If You Were on the Council CS Committee....

[Eagle92]

Here's a not so hypothetical question, if you were on your council's CS committee, what would you like to se done in reference to both program and training? What ideas for activities do you want? What types of training, besides basic leader training, would you like and how often? How would you go about staffing these events?

 

All ideas are welcome.

 

I'll start one CS encampment in the fall that can intro families to camping, weather is warm enough for some activities, but cool enough that you aren't melting, and gets the kids pumped about scouting( as GBB said "outing is 3/4ths of Scouting.")

 

Cluster training, i.e. multi-district, training form BALOO and OWL.

 

Promotion of events 4-6 monts in advance AT A MINIMUM,

 

[mdlscouting]

I'm coming into this from a beginner's POV. (Just signed up as a DL, little or no outdoors skills, no scout experience)

 

One good start would be a Training Packet that could be handed out to all new Leaders, or for that matter all pack parents, informing them of wht training is available, with local dates, both for your district/council, and nearby districts. This should be given out to leaders ASAP, when they join. (Could be available online as well, in addition to packet form)

 

Position specific training would be a great thing to have early fall, maybe a couple different dates, to make sure new leaders can get in ASAP.

 

An "Intro to camping" course for families made into a weekend campout would be a great addition. Let the kids have fun, and the arents learn some new stuff. Lots of leaders have little or no outdoor skills at the cub level, and it would be a lot of fun.

 

(Need some good wow factor stuff here too, like the paper bag breakfast, etc.etc.)

[AKdenldr]

Great question!

 

I would like a reference guide detailing where in the community to do things / get help etc for the boys' achievements / activities.

 

Also, more than training for adults: quality programs for the adults to take their dens to!

 

The GS council here schedules brownie "try - its" which expose the girls to lots of different things through out the year. These are part of a Saturday. They publish these far in advance so leaders can choose and plan. I wish I had these for the cub scouts.

 

Events I would schedule for boys would include:

 

Bike Rodeo (bike mechanics (no bike shop around here wants to teach boys in the spring), safe riding etc...

 

Day camp in town

 

Hobbyshop day

 

Scout o Rama

 

Soap Box Derby

 

Science day (Potions and Explosions)

 

Something like the GS singing tree concept so boys can learn the scouting songs

 

Encampment with PROGRAMS

 

Thanks for asking

[ScoutNut]

As a member of my council's training staff, I think they do a pretty good job of training. We have well publicized trainings all year (only Wood Badge in summer) long. They are also spread around to each district so that there are a lot of choices for convenience.

 

Since we had problems getting enough attendees at our council Scouting University, we combined with a neighboring council to present a joint one. That has worked pretty well.

 

I do like the idea of a Cuboree, or some type of weekend family camp during the school year. Maybe a council sponsored sleepin at a zoo/museum/aquarium/etc.

 

I would like to see the time frame for our Early Bird summer camp pricing extended a bit.

 

I wish my district would get out info on their events earlier. Unfortunately, I know that their main problem is finding a volunteer willing to commit to running them earlier. Sigh!

 

BTW - "Intro to Camping" is called Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation (BALOO). BALOO trained folks should then help their Pack's newbie campers.

 

 

[SctDad]

Eagle92

 

Are you going to the Committee Meeting tommorrow night in G-Vegas. If so I will see you there.

 

I have a lot of ideas on some things that we could do and I have been writing them down. It should be interesting.

[Lisabob]

ScoutNut, I understand where you're coming from re: BALOO, but it isn't really intro to camping. It is intro to putting on an outdoor program, with a little info about gear thrown in. If you really have minimal camping experience or woods skills, when you leave BALOO at the end of the day, nothing much is going to have changed there. It is not designed for that.

 

OWL is a little more about actual skill, but few leaders take it before becoming Webelos leaders. We do need something for the hypothetical new Wolf Den Leader to learn to build fires, pick a good camp site, cook some outdoor meals, use a pocket knife safely, tie a few knots, etc. Think if you had 3 years to train cub leaders in their outdoor skills before they hit Webelos! We'd have a much more outdoor-oriented Webelos den program in a lot of packs, I think, which might translate into better retention and more boys being better prepared for boy scouting. This is a real opportunity.

 

So I think an intro to camping weekend for cub leaders/parents (with kids invited) would be great fun, and a big success. Local boy scouts could assist with instruction and/or run a separate program for part of the day for the kids, while moms & dads practice their outdoor skills.

 

Other things I wish would happen:

 

Set up a few district coordinators for Tiger Cubs. Maybe even someone who will help a pack by running a couple of Tiger den meetings to teach new families what to do. One of the biggest stumbling blocks for many packs is setting up a functional Tiger den. They get all these really excited little boys and their parents (who usually know little or nothing about cub scouts yet), but nobody is in charge and things flounder for a couple of months. By that time the pack has lost half the new recruits and they aren't going to come back.

 

Get basic leader trainings scheduled early and often. Many areas wait til November. I understand why, but that's too late for people who've been den leaders for 2-3 months already.

 

Run a Cub Fun Day in early Fall. Something packs can use as a recruiting tool (have membership material available at the event), where packs and/or families can just show up and participate in fun activities. Our district did this for several years and it works.

 

Team up with local fire depts, rescue crews, police, or military/reserves to have a day where kids can climb over, under, in and out of their vehicles. Have membership materials on hand. I've never met a cub scout (or prospective cub scout) who didn't think this stuff was cool. Tie it in with some sort of veterans recognition, etc., and bingo, you have a potentially great district event that is also low-maintenance.

 

Help Cub Packs find community service projects that are high visibility and age-appropriate. That can be challenging sometimes for the little guys. Ready-made service opportunities where all they have to do is show up, are good. (Scouting for food, community park clean-ups, etc.)

