Iansleader

The idea of going to another Pack doesn't work here - you are with the pack that your child's school or church belong to, or you aren't in scouts. It's not like Boy Scouts where there are many Troops. There is a Mom and leader with this group that moved during the year and is being asked to move to the Pack where her son will be going to school, even though she is currently a Den Leader. I am involved in other volunteer organizations here - I know there are egos and politics. I also know that I am ultimately in it for my sons. I just really hope this Pack doesn't crash and burn because of someone who doesn't realize the the work he is doing is not just his to do. Oh, and our COR is just on paper. No one even knew who it was.

First, let me clarify. This was not a decision that was made through the committee - the CC made the "executive decision", as was told to me by other leaders that attending the meeting. Yes, I was offended, not because I felt that what he did was wrong - I think the boys should be kept with their friends - but that this was not communicated to me. It was just done. I have worked as a volunteer and as a teacher for most of my life, and I understand that volunteers need to be supported and felt like they are part of the process. This CC has continually caused hard feeling because we do feel like we are his subordinates. He does not have a CM because the CM has flaked - my understanding that he had too much personal business to deal with - and made it that each DL had to be take a turn being the CM. We have been told repeatedly that a CM is just a glorified MC, but has no authority. Only the CC has authority, and he can make decisions as he chooses. He even threatened to cancel our Pinewood derby because "If I don't like how it's going, I can cancel it anytime I want". This was despite the people who were working really hard behind the scenes. Also, I do have an assistant DL, who is phenomenal. I "teach" and she keeps all the records. It works smoothly. Even she has said that we could easily take up to 10 boys because of how smoothly she and I work together. I did discuss this with the CC, who said that it is his decision at any time to move kids, and that while the other dens only had 5-6 boys, he could balance them out. Again, I don't mind that he moved the boys with their school/friends, just wait until the year was over AND have the basic courtesy to let the DL know, rather than hearing it 2nd hand in the minutes. Basic, common courtesy here. Isn't that part of being a scout - respect? Right now, I have 2 boys that are friends of my son's who have joined, but are put with other schools. I talked to the CC about this yesterday, and was frustrated that now these parents might pull out because they don't know or trust the other leaders. I have a big Den because I have recruited myself. The kids at school know me as the "boy Scout Mom". Parents come and ask me questions, not even ones in my Den. I am the one out there promoting the positives of a program that is really not popular in this area. I have gone to my Leader training, as well as being a trained teacher. I am not going to have burn out - if that was the case, I would have burned out my own profession a long time ago. I think the other adults in the Pack are not unaware of what I do for a living either. The other large Den in my pack has 11 boys - WEBELOS - and the CC has said that they are so big, they don't get to do anything - IE; no flag ceremonies, no skits, no songs. Again, it's like we are being punished for being good at what we do and having parents know it. I am not "tooting my own horn" - I wouldn't stay a teacher if I didn't enjoy my job. It is the same with scouting - I love what it does for my boys, I love the values it is giving them and if I didn't love that, I wouldn't be here. The parents know that, and that is why I have crossed over all but one child in my original 12 - the one didn't cross over because he moved to another state. As my assistant DL stated - if she can request her son be on a specific baseball/soccer/basketball team because of the coach, shouldn't we have some control of that with Cub Scouts?

You all recognized that it was a problem (that it was too loud and rambuncous). There has not been a problem at this point (we meet 2x a month since September). I would have thought that if the leader and the parents don't have an issue, no one else should either. As the saying goes "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

I have seen some questions similar to this, but I am on an opposite page - I like my Den bigger. I am a teacher and am used to a lot of children to teach, but the committee chair seems to think that he has the better plan. He moved children from my Den (at that point their were 9 boys), without even telling me. While one child was his son, I felt like I had at least the right to know, versus reading it in the leader's minutes (I couldn't make the meeting that night because my son was ill). I have a child that is in my son's class (along with another child from my Den) who signed up thinking he was going to be in the same Den with his friends and came to me very upset that he was in a Den with children from the other school. My understanding of moving the kids out of my Den was to keep the schools together, yet now this one child is with a group of kids he doesn't even know. So, any thoughts? Any Committee chairs out there want to share their wisdom on what exactly is the Committee chair's responsibilities in this? I will add that no parent, to my knowledge, has expressed any dissatisfaction in my work, and I hear many complements on the job I do. When I did speak to the Chair today, he said that he won't let any Den get above 7 boys, even if that means a boy gets put in a group of children from a different school (oh, I should add that we are a Pack of 4 schools, with about 60 boys in our pack). I feel that if everyone is happy, then let it be. If a parent wants to have their child in a specific Den, shouldn't that be their choice, as long as the leader is okay with it? Okay - help me out here. We have been involved in Cub Scouts for 3 years now (my older son is a Webelo 1 now), but this is the end of my first year as a leader (my younger son just became a Wolf from a Tiger). I am frustrated because I feel that the Leaders and the Chair should work as a team, not feel like we are his "employees".