getting together with real people, singing real songs, playing real games and having real discussions. Could you possibly imagine online den meetings or pack meetings that exist only on paper?
No, we need face-to-face Roundtables to serve as models for face-to-face Cub Scout meetings.
But Roundtables need to improve. There are reasons why so many Roundtables fail to properly serve our Cub Packs. Here are some things that might help.
Local Councils must provide better training for Cub Scout RT Commissioners and staff. The people who put on the shows have to know and buy into the Roundtable mission. There is a solid, useable training manual that, unfortunately, is rarely implemented. If we want pack and den meetings to improve, we must select strong communicators and then train them to put on Roundtables that meet the critical needs of our den and pack leaders.
District leadership must stop using Roundtables as opportunities to grandstand their own personal agendas. The RT serves the unit leaders: the den leaders and Cubmasters. It’s not there to sell popcorn, promote FOS or conduct other district business. Key3 members are often too lazy to use other available tools and see the RT as a convenient shortcut at the expense of unit leaders’ time and effort.
National needs to beef up its Roundtable support. When I visit roundtables around the country, the magic words are Baloo’s Bugle. Dave, and Chris before him, have put out this service almost single-handedly for more than a dozen years now to the delight and appreciation of a thousand or more RT staffs. There is no reason why National can not provide a similar service to its people. The Roundtable Guide should be online and the online versions of both it and Program Helps should be expanded with full archives going back decades, lots of links and search capabilities. Disc space and bandwidth are cheap these days — there is no need to limit the size as it is with the paper editions. RT staffs want items like games, ceremonies and clip art that they can copy and paste into handouts and Power Point presentations. Why isn’t the Cub Scout Song Book online with mp3 or midi audio? These are things National could supply.
I am overjoyed to see the improvements that National and local councils are making to improve communication. I know that it is a tough job with all sorts of complex channels and media to explore. The people who make the decisions and allocate the funding will need lots of cooperation and advice. Not everything they try will work the way they want it to. Yet I’m very optimistic!
On the other hand, I’m growing old and feeble and I’d really like see the day when my own web site is no more needed nor visited. So let’s start communicating.
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Training Tips
Training Tips
Cub Scout Cooking
When we think of Cub Scout or even Boy Scout cooking, we usually thing of how they do it — grilling stuff over a fire, roasting marshmallows, firing up dutch ovens and other exotic techniques. However chefs would tell you that much of their efforts entail using those three essentials of food preparation:
If you can’t handle those basic documents, producing meals become a problem.
A short time ago my wife, Shirley, and I were invited to help staff a B.A.L.O.O. training in nearby Fort Gatlin District. Training Chairman Corb Sarchet wanted us to help out with the lunch and also handle the cooking demo in the Round Robin in the afternoon. We hadn’t worked on a BALOO in some years so we got the latest manual (not many changes, we noticed) and buckled down to get ready.
The 10th Purpose of Cub Scouting
Now I am a big advocate that learning to cook is an important part of that last aim of Cub Scouting: Preparation for Boy Scouts. The experiences a boy can learn by completing his requirements and electives in the Tiger, Wolf, Big Bear and Webelos programs will do him in good stead when he joins a troop. Cooking and especially eating on a camp out is important.
When I was a Scoutmaster, we welcomed Webelos into our troop. They understood and followed Scouting ideals, they were familiar with advancement and, of course, we loved getting parents who were used to helping out.
It was an added plus if the boys could cook. In their troop, the Scouts I was with did all the meal preparation. The patrols planned their menus, bought the food, prepared it and ate as patrols. We adults tended to contribute to the costs, and we then participated as guests.
Menus
For BALOO, our first step was to plan our menu for the demonstration. We decided to feature foods boys were most likely to want to eat: pizzas, banana boats, baked apples, and also to throw in a couple of simple challenges: baked potatoes and scrambled eggs. The pizza and banana boats — kid-friendly food — turned out to be hits.
Menus get pretty good treatment in Cub Scouts starting with Tiger Elective 25: make a snack and share it with your family or den. This is just a simple job of listing a couple choice items, but it’s a start. It gets more complex in Wolf Requirement 8: a boy helps plan a full meal and, we hope, employs his knowledge of the food pyramid while doing it.
Making lists of what we will be eating is another aspect of good planning. Cub Scouts should get lots of practice in this important skill. Choose foods kids like so that cooking and meal preparation is popular and fun.
