It's been a long, long time since I was in Cub Scouts. My 8 year old just joined the scouts, and of course during the recruitment meeting, a plea from the senior leaders saying there was not enough den leaders and would someone please volunteer, if not, they wouldn't be able to start up a new den, and all our kids looked at the parents disappointed. I had no problem with volunteering. I'm active duty Army, and the pack is located on an Army post, so all the kids are military dependents.... my neighbors and co-workers kids.
Well, trying to brush up on my old knowledge of Scouting, I keep coming across the term "Akela". I don't remember ever hearing this when I was a kid, so I start to do some research, and in some of the stuff I find on the net, Akela is referred to as a leader within the pack, or school, or family (Mom and Dad). The phrase used in the Law of the Pack made me raise an eyebrow though ... "The Cub Scout follows Akela." Wasn't there a better way to phrase this? It seems to me that this is used in a singular voice to reference a person or thing, not a title as in an authority figure. Ok. Then I start reading some transition ceremony stuff from Cubs to Webelos and Webelos to Boy Scouts... and time and time again when I run across the term Akela... it's almost used in a way as to address a "Great Warrior Spirit" or something other than the leader conducting the ceremony which obviously got me worried. Can anyone shed any light on this for me.
New to Scouting Again ...... Akela???
in New to Scouting?
Posted
Hello all,
It's been a long, long time since I was in Cub Scouts. My 8 year old just joined the scouts, and of course during the recruitment meeting, a plea from the senior leaders saying there was not enough den leaders and would someone please volunteer, if not, they wouldn't be able to start up a new den, and all our kids looked at the parents disappointed. I had no problem with volunteering. I'm active duty Army, and the pack is located on an Army post, so all the kids are military dependents.... my neighbors and co-workers kids.
Well, trying to brush up on my old knowledge of Scouting, I keep coming across the term "Akela". I don't remember ever hearing this when I was a kid, so I start to do some research, and in some of the stuff I find on the net, Akela is referred to as a leader within the pack, or school, or family (Mom and Dad). The phrase used in the Law of the Pack made me raise an eyebrow though ... "The Cub Scout follows Akela." Wasn't there a better way to phrase this? It seems to me that this is used in a singular voice to reference a person or thing, not a title as in an authority figure. Ok. Then I start reading some transition ceremony stuff from Cubs to Webelos and Webelos to Boy Scouts... and time and time again when I run across the term Akela... it's almost used in a way as to address a "Great Warrior Spirit" or something other than the leader conducting the ceremony which obviously got me worried. Can anyone shed any light on this for me.
Thanks.