[mdlscouting]

Lisabob said: "Set up a few district coordinators for Tiger Cubs. Maybe even someone who will help a pack by running a couple of Tiger den meetings to teach new families what to do. One of the biggest stumbling blocks for many packs is setting up a functional Tiger den. They get all these really excited little boys and their parents (who usually know little or nothing about cub scouts yet), but nobody is in charge and things flounder for a couple of months. By that time the pack has lost half the new recruits and they aren't going to come back."

 

Exactly. If I can expand on this a bit, Have those people available as Mentors later on, even after they step back from the program. For those who are already familiar with the program, they have no idea what it's like for a newbie scouter to come in with zero preparation and background, be handed a Tiger handbook and a pat on the back. Last year, we lost way, way too many tigers. We had 20 kids in total between 2 packs, and we were down to 8 by the end of the year... largely due to leaders with no experience. (My wife and I were unofficial Tiger ADLs, and I count us in on that lack of help/training)

 

[Eagle92]

Everyone,

Thanks and keep it coming. I know that everything suggested won't be implemented, but the more ideas we have, the more options we have.

 

 

SctDad,

See ya in G-Vegas Baby!

[PACK15NISSAN]

Eagle92,

 

I don't know if you read my mind or if you just fell into the same trap I did. I just took the position of our CS Training Chair (District not Council) and have been wondering what I can do to improve things.

 

One thing I think would be helpful to getting fully trained leaders is the opportunity for them to do Intro, How We Have Fun, Specific, YPT, and Weather all in one sitting. We run into a lot of cards that we have to hold because they don't have all of their training done or they didn't bring in their paperwork. If they have a chance to sit down and do it all then most of them will walk away "Trained". Of course this would be optional if people do it at home and bring in the paperwork.

 

Also, in our District I have run into a lot of people who either don't know what it takes to be trained, they don't know what the training really entails, or both. There is so much uneducation when it comes to training, with a lot coming from leaders who took the training years ago and tell the newbies they don't need it.

 

We have a time to talk about training at each of roundtables which I will definatley use, but I also plan to reach out to CM's and UC's that don't attend.

 

We already do trainings twice a year and at University all with pretty poor attendance. I really think the best thing to do is reach out to units and individuals and let them know what is available and get them excited about being properly trained. Also, letting them know that manatory training is coming soon (or so I hear).

 

The pushing of BALOO and OWL is thing we don't do but I think would be great. Far to many Packs operate on the notion that having one BALOO trained person is good enough, it lets them go camping. Many don't know that with OWL they can take their Webelos camping, which is great for to get the boys ready for Boy Scouts.

 

If we as trainers can get to new leaders and let them know about the benefits and help of being trained before others tell them how useless it is we may have more sucess.

[Lisabob]

Nissan,

 

Good luck with your new position.

 

One thing you mentioned that I want to ask about. It has been a little while since I was a cub leader, but my recollection is that while BALOO is required to do any cub camping, OWL is not required in order for Webelos DLs to take their dens camping. Recommended, but not required.

 

Around here few DLs take OWL. Some just take OLS instead. Perception is that "they'll be boy scouts soon enough - might as well just do the boy scout training now and get it over with." I don't know whether you face that in your district, but selling OWL as distinct from OLS is a challenge here.

 

 

[Twocubdad]

POW WOW.

 

Many of the things mentioned here should be included in a good CS Pow Wow.

[Lisabob]

I don't know what the national trend is, but again speaking from what I've seen in my area of the country, Pow Wows are defunct and have been replaced by a more general "University of Scouting." And yes, many of the things suggested here could be covered in such a forum - if you can get people to participate. One thing I've learned is that there are many divisions within the BSA bureaucracy, even at a district & council level. The people who are on the Council CS committee may have no idea what the U of S people are doing, and vice versa.

 

 

[PACK15NISSAN]

LisaBob,

 

Not sure what the official rules about OWL are (you are probably right) but I was told during my Webelos specific training and again at OWL that it was required in order to take Webelos camping as a den. I think it makes mention of it in the WDL book too, but again I could be wrong.

 

I have encouraged the leaders in my pack to take BALOO at the Tiger or Wolf level, then OWL at Bear level, then IOLS at Webelos level so they get the most benefit. Few follow this because they think it is more training then they need and that the they will learn the same stuff 3 times.

 

When I joined the council training team I was told that I needed to organize and promote 2 trainings a year. I will be helping with BALOO, OWL, and U of S but since they are council events I don't have much of hand in what they do.

 

I think the biggest problem with training is getting rid of the bad reputation it holds with so many and educating the rest.

[Lisabob]

I definitely agree with your last sentence! We have faced the same challenge where I live, after years of a training team that didn't believe in doing anything at all to prepare (just show up and read the powerpoint to participants, or worse yet, find someone to do the training the day before and don't even give them the materials).

 

I don't know how big your district is, but if there aren't that many packs, you might try sending someone from your training team to a pack committee meeting for those who don't attend RT often. Making that personal connection and also having a chance to make the pitch and show you are not the same old, same old, could help you restore some confidence and maybe boost attendance.

 

 

 

 

[Eagle92]

Just to give a quick briefing from that meeting, I've been prepping for CSDC and am on day 2 now so I need some more sleep .

 

We had good representation with 3 pros in attendance: the staff adviser for the committee, the council camping director who is implementing a rejuvenated CS camping program, and the SE.

 

We talked mostly on camping program and facilities. Lots of good stuff to look to. Also looked to assist in the other areas of CS: training, recruiting leaders, and health and safety. Although I have "Program Freak" tattooed under the "SUCKER" on my forehead, I've signed up to coordinate with Training.