The important point of making a menu is to visualize the end result of the whole cooking deal — to set down in writing the goals of the job ahead. When Boy Scouts go camping they need to answer the question: What are we going to eat out there? If they fail to plan ahead then eating becomes something of a problem.
Recipes
Just listing an item in a menu is a far cry from making it suddenly appear. Going from menus to recipes — listing each ingredient and then all the preparation and cooking instructions is a learned skill.
For BALOO, Shirley and I turned each of our menu items into individual recipes. The pizza recipe in the BALOO handout called for ingredients like English muffins, pepperoni, sauce, cheeses and various vegetables. It also described how to prepare the ingredients — slice, the muffin, spread the sauce, slice the veggies etc. Then it called for a “drug store wrap” in foil and cooking over hot coals for a specified time. There are lots of details never mentioned in the menu here.
By the time a Cub Scout graduates from Webelos, he should have lots of experience going from menus to recipes. Bear requirement 9 (What’s Cooking?) alone is full of opportunities. By then he should becoming familiar with terms like mix, slice, chop and blend. He should know the differences between fry, bake grill and simmer, and have a nodding acquaintance with measurements like cup, tsp, pinch and quart.
A lot of this learning should be done in the family kitchen before he tries if outside. Scouts who have learned to cook at home have much less grief cooking on a camp out.
Most of all though, he should understand the importance of organizing the workplace. Most menus list all the ingredients and even the utensils before getting to the instructions. This makes organizing easier. Have everything set and ready — what chefs refer to as mise en place. It makes following the recipe a lot less troublesome especially when cooking outdoors over a fire.
Shopping Lists
Teach boys to shop. It’s an important skill that will be useful life long — starting in Boy Scouts.
Not too long ago I ran into one of our neighborhood Webelos dens at our local supermarket. Near the front of the store, the two leaders stood observing the antics of their charges but the boys were doing all the work. They were pushing two carts around loading them up with provisions for an upcoming camping adventure. I watched them comparing prices, reading ingredient lists and debating the merits of various brands. These boys will do well in the troop they join.
Turning menus and recipes into a shopping list isn’t easy. Like other skills it requires proper demonstrations, good coaching and lots of practice. Parents should be taking their Cub Scout sons shopping, especially for those items to be used for Tiger Elective 25, Wolf requirement 8 and Bear requirement 9. Help them prepare the shopping lists — What do we already have? What do we need? How much?
The Scout troop I worked with never ate in a dining hall at camp. They always cooked and ate as patrols. Occasionally they attended a camp where food was supplied but mostly they bought their own. Going shopping with them before a long term camp was fun — something between a circus and an episode of Good Eats — without Alton Brown.
Sure they made mistakes, purchasing wrong items, forgetting essentials but they were good cooks and could improvise. I remember one patrol that discovered out on the Appellation Trail that there was no syrup for their pancakes. Just plain forgot. One enterprising Scout suggested they make their own out of hot water, sugar and Tang! It turned out to be a pretty good substitute.
It is a real joy to camp with Scouts who can cook. Patrols often develop their own specialties — one I recall that regularly did roast beef with Yorkshire pudding in a dutch oven. There was at least one Scout who turned out soufflés over a fire. He would do it at our family picnics just to amaze the adults.
So make it a point to teach your Cub Scouts and Webelos to cook. Cook things as dens and encourage parents to do it at home. Many packs hold cake baking festivals for the boys. Pack campouts are always opportunities for some outdoors cooking. It will be a valuable skill for any boy to acquire and will make his Boy Scout experience more fun and more valuable. And, as celebrity chef Alton Brown says:
“A culinary talent I skillfully used later as a way to get dates in college.”
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Training Tips
Training Tips
The annual gathering of pack leaders to establish next year’s program is about to start in the next few months. Most packs choose the themes, Webelos Activity Badges and pack events they will use for the next 12 months at this meeting. There are lots of resources to help leaders do this so they can plan for their pack’s needs:
These cover the what, how and when very well. What follows here is mostly why we do it. What good happens when we follow these steps?
Packs run better with a planned program.
The leaders make better use of resources, are better prepared and are more comfortable in their jobs. Meetings are better prepared and boys have more fun. More leaders are recruited and more of them get fully trained.
There is more support from parents and more advancement. You are more likely to achieve the purposes of Cub Scouting and make Cub Scouting more fun and exciting for the boys. Packs that plan well are more likely to earn Quality recognition.
Get more adults involved.
Jamie Niss Dunn writes:
Make as many assignments as possible to those responsible for conducting & contributing to these events. — Know who will chair your fundraisers, special events and outings. Make every effort to ensure that no den leader has a job other than leading their den.
