RememberSchiff 3663 Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 (edited) Autumn Cragle, a 16-year-old aspiring teacher is the youngest female Cub Scout den leader in history. Her 10-year-old brother, who was begging to be a Webelos Scout, gave her the idea to start volunteering her time to the Boy Scouts of America. “Ever since I was 13, I wanted to be a teacher,” Cragle says. “I usually would tag along to my brother’s meetings, and when the pack leader said they needed help with the children, I jumped right in.” Photo and more details at source link: http://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/dallas-teen-autumn-cragle-is-the-youngest-cub-scout-den-leader-in-history-10211208 Edited January 1, 2018 by RememberSchiff clarity Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle94-A1 2687 Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Obviously the author has no idea about the Boy Scouts of America, nor it's history. Boy Scouts served as Den Chiefs, running the dens initially. Then Den Mothers, now Den Leaders took over. Link to post Share on other sites
RememberSchiff 3663 Posted January 1, 2018 Author Share Posted January 1, 2018 Den Leader is a female teen. Link to post Share on other sites
NJCubScouter 1389 Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 (edited) Well, she cannot be registered as a den leader or any other adult leader position at 16 unless someone made a mistake. If she is “acting” in that position the pack leaders are taking a big personal risk. On the other hand I do not think this reporter understands anything about what she is writing about here, so who knows what is actually happening. I also find it odd that the reporter does not seem to have spoken with any adults for this story, such as the Cubmaster or the girl’s parents. And can anyone tell what that male Scouter (who has red loops, not blue) is presenting her with? To me it looks like a knot patch is either attached to or pictured on that piece of paper. Edited January 1, 2018 by NJCubScouter Link to post Share on other sites
qwazse 4342 Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Well, bless her heart. I hope she achieves her den leader award and a few other knots! If she has been on roster for some time, I suspect the registered her has a Venturer in some crew and she held the position of den chief. Regardless, the CM probably cajoled a parent or two to be in the room holding the DL title but promising that they wouldn't be asked to do any heavy lifting. Then after a while, the Cubmaster or CC felt it was time call a spade a spade, went to their DE with the "If it walks like a duck ..." speech, and they all agreed that she should be recognized for the position she actually did. Link to post Share on other sites
NJCubScouter 1389 Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 4 minutes ago, qwazse said: Well, bless her heart. I hope she achieves her den leader award and a few other knots! If she has been on roster for some time, I suspect the registered her has a Venturer in some crew and she held the position of den chief. Regardless, the CM probably cajoled a parent or two to be in the room holding the DL title but promising that they wouldn't be asked to do any heavy lifting. Then after a while, the Cubmaster or CC felt it was time call a spade a spade, went to their DE with the "If it walks like a duck ..." speech, and they all agreed that she should be recognized for the position she actually did. I guess that falls into the “anything is possible” category. It is one of the ways this could have happened. Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle94-A1 2687 Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 On 1/1/2018 at 9:33 AM, RememberSchiff said: Den Leader is a female teen. Must be 21 years of age or older to be Den Leader. A female 13 and completed 8th grade, but not yet 21 can be a Venturer and a Den Chief. Link to post Share on other sites
Tampa Turtle 1011 Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 I am sure she is a fine person but stories like this drive me nuts. My boys, who loved scouts, have aged out but would like to continue adventures with their younger friends but not as adult leaders. I say 'no, you are no longer scouts' because scouts ends at 18 unless you do Venturing or take on an adult role because that is what BSA says. Stories like this make me want to go "Oh do whatever you want, tent with whomever you want, no one cares". Link to post Share on other sites
NJCubScouter 1389 Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 2 hours ago, Tampa Turtle said: I am sure she is a fine person but stories like this drive me nuts. My boys, who loved scouts, have aged out but would like to continue adventures with their younger friends but not as adult leaders. I say 'no, you are no longer scouts' because scouts ends at 18 unless you do Venturing or take on an adult role because that is what BSA says. Stories like this make me want to go "Oh do whatever you want, tent with whomever you want, no one cares". You seem to be assuming the article is correct. For the reasons I suggested above, I would make no such assumption. And even if she is considered a "den leader" by the pack, what we most likely have here is yet another story about a "rogue unit." I can easily imagine someone at National seeing that article, and having basically the same reaction that most of us did here. Link to post Share on other sites
