Newbie Den Leader

QUOTE: Personally I would like to see the BSA completely drop religion and become wholly secular. If you take this position, be prepared to get rid of all references to Native American religions that speak of the Great Spirit or spirits. This would not bother me at all because Indian Lore and Indian religions are not fundamental purposes of Scouting. I can hear groans from OA members right now. Im not being disrespectful, just being consistent. The amount of religiosity allowed in the Boy Scouts is determined by each Troop and its chartering organization. Many Troops are basical

"...Baden-Powell Scouting, based on the progressive spiritual views of Baden-Powell and his father, and free minds will follow." Wasn't it Baden-Powell that said that the Scout Law was "Applied Christianity"? What do you mean by progressive? Progressive could mean that a person actually applies that the Scout Oath and Law to their life rather than just rote memorization.

Bobanon, I would say that you meet the BSA requirement for "God". What concerns me is you say there "may be" a higher power and not "there is". As long as you can say "duty to God" and believe it, then there is no violation of BSA policy or your own conscience. The BSA does not define who God is, that is up to you. 21st century? The Scout Law is derived from biblical teaching, especially the 10 commandments. It has been said that The Scout Law is basically Christianity applied (walk the walk, not talk the talk). I'm a Christian with strong convictions about who God is and who he

Bobanon, I would say that you meet the BSA requirement for "God". What concerns me is you say there "may be" a higher power and not "there is". As long as you can say "duty to God" and believe it, then there is no violation of BSA policy or your own conscience. The BSA does not define who God is, that is up to you. 21st century? The Scout Law is derived from biblical teaching, especially the 10 commandments. It has been said that The Scout Law is basically Christianity applied (walk the walk, not talk the talk). I'm a Christian with strong convictions about who God is and who he

Here's another good resource that sorts by religion/denomination: http://usscouts.org/awards/religadult.html Also the national website www.scouting.org has information. It's a little harder find, but it's there. Just do a search within the website.

QUOTE: What kinds of motivations should disqualify an adult leader candidate? A person who is not a servant-leader. They are good at reciting the Scout Law, but there is little evidence of it in their deeds.

It would be a blessing to my Pack to have experienced leaders return to help out. Packs are often led by the parents and often they are inexperienced and need guidance. Experienced scout leaders that want to give back to a Pack for no other reason than for the love of Scouting should be welcomed. Of course, you will need to understand what his/her motivation is for wanting to serve. If they are basically "pure" motives with an attitude to serve the Scouts and the parents, then take him. Leaders like these can provide great training for the Pack.

In our Pack, rank advancement is not required for the B&G, but it's certainly encouraged and gives a target date that the Den Leaders can shoot for. We structured our den meetings so the boys could earn their Wolf badge by B&G in February. Most of them made it, some did not. Now, the boys are free to work on their electives and belt loops to their hearts desire.

QUOTE: "Wow, I didn't realize there were Packs that actually had committee members who weren't also leaders! Must be nice! In the 7 years that my family has been involved with our Pack, most leaders have had to take on a second position..." This sounds like my Pack and we're a pretty good Pack with "trained" and caring den leaders and CM. Our CC is in-active and our COR is AWOL. We rarely have monthly Pack leader meetings because of scheduling conflicts between the leaders. Fortunately, parent involvement is very good and our Unit Commissioner is active and invloved with our needs and

QUOTE: "Start thinking long term: The goal at this stage is to have your son join a Scout Troop." You may already know this, but some do not: You can still join a Scout Troop when you turn 11, with or without Cub Scouts. I did and was a Boy Scout for 4-1/2 years. If for any reason Cub Scouts does not work out, your Son can still join a Boy Scout troop at 11 (or completes 5th grade). (This message has been edited by Newbie Den Leader)

QUOTE: "In most of the world this would be the khaki shirt and dark blue pants as designed by Baden-Powell and worn until the world-wide WOSM program popularizations in the late 1960s." This is the style I like best. These are good looking uniforms. As a Cub Scout den leader, I enjoy wearing my navy blue cotton pants with the khaki scout shirt. I did not realize I was following a Baden-Powell style. I like that! None of the other adult leaders have questioned or criticized my uniform.

We talk about the importance of the uniform and encourage them to be worn at all Den and Pack meetings. At the same time, we don't have uniform inspections and we don't single out or embarass any boy who is not in uniform. We're just glad they are at the meeting and joining us for a good time of Scouting. If a meeting is going to be "messy", then we ask that they not wear their uniforms.

Polar opposite of the traditional uniform? I don't think so. Except for some cosmetic adjustments over the decades, it's basically the same uniform my dad and grandad wore. The pants, of course, have gone through the most change in appearance. What is the traditional uniform? The military-style that was worn in the 10's and 20's? The Rockwell paintings are great and inspiring, but I have noticed that those old neckerchiefs were much too big. But hey, that was the style and they enjoyed it.