When activities and events are planned ahead for the year, you can assign much of the preparation to individuals or groups of parents. For example, designating two or three people in July to plan the Blue and Gold Banquet in February should not be difficult. Getting Activity Badge help for Webelos leaders should be a priority
The planning chart in Program Helps fails to provide space for listing responsibility. On your planning chart make sure that names are listed for every event and activity. If you don’t, responsibility will default to the wrong people: the den leaders and the Cubmaster. This is not the way to run a Cub Pack.
Provide a list of expenses that affect the budget.
A Cub Scout Pack’s Annual Budget Plan:
What is the “ideal year of Cub Scouting” plan? It is implementing the elements of a complete annual Cub Scouting program for youth, committing as a pack to incorporate these elements, and then providing adequate funding for them.
It is difficult to plan a budget if you don’t know what you are going to do. A well financed pack provides funding for materials and activities throughout the year. It provides the money to re-register on time and, more importantly, knows just from where all this income will come.
What fund raising programs will be needed? Who will be in charge?
Den leaders get a schedule of themes and events.
Jamie Niss Dunn writes:
For instance, make sure each den has an assignment for each pack meeting.
BSA in Cub Scout Den Meetings writes:
Tiger Cub, Cub Scout, and Webelos dens may be asked to present skits or demonstrations at the pack meeting. These can be pantomimes, sketches, or short plays. The main purpose of skits is for the boys—and the audience—to have fun. But as boys practice performing in these informal skits, their confidence and leadership skills begin to develop as well.
Den leaders need to know what themes, what activities and what assignments are coming up so they can plan and line up parents and other resources. Remember: more Cub Scouting takes place in the den meetings than in the pack meetings. Your program plan must serve the dens’ needs as well.
Make your den assignments fit the perceived needs of the dens. Tiger dens’ Go See Its and Webelos camping activities may not work well if they must compete with pack events and activities. Try to work with the den leaders to make your schedules fit in with each other’s needs.
Provide a schedule of events for use at Roundup.
Jamie Shearer said:
You can say, “Here is our monthly plan for the next twelve months.”
When families come shopping for a program for their boys this fall, they will want to know what they are buying into. Concerned parents are used to reading the list of ingredients in what they are getting and this will also apply to your pack’s program. Let them know with a brochure that lists all your Cub Scouting events for the coming year. It makes an attractive handout for your fall recruiting rally.
And, since the future of your pack depends upon it, you should be planning your fall recruiting campaign right now. Who will be doing the key jobs like contacting the schools, getting flyers distributed, selling the program to parents and recruiting new leaders?
Better coordination with council, district, school and CO schedules.
Moore County Dist., Occoneechee Council advises:
You can say, “Here is our monthly plan for the next twelve months.”
Gather district, council, community, and chartered organization dates for events that will affect the [unit].
Make sure that your pack’s big activities or events are not going to be on the same dates as other activities that leaders, boys and their families may attend. There is no need to give boys unnecessarily tough choices. Just be aware of the possibilities and plan the best calendar that gives the boys challenges and fun.
Right now, your and other leaders in your pack should start preparing for your Planning Conference. Start gathering the resources, the books, guides and calendars. Pick a place, a date and time and start promoting a fun-filled conference
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Training Tips
Training Tips
Pow Wows and Universities of Scouting.
These are some of the most powerful forces in shaping what goes on in our packs and dens. Although both names are used for these training events and a few have even other names, I am going to just use Pow Wow here to refer to all of them. It’s simpler that way.
What Is A Pow Wow?
These training workshops for Cubmasters, den leaders, pack committee people and all those who guide and assist them have, for many years, provided the best interactive, hands-on training for a lot of our most successful Cub Scouters. Pow Wows and their kin provide a full day of great ideas for Cub Scout leaders. They vary a bit from council to council but most provide five or six sessions of hands-on training on how to make den and pack programs take off and fly high. Each session runs about an hour long and there is usually a break for lunch. Dave and I both hope that your council puts on a great Pow Wow each year.
Why Should You Go To One?
I have attended Pow Wows across the country from coast to coast and from the Great Lakes to the Gulf, and have worked on more than two dozens of them. I am continually amazed at how good they are and what effects they have on both new and experienced leaders.
If you have never gone to one of these events, you truly have missed out on one of the best Scouting parties you can possibly imagine.
Just read this blog entry by Candace, a den leader who had just returned from her first Cub Scout Pow Wow.
