Den Chiefs in parent's den

[CaveEagle]

We asked our SM if our older son could serve as a Den Cheif for my Son's Tiger den. (mom is now the DL and the older son is often there anyway) The SM did not exactly say "No", but he kept refering to the other pack in our area that were looking for Den Chiefs. I got a pretty clear signal that he wanted to "assign" the older son to den of his choosing. Well, it's not that we don't want to encourage older son to serve outside of our pack/family, but it would be very difficult for us to commit to a Den's schedule that we have no control over.

 

During my tenure as a DL, I have had two Den Chiefs. The only one that worked well had a younger brother in our den. His mom was more that happy to bring him the the den meetings as well.

 

CE

[Cubmaster-Fred]

While I agree somewhat let's look a little further into this.

 

First off the SPL and SM approve the boy to be a Den Chief, the Cubmaster and CC, of the pack, decide which den they will work with. The SM has no say in this.

 

As for the boy being assigned to the same den as his parent(s) I feel there is nothing wrong with this. The boy has certain responsibilities that come with the position, and if he is not performing he should be replaced as Den Chief. I feel that they should be given a chance to succeed or fail. The CM and DL together decide if he is being successful in this position. This I feel keeps the parent from treating the boy any differently than they would someone else.

 

just MHO

 

CMF

 

 

[acco40]

CM-Fred - seriously, what percentage of den leaders understand the den chief program? Second, if a SM has a super bang-up kid in the troop who is a great leader and then another kid who he feels has great "potential" but needs more "seasoning" who do you think he is going to recommend for SPL and who for a DC position?

[Cubmaster-Fred]

acco40,

 

It is my responsibility as Cubmaster and Pack Trainer to ensure that the DL's know how to utilize the Den Chiefs. The DL's for the 2 dens that have DC's have been trained and we have also sat down and talked with not only the boy, but his parents and the SM as well. If the CM and CC who request the DC knows what is going on then they will not let that happen.

 

Sure if I was the SM i would keep the bang up boy too. But what people don't understand is that the DC program is a fine way for boys to learn responsibility and leadership, as long as it is utilized properly. All boys have to start somewhere.

 

CMF

[Torveaux]

Why would you need/want a Den Chief for Tigers?

 

With the adult partner and the focus on the adult/child relationship, perhaps the SM was really thinking that working with Webelos, Bears, or Wolves would be more appropriate use of a Den Chief.

 

 

[FScouter]

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