QUOTE: "Better yet, have two scouts go to each house, introduce themselves and why are there, then ask for a donation. This requires only one weekend, the scouts get to personally meet and speak with the community and have a chance to spread the good news of scouting. The scouts in turn practice communication and being friendly, courteous and kind." Eagledad, One of our Cub Scouts did exactly that and had great results. We appluaded his efforts and "thinking outside of the box". We will be trying this next year. --Jeff(This message has been edited by Newbie Den Leader)

Kudu, How the neckerchief is worn is a matter of personal preference or Troop preference. I see Scouts in my area wear them either over or under the collar. There is no evidence of the "icon" neckerchief going away that I can tell. It's a regular part of the uniforms around here. One exception is adult leaders tend to avoid them for less formal gatherings or active outdoor activities. Overall, Troops enforce them as a part of the full "Class A" uniform. --Jeff

Thanks for the good advice. I know that honest mistakes happen and will continue to happen, but I get concerned when the same mistake is repeated every year and becomes a pattern of failure. The Cub Scout Promise and Boy Scout Oath says to do my best If this is the the best this Scout unit can do, then it would be better if they did not participate in Scouting For Food. The community will not take Scouting seriously if the Scouts cant follow-up on their promise to pick up the bags. My Cub Scout Pack did a good job of covering our assigned areas and making double-sure we visit those

Every year unknown Scouts from an unkonwn unit leave a bag at my door so I can fill it up with donated food. Again, for the third time, the bag filled with donated food was not picked up at my doorstep. Obviously, the unit that's working my neighborhood does not have good follow-up or sufficient help pick up all of the bags. What can I do to communicate this problem? I can't talk to a Scoutmaster or Cubmaster because I don't which Troop or Pack is leaving the bags. Bags that don't get picked up make the Scouts appear lazy and ineffective. In this case, it's certainly ineffective.

In my district, I don't hear any complaints about the design of the uniform shirt. Folks are pretty happy with them. Occasionally, I do hear complaints about the uniform pants concerning the way they fit. Alot of adult leaders in my district will wear pants of similar color that fit them better. They need to offer uniform pants that have a more "relaxed" fit in the seat and legs, and stonger seams at the crotch and hip areas would also be helpful. The $45 - $55 dollar price tag for a pair of sub-standard quality pants is not very appealing to anyone. Personally, I like the overall

QUOTE: "I was wondering what people thought about using that as an alternative until I can get a real pair of uniform pants again, or if I should just wait and continue using jeans until such time." As a Cub Scout leader, navy blue cotton pants (Dockers style) coordinate really well with the navy blue shoulder loops and the blue cub leader neckerchief. It's not BSA official, but it looks better and dressier than blue jeans. In fact, I think it looks better than BSA official because it represents the primary color of Cub Scouting. For the purists our there, don't cringe. I'll be

My den meets 3 times a month and 1 time a month with the Pack. To occasionally break up the weekly routine, we will substitute a den meeting with a Den outing or Pack outing that occurs on the same week. Don't be afraid to break up the routine if it makes the den meetings and outings more enjoyable. The program needs to be FUN for the den leader and not just the Cubs. Keep it fun and keep it simple. Also, take a "week off" occasionally to refresh yourself, the Cubs, and parents. I would recommend den meetings at least 2 times per month along with the monthly Pack meeting. Less than

dlw, I would give notice to the Den Leaders of your concerns and frustrations and let them know that you are ready to resign if things do not improve. However, for the sake of the stability of the Pack, I would at least finish out the school year to make time to find a replacement. I'm new to Cub Scouts, but I'm not new to volunteer leadership positions that involve Adult and Youth. If you suddenly quit without warning of your intentions, then the Pack will suffer. If you must quit, allow time for transition. Others here have given you great advice and I would pay attention to th

Cubmaster Jerry, Agreed. And, I do believe he became "tired" and needed a break in his role as Scoutmaster. --Jeff

Quoted earlier by Kudu: "A few years ago, when my District Commissioner asked me if I was interested in being Scoutmaster of his son's Troop, I asked their acting Scoutmaster why he was quitting. He wrote me a list of 86 reasons, which can be found at: http://inquiry.net/adult/burnout.htm" I think #66 from the above link says it all: 66. I won't have to have 15 people say that they want to do something, then after all the arrangements are made, only 3 people show up.

committee chair, Thanks for your input. Congrats to your Eagle Scout and a job well done!! --Jeff

The opening post indicated that one Scout claimed: "This doesn't benefit the community, I am not going." Is that true? I only ask because I read about the community service projects Eagle Scouts perform. Some appear to be very worthy and some appear pretty lame. One service project I read about stated: "Cleaned and organized a resourse closet at XXXX Community Church". While this is worthwhile service to his church, I fail to see how this benefited his community.