I just got back from the most amazing fun filled informational day ever! I got to go to Cub Scout Pow Wow with my Assistant Den Leader and the Webelos Den Leader and a Committee Chair member. We carpooled over together and had such a blast visiting on the way and back home again. I took all kinds of great classes like Wood crafts, edible crafts, crafts on a budget, skits and run-ons, Cub Scout science and awards for scouts and leaders. I even won a canteen at the end of the day! Woohoo! I got some great ideas for day camp this coming summer and I am so excited!
I can still vividly remember the first one that I attended. I came away feeling much the same way.
POW WOWS Help Leaders
Good Pack Trainers make sure that their leadership attends. Do it like Candace did. Go as a group and car-pool. When you are there, split up and cover as many different sessions as you possibly can manage. You will get to meet a bunch of special people: den leaders, Cubmasters, assistants, Commissioner and others — all who work hard to help kids grow into valuable adults. It’s like a Mini-Philmont right in your own council.
I remember a conversation I had with the Field Director of a large metropolitan council. He told me about a focus group their council ran with some den leaders who had just completed their first year in the program. Although they all had competed training: Fast Start, NLE and CS Leader Specific, the consensus was that they really didn’t understand what they were doing until they went to Pow Wow. It was like a great door had been opened for them to reveal a treasure trove of opportunities.
There are several things that make Pow Wows popular and effective.
At lunch breaks I like to sit with a bunch of brand new leaders — especially ones from another district — and listen to their observations. There’s almost always an aura of excitement at the table as they exchange stories of what they have learned to do and how they are going to use it all in their dens and packs.
Are You Ready to Help?
If you have gone to Pow Wows a few times and enjoyed them, start thinking about giving back some value by volunteering to work on the next one. It’s a rewarding experience.
I know. I’ve done all sorts of jobs on Pow Wows from setting up before and cleaning up after, serving lunch, leading songs, publicity, handling registration to working on the Pow Wow Book. I have taught Ceremonies, Craft, Pack Administration, Games, Den Chief Workshop and more. Once they even let me run the whole thing. Each time, I had fun, met a lot of interesting Cub Scouters and came away feeling that I had really helped boys. If you want to learn a bit more about what needs to be done, check into my page — Building a Pow Wow.
The experience and knowledge gained through leading fun-filled Cub Scout programs or successful administration becomes a valuable commodity. New leaders need you to share what you have learned.
There are all sorts of jobs that need to be done to make your council’s Pow Wow successful. Besides teaching a session, there is also a need for people to fill many jobs that go on at other times. The Scouters who work on promotion, registration, lunch, the Book/CD, Opening and Closing, and other things can usually attend sessions as well.
You can usually find out who is running your next Pow Wow just by asking your District Training Chair or Roundtable Commissioner. Let them know in advance that you are interested in working on the next one. It can take up to six months to prepare for a large event so they will be looking for help early.
A CD or Book
An added dividend at most Pow Wows is the CD or Book that comes with them. I know that Dave gets a lot of great ideas for the Bugle from Pow Wow Books from all over the country. He is always looking for more. Leaders have been known to go the Philmont Training Center with a suit case full of Pow Wow books to trade. When I first started my Cub Scout Roundtable website, I was fortunate to have a half-dozen old books and then found Pow Wow Rom one of the first Pow Wow CDs. These resources proved invaluable for coming up with different ideas.
Kevin Dobbins of Hillsboro, Missouri is collecting Pow Wow books to scan, OCR and preserve on CDs. Check out his National Archive of Pow Wow Books, and don’t miss his History of Pow Wows that includes a 1939 Pow Wow Book. Kevin writes:
Pow Wow Books represent the collective knowledge and experience of thousands of Cub Scout Leaders who have “been there, done that”. I have found ceremonies, skits, songs, cheers, crafts, games, etc. for every occasion for my Scouts within these books. Even the older books (pre-’90s) are valuable. I’ve “recycled” many ideas from the 1970’s, and brought them back to the present. Some of the material may be dated, but it is easier to update, than to create from scratch.
So save those books and CDs. When you’re finished with them, send them to Dave or Kevin so they can keep us supplied with all this wonderful information. Or, I suppose, you could always bestow them on some newly recruited leader, or just sell them on eBay.
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Training Tips
Training Tips
Every child should feel safe: no monsters under the bed, no bullies or predators lying in wait, no cruelty, no rejection, and no intolerance.
Every child deserves a Safe Haven.
