How much independence for Cubs at various levels?

[mdlscouting]

In reading here, I understand that there is a lot of importance at the Boy Scout Level of having a Boy led program, rather than Adult Led. I know that as the boys progress into Webelos, a good DL should be preparing them for this transition. At the other levels, (Tiger, wolf, bear) how much of this boy-led approach can and should be introduced? Specific examples would be great. (I'm parent of a wolf, soon to be Wolf DL... no experience outside of that.)

[Lisabob]

At the Tiger level, I don't think this should even be an issue to consider. There's so much else that happens in the Tiger year to focus on instead (acclimating the parents to cub scouting is a big deal, probably bigger than the boys in some ways - lose the parents here or get them used to being uninvolved in the den and you'll never get them back).

 

At the Wolf & Bear levels, there are a few more opportunities. You can introduce the denner system here. It might be pretty minimal in the wolf year but you could build on it in the bear year to give progressively more responsibilities to the boys. Also at the bear level the boys have choices about how they will earn their bear rank. Where the Wolf requirements are very straight forward, there are many either/or options for Bear. Encourage each boy to select options that he will enjoy. In both Wolf & Bear there are a lot of options when it comes to the arrow points. Again, this is a good place to get the boys used to making their own decisions (as opposed to mom or dad going through the arrow points and saying "well you did this one and you will do that one")

 

You can also start doing things like let the boys come up with den rules, let the boys make some of the decisions on outings (should we have smores or ice cream sodas at our camp fire?), etc.

 

Webelos, as you kmow, is a whole new level. But start small with your wolf guys. Keep in mind that they have so few opportunities to make their own decisions in school and probably at home. Give them lots of little opportunities to flex their decision making muscles.

 

 

[IM_Kathy]

the best way to start it is once your den is settled in with the wolf level and possibly not always have a parent with them... then you start by saying something like "next meeting we need to work on X, but we'll also have time to work on an elective - would you like to do A or B" as things move along with the denner you can say "as denners you have to come on time and lead the warm up game and you get to pick the game you want to teach" By the time you get up to Webelos you can sit down and ask the boys "ok which pin do you want to work on next?" and when they bring up one that say needs to be done outdoors and it's snowing out you can discuss how that would work and let them brainstorm on either making it happen in that weather or coming up with another pin to work on.

[DeanRx]

Some good points already made.

 

1) Use of the Denner system. AS they get older, your job as a DL should be to plan and task assign the meetings. Then as much as possible, have the scouts carry out the "plan". example - have the denner in charge of leading the pledge at the start and help with handing out supplies, etc... durring the meeting. Than have another scout be in charge of leading the game at the meeting. Have a 3rd be in charge of setting up the snack / etc. Have a 4th lead the closing with the Cub Promise or Law of the Pack. Make it very short and very specific in the beginning, then build from there.

 

2) Have the scouts come up with THEIR den rules and what the punishment should be for breaking them. Write them all out on a poster board for them to see every meeting. Keep it short 5 to 6 rules max. Try to encourage them to wright positive rules... more on what they SHOULD do than what they can't do. They are more apt to follow the rules and police themselves when THEY made them up to begin with.

 

3) After Tiger year - try to have the scouts do as much on their own as possible. Mom or dad can come to the meeting, but should only help if truely needed and only if ASKED by the scout. Too often, at this age (especially early wolf), kids are used to a parent jumping in and completing or perfecting stuff for them and far too many parents are more than happy to play that role. There are great lessons to be learned in small "failures", but we as parents must first be willing to allow the child to "fail". This is how they learn that everything is not always "perfect" and life still goes on. Its how they learn to ask for help. Its how they learn to control their emotions when things don't go exactly as they want or planned.

 

Only provide direct supervision when meritted by the activity. (i.e. whittlin' chip - knives) As bears, I would plan some longer, more strenous activities / hikes and have the leaders hang to the back (even 50 yards off so long as you have line of sight) and let the youth figure out where and how to go.

 

Late in Wolf year, at a council campout, my son and I were doing a basic compass course. He turned to me ans asked if the heading he had chosen was the correct way? My reply, "I don't know, you tell me." I assured him that I would not let us get lost, but if he made a wrong decision, the hike was going to be longer than orginally planned. He was upset that I would not allow him to check it on the GPS in my pocket. I told him, "I get the GPS because I already KNOW how to do this w/ a map and compass. Just like I get to do my math on a calculator, while you have to do it longhand. You learn the 'hard way' so that you don't take the easy / electronic way for granted." He got mixed up once, but soon discovered the error on his own and made the correction. The amount of pride built into that one activity when HE actually did it and HE actually was responsible for the decisions was priceless.

 

If you are regularly getting both the kids and sometimes the parents outside of their "comfort" zone for at least part of the meeting, then you're doing good. You know when its going right, because as the rowdiness breaks out - one of the scouts in the den puts up the CS sign before the DL or any other parents do it and the other scouts actually responde to it. (yes, this really happened, and YES I about had a heart attack in disbelief) If its done well, by Web II year - the scouts should be able to be told what the meeting is going to be about and actually conduct the meeting with very little direction from the DL or other adults. That should be the ultimate report on whether you've done the job of DL well.