Tiger Den shared leadership..How do I get them to volunteer?

[lizzygo]

Scout Nut should chill out.

 

 

I am new TD Leader myself. I just completed training. I am asking parents to help with specific things, but have not given anyone a month to plan alone.

 

I will have boys who come with a neighbor because their mother/father is busy with other kids and actvities. What can you do? You cannot send them home when they arrive.(This message has been edited by lizzygo)

[Sprocket]

I think that Scoutnut's ire was directed at me. He and I apparently disagree over the degree of flexibility to exercise within the Tiger program. (although I think we agree more than we disagree)

 

At any rate, my response may have caused TigerDen2's thread to get hijacked a bit. Sorry 'bout that.

 

TigerDen2, you might start off by giving them a list of the program things you need/want help with. If the parents are unwilling to tackle a whole month's worth of meetings, then give them specific parts of the meeting to be responsible for. Give them suggestions, so they don't feel completely lost.

 

I've had luck just saying that "The Go-See-It for this month will be ________ to fulfill a Tiger rank requirement. I need someone to help out by contacting ____________ to set it up."

 

Sometimes you have to start gradually, and they'll catch on. Plus, once they see other parents doing their part, peer pressure may get the rest of the parents to step up and help.

[eagle-pete]

lizzygo

 

Here's where I AGREE with ScoutNut -

If you have parents who are obviously avoiding Tiger Den Meetings and who have also agreed to be Tiger Partners, they may need a little refresher on what their responsibilities are as Tiger Partners. I believe there should be more commitment there.

 

You may want to establish some policies for your Tiger Cub Den such as, if the Tiger Partner cannot attend, arrangements must be made for a secondary Tiger Partner - This should be an individual that you know personally and who understands the Tiger Cub Program. You may want to have the Tiger Partners sign these individuals up as "secondary" Tiger Partners so that you know who they are.

 

I am not sure it is a good idea to allow the Tiger Partners to be able to just grab anyone to substitute for them; however I do like the idea of an organized substitute system which you have some control over. Tiger Partners should have the sense that this is a responsibility they are committed to and not just something they can do whenever it is convenient.

 

Eagle Pete

[TigerDen2]

eagle-pete, Eagledad, Sprocket....Thank you. That's my immediate goal, participation/involvement during the meetings...not goose-stepping in cadence.

 

I spoke to a Wolf den leader who had similar problems when he had a Tiger den. He echoed the "slow" approach. At first, have them help out during meetings..."Hey ____ . Can you grab those _____ and set them up for us?" "Jim, can hold this stick while the blindfolded boys swing wildly at the pinata attached to it?" [that's a joke :-)]etc. etc.

 

I have some boys that show up for everything and some that show up 1 out of 5 times. The parents I think I can actually rely on is maybe from half of the boys. So I'm not going to get bogged down and frustrated with "non-volunteerism" when it comes to leading.

 

My focus is following the trail to the Tiger, moving forward and having FUN. So far, we've gotten our Bobcat in the first month, had two Go-See-Its, great den meetings and participated in activities at the pack meetings.

 

So if you're at my den meeting, be prepared to do something....a little 'helpful' something. And we'll build from there.

[Eagledad]

>>I've had luck just saying that "The Go-See-It for this month will be ________ to fulfill a Tiger rank requirement. I need someone to help out by contacting ____________ to set it up."

[ScoutNut]

I am sorry if anyone felt that I was flaming. That was not my intention.

 

I assumed from the title of this thread - "Tiger Den shared leadership..How do I get them to volunteer?", that TigerDen 2 was asking how to implement Shared Leadership in their Tiger Den, not just how to get the parents to help with various tasks during the den meeting.

 

I must also apologize. I do tend to get a bit irritated when folks say how terrible Tiger retention is and then go on to tell how they do not follow the BSA Tiger program. They just do not see how one could be affecting the other.

 

I will NOT apologize about being passionate about Tigers however. I have been a Tiger den leader for the last 9 years, and each year, I have followed whatever the current Tiger program was. Following a Tiger program that took the BSA 14 years to get where they want it to be is NOT "goose-stepping in cadence". It is giving my Tigers & their families the best possible program I can. A program that I feel works very well.

 

I am flexible, but I follow the rules. Shared Leadership is not simply a way to get volunteer help. Family Involvement is one of the Methods of Cub Scouting. Shared Leadership gives not only the Adult Partner a feel for how a den is run, but it gives the Tiger half of the Team a chance to do something with his Partner & to be the Top Tiger in charge. That is important.

 

You will always have some boys who miss a lot of meetings. That is just the way of things. I have had boys who have been signed up for every activity under the sun, missed many of the regular den meetings, and STILL managed to put together a go-see-it or den meeting.

 

Yes, there have been times when a Partner could not come to a meeting. Sometimes the other parent would come, sometimes they would have one of the other Tiger Partners stand in, & sometimes they simply stayed home for that meeting. A non-parent stand-in is ONLY used in an emergency. It is hard for a Tiger Partner to work with more than just his son. As for using a neighbor or family friend as a stand-in Partner - NO, NEVER. Especially a long term replacement. BSA states that if the Adult Partner is not a parent they must be fully registered & have a background check run. I will not be responsible for someone I do not know being with one of my Tigers.

 

As I said, my Tiger families do NOT "goose-step in cadence". They follow the rules, work/play with their sons, & have FUN. Some are more committed than others, but that is OK too.

 

In the last 9 years as a Tiger den leader, I have only lost 2 boys because their families felt Scouting was not for them. We also have 3 of my former Tigers back working with the Pack as Den Chiefs!

 

I will "chill out" now. I have to pull together some food pyramid resources for my host Tiger Team running this weeks meeting!

[TigerDen2]

I didn't mean to imply you were flaming thru my posts. The goose-stepping comment was NOT aimed at you. I meant it to mean that since I have parents reluctant to lead I will shoulder the load while building support from them. I will get some assistance thru including them in the meetings...not demanding leadership from someone just to go "by the book".

 

I follow the "book". We are following the steps and achievements to get our Tiger. I make it fun and that's what Tigers is about...learning about scouting, having fun and advancing.

 

I'd rather let the boys have fun within the guidelines and advance them than be a dictator and hack off the parents and have boys quit.

 

"Do your best" not only applies to the boys...it applies to someone that came forward and volunteered to lead when NOBODY else would. That's ME.

 

I'm doing my best and asking for some advice along the way.