Our dens and our packs must provide this to each boy. He must always feel welcome, respected, and safe whenever he enters into our meetings and events. No exception is permissible.
A Special Place
The following is from an earlier Scoutmaster’s Manual and has been often reprinted in Scouting venues.
Scouting is a special place. The rules are the ones we know well: the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. We create a safe haven in Scouting, a place where everyone should feel physically and emotionally secure. We do this in several ways:
We set the example for ourselves and others by behaving as Scouts should. We live by the Scout Oath and Law each moment of each day, to the best of our abilities.
We refuse to tolerate any kind of inappropriate put-down, name-calling or physical aggression.
We communicate our acceptance of each participant and each other through expressions of concern for them and by showing our appreciation whenever possible.
We create an environment based on learning and fun. We seek the best from each participant, and we do our best to help him achieve it.
When Dave Lyons added this to a Training Tip years ago, he emphasized that rules implicit the Cub Scout Promise and the Law of the Pack were just as viable. It equally applies to Cub Scouting as well.
Just how can we turn our dens, our packs, our schools and even our homes into these safe havens? How do we recognize and then eliminate the conditions and situations that cause fear, intimidation or rejection? Like many other aspects, it takes commitment, planning and perseverance by all of us.
Start At The Top
We must start by recognizing that establishing quality is a top-down process. The Pack Committee, top leadership and even the Chartered Organization people must work together to get it off the ground. These are the adults who must show the example by behaving as Scouts should.
Buy-in By All
It is important that every leader – indeed every parent – in the pack agrees to our plan to make our pack a safe haven. That we will faithfully follow the rules in The Guide To Safe Scouting, and that we will do our best to ensure that each Cub Scout feels welcome, safe and secure
They need to make scouts feel:
Once they agree that our pack and our dens will be safe havens and then act that way, things are off and running.
Choice of Activities
Scouting events need to provide a friendly, cheerful and affirming environment for ALL scouts. In our own conduct we must avoid unnecessary roughness, physical and verbal threats, foul language, and disrespect, and we should not tolerate such behavior by others. Cub Scouting should be fun, it should build character, and it should give scouts opportunities to gain confidence and self-respect by their successes.
Avoiding negative behavior is not enough. We need to look for ways to make every boy feel welcome and respected. To see that all Cubs feel included and are encouraged by their involvement with the pack we can —
Adapted from Jery Stedinger, Troop 2,
Baden-Powell Council; www.Scoutmaster.org
Communication Is Important.
The better that the families in each den and in the entire pack know each other, the easier it is to establish safe havens. If you know a boy and know his family, you are more likely to watch out for him and keep him safe. He is more likely to trust you and come to you for help. Activities that bring families together — like Blue and Gold Banquets, pack picnics and campouts — foster good communication channels. When you plan these events, look for ways to mix families so they get to meet different people and get to know each other. Just knowing a boy by name encourages a certain guardian relationship. This is another good reason to always emphasize his name when honoring a Cub Scout in a pack ceremony.
Know Your Children’s Friends
Parents must be vigilant. You have to be aware of who your children associate with both in and out of school. One of the huge benefits of Cub Scouting is that parents are forced to meet and communicate with other neighborhood parents which puts you one good step ahead. After a year in Tigers, two Cub Scout and two Webelos years, parents should feel comfortable checking with each other on all sorts of subjects that concern them. These relations can be invaluable to parents as their kids enter the teen years.
Den Codes of Conduct are Essential Tools.
Boys feel more secure when things are orderly and routine. It is important that Cubs not only are safe but that they also feel safe. Your den Code of Conduct should do just that. It should have a lot of boy-input so they feel ownership and should also address interpersonal relations that may be intimidating or threatening. At every den meeting a boy should be able to say,
“I’m safe, I’m with friends, I’m having fun, and I belong.”
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Training Tips
Training Tips
Celebrate the Occasion
Our ceremonies often observe the importance of an event. We need to stop what we are doing and reflect on the moment. Ask: Why is this time important? What really happened? What does it mean to us?
The range of events we celebrate this way is expansive from simple, personal to profound and universal. A ceremony can mark the opening of a den meeting: The fun is about to start! A Blue and Gold banquet acclaims: Scouting is one hundred years old! Special times like Memorial Day and the Fourth of July extol our heritage and history.
We stop doing our usual routines and honor something of value in our lives. We gather together, we hold a ceremony for the occasion. These moments are special and contribute to the meaning and spirit of our lives.