Tampa Turtle 1011 Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 36 minutes ago, NJCubScouter said: You seem to be assuming the article is correct. For the reasons I suggested above, I would make no such assumption. And even if she is considered a "den leader" by the pack, what we most likely have here is yet another story about a "rogue unit." I can easily imagine someone at National seeing that article, and having basically the same reaction that most of us did here. I mean't stop fighting the tide and just go rogue... Link to post Share on other sites
NJCubScouter 1389 Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 10 minutes ago, Tampa Turtle said: I mean't stop fighting the tide and just go rogue... I am not sure what you mean by "the tide" though. As far as I know there is no 16-year-old den leader. At most there is one pack in Dallas that is calling this 16-year-old a den leader. I don't see how that is a "tide." Link to post Share on other sites
The Latin Scot 961 Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 If the "journalist" who wrote this article really wanted to get a good story, she would be asking more questions and getting to the real root of the problem here. Why are the parents in this unit okay with allowing a 16 year-old to run Cub Scout activities? Why is there no legal adult supervising their children? How did she get past National's strict age qualifications for Den Leader - did she lie on her application? Or did she even turn one in? Is she merely a Den Chief posing as a Den Leader? Does anybody in her unit even know the difference, or care? Is her council beding the rules simply to get this girl in the news? Do they understand the serious repercussions they could face by not following standard Youth Protection practices? This is a serious problem! A real news writer would be getting to the bottom of this whole charade, not pushing the kind of pointless story which does absolutely nothing to promote community awareness. I don't give two figs for the "youngest Den Leader in history," but I am deeply concerned by a child masquerading as such. This kind of story should have people asking questions and taking action, because at the end of the day, something is amiss with this whole story, and somebody needs to get to the bottom of it ASAP. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
NJCubScouter 1389 Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 (edited) Latin Scot, I agree. My first set of questions (for her Cubmaster and/or her parents) would be aimed at finding out whether she really is being treated as a den leader or whether the reporter just misunderstood what they were writing about. If she really is being treated as a den leader, then I would find out what kind of paperwork, if any, was done for her "den leader" position. I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that council never received an Adult Leader application for this teenager, and that neither council nor National were aware of it until someone brought this article to their attention. If one were to go back there in a few weeks, after this article has had a chance to percolate up through the hierarchy, one might find that the situation (whatever it actually was) is no longer what is described in the article. Edited January 3, 2018 by NJCubScouter Link to post Share on other sites
Jameson76 1481 Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 On 1/1/2018 at 9:59 AM, NJCubScouter said: And can anyone tell what that male Scouter (who has red loops, not blue) is presenting her with? To me it looks like a knot patch is either attached to or pictured on that piece of paper. Hard to tell, angle is not good. Also blinded by glare from the rows and rows of knots he is wearing, the Silver Beaver award and the Woodbadge beads Link to post Share on other sites
NJCubScouter 1389 Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 3 minutes ago, Jameson76 said: Also blinded by glare from the rows and rows of knots he is wearing, the Silver Beaver award and the Woodbadge beads Couldn't help but notice that myself. Though I do not fault anyone for wearing all the knots they have earned, and the Woodbadge beads are normal uniform wear. What I am not sure about are the circumstances under which one is supposed to wear the actual Silver Beaver, as opposed to just the knot. I have not earned it, but I have known plenty of people who have, and I don't think I have ever seen one wearing it. I suppose if one is attending an awards ceremony for new Silver Beavers, that would be one reasonable occasion on which to wear it. I don't know when else one would do so. Link to post Share on other sites
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