Ritual replaces our normal-day discourse and activities in these ceremonies. Reciting the Cub Scout Promise at a den meeting, singing the Star Spangled Banner or Take Me Out To The Ball Game at MLB games and throwing the bouquet at a wedding are just some of the rituals we use at these special times. They are important and we should do our best to punctuate our ceremonies with rituals that instruct and inspire.
Each pack and each den will have its own set of rituals that make Cub Scouting and its character connections part of a boy’s life. Families too have their own rituals, like those described by Michael Gurian in Scouting Magazine.
Protect your family rituals like they are gold.
We Recognize the Person
Our ceremonies acknowledge the importance and value of the individual. Ceremonies are formal opportunities to present awards and honors to Cub Scouts who have worked hard for them. Ceremonies are your chance to praise a boy’s work in front of his parents, his friends and even in front of strangers, thus making him the focus of attention for a short, but significant period of time. At the same time ceremonies encourage other Cub Scouts to complete their own programs. The key to any and all Cub Scout ceremonies is the boy.
How often do parents get to thank and praise their sons in public?
We respect the boy’s accomplishments when we present him with rank badges and arrow points. We use ceremonies to show how much we appreciate the fact that he is here with us. We call out his name and repeat it more than once during those few second he is in the spotlight. It’s the boy we applaud, not the badge.
I am a big fan of dramatic lighting at ceremonies. A Scout trainer once pointed out to me that a single candle in a darkened room is effective because there is nothing else to look at except what the candle illuminates. So when you use candle-lit ceremonies, make sure that the boy faces the audience and the light shines on his face so that everyone in the room can see just him. Don’t block the view. This is his moment!
We Commemorate the Importance
Our ceremonies fix the events in our memory. One of the most important aftermaths of a good ceremony is that we remember it. Years later we can recall what was done, what was said and what effect it all had on our lives. Make your ceremonies occasions to remember and treasure.
Surprising, dramatic effects help to make the ceremony memorable. Vary your methods enough each time so that you catch and hold everyone’s attention. Change the sight, sound, and atmosphere to catch your audience a bit off-guard. Both participants and the audience will pay closer attention and remember it longer.
The glow of a campfire or other lighting effects can emphasize the action and effects. Recorded sounds of nature or music add to the experience. The smell of pine boughs or wood smoke evokes strong feelings that many hold dear. Your ceremonies should trigger as many senses and communication channels as possible.
Symbols representing Scouting’s ideals are essential to make a ceremony meaningful and to perpetuate the experience. Typical are candle (fake or real) representing the spirit of Scouting and three lights standing for the critical Character Connection areas. Neckerchiefs are invitations to the outdoors and adventure. Use lots of symbols to emphasize your message.
Participation intensifies the experience. Remember that boys are happiest when they are doing things so give them something to do in their ceremonies. Using simple props like the Ceremony Ladder or the Pack Advancement Board {How-To Book, pp1-2, 1-3} where the boy moves his token to the next rank work well.
Packs that tie their ceremonies to the monthly themes have lots of opportunities to surprise their members with unique and unforgettable times. Getting your badge as pirate booty or an astronaut discovering a new planet is a lot more vivid and easier to relive than just having it handed to you. Activity badges have more impact when your ceremony ties the pins to Geology, Travel etc. You may recall those spectacular Run-On awards of Kriste Ryan we related in the October 2007 Bugle. It’s worth the time to go back and read it again.
The Tiger Cub Scout who pops a balloon to discover that it contains his Bobcat Badge will remember that night. So will the graduating Webelos who is greeted at the far end of the bridge by Boy Scouts holding a troop neckerchief.
Career Arrow -1967
Scout and Guide Spirit Flame
There was a great Scouting Ceremony two years ago that lasted several months and that involved thousands of people.
February 22, 2007 marked the 150th anniversary of the birth of Scouting’s founder: Robert Baden-Powell. On that day, several thousand Scouts and Guides from around the world assembled at his grave site in Nyeri, Kenya where a torch was lit.
The flame was carried by Scouts and Guides through Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Greece, Italy, France, Belgium and finally the UK to arrive on Brownsea Island, UK on the eve of Scouting’s Sunrise. After the Sunrise celebrations on 1 August 2007, the flame continued onwards to the 21st World Scout Jamboree.
The flame that traveled from Africa was used to light a campfire that burned through the night, marking the passing of the first 100 years of the Scout movement.
I would imagine that most of those who walked from BP’s home to his grave site, or lit the Spirit Flame, or carried the torch or who tended the campfire were moved by the experience and will remember it for years to come.
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Training Tips
Training Tips
