New Delivery Method

[CubPackComChr]

So what does everyone think of the new delivery method? Awesome? Hate it? Okay?

My one question (I did not get an answer at the webinar because we ran out of time unfortunately) is how can you get the den meetings done by February if you do two meetings a month starting in September? I was looking specifically at the Bear meetings and I think you can only get the main meetings that get you to rank done by February if you start in June and do two meetings a month. You would be done in the second week of January doing this. The only way I see it being done is if you actually did three meetings a month or more. Do any of you out there hold that many meetings? How do your parents handle that if you do? I just informed my parents that we would be doing two meetings a month (I am going to start in June because we have our Pinewood in January and the last two planned meetings for the Bears are pinewood themed meetings, so those meetings would be just in time for our pinewood) and my parents seemed overwhelmed by the idea. Before we did one meeting a month, a Pack meeting and a Pack outing.

So what does everyone here think? How are you going to work the new delivery method?

[ScoutNut]

I am not sure how you figured the Bear den meetings to work out only if you start in June. The book specifically states that it is written to start in September, and have 2 den meetings each month. I went thru the Den Meeting Plans for Bears and compared them to the requirements in the Bear Handbooks. By the end of meeting #12 (the second meeting in February) all of the achievements for the Bear rank award would have been covered.

 

I have always ran weekly meetings. When my den meetings were on Saturday, sometimes a den meeting would be a den outing. When I had evening meetings during the week, we would substitute a Saturday outing for that weeks meeting. It would work out to 3 den meeting/outings, and 1 Pack meeting, each month. I never had any problems with parents. Although we did have to be flexible with their schedules.

 

As for the new delivery method, I am not a fan. However, it is early yet, and the plans seem to give you a bit of flexibility. We shall see down the road if it lives up to all of the hype.

[CubPackComChr]

You know what? I did not go through the book with the meetings, I just looked and saw that there were 16 meeting plans and assumed that the rank was completed with the 16th meeting, not earlier. I had not had a chance to actually go through the book and the meeting plans together. Thanks for pointing that out, it makes more sense now.

[moosetracker]

OH FOO.. I did not know there was a webinar. I missed it. I am soooooooo... bummed.

 

Is the new delivery program the EDGE, or is it the fact that you now work through a specific guide each week, rather then figure out what you want to do on your own. Or is it something else.

[CubPackComChr]

The new delivery method has basically all your den meetings planned out for you. It says that it is flexable and you can move them around, so you probably can plan your own instead of working off of them. The main thing is that they want all boys at all levels to rank up at the same pace and to all get their ranks by a february blue and gold. The themed arts and crafts months are gone and now the months are dedicated to each of the 12 core values.

[shortridge]

It's been a while for me, but as a youth in the mid-80s, our den had three meetings a month, plus one pack meeting - we all knew that every Monday night was Cub Scouts night. I can't imagine just having two a month and being able to do all the fun stuff that we did, particularly by the time we got to Webelos. Is that the recommended number nowadays?

[moosetracker]

Ok, I did get some of that at a council meeting that outlined it.

 

I have looked at some of the plans, they aren't bad. I know some of the dens did advancement but figured out what they wanted to do based on the leaders skills & intrests for teaching it. In some ways this will make the planning easer for the den leader. In others it will stretch your skills to have to lead something you don't feel comfortable in.

 

Other dens though were working the older plan where all advancement was done at home, and they just did fun stuff. It will be a big change for them.

 

Did they talk more on how you are to make a pack meeting fun with the theme of loyal or trustworthy? They just touched upon the subject at our meeting. You were left with the feeling of "How do you make this interesting and exciting?"

 

Next week we have our Council Kick-off.. Anyone can go and you have booths on alot of items and some classes. They are holding the new Cub program in three seprate sessions. I plan to go to that. I am hoping they explain the pack meeting themes better. But, if you have some inside knowledge, please share.

[CubPackComChr]

Moose,

Honestly no the webinar did not explain how to make the core values fun and exciting. I have in the past gone to baloo's bugle to get ideas to plan my pack nights and I am kind of hoping that the person that creates baloo's bugle will incorporate the new delivery method into the bugle because as of right now I just do not have ideas. It was asked what happens when we have special events i.e. pinewood, raingutter regatta and such. They said that we should and could still fit in that months core value into our event. It is going to be interesting figuring out how to plan pack nights around values rather than themes.

[AlamanceScouter]

I am very excited about the new delivery method. This will help me as a leader to be more prepared and I think the boys will be more excited that they are consistently working towards advancing in rank.

[bbender]

Back from the Atlanta "Campout of the Century", so catching up on this thread . . .

 

On the concept that "there [are] 16 meeting plans and assumed that the rank was completed with the 16th meeting, not earlier", yeah, that's the case in most, if not all. Essentially, if you look at it objectively, those "elective" meetings are just as "supplemental" as the Tiger, Wolf and Bear "Supplemental" meetings, as they are not essential to earn the Rank.

-- So do what is most fun for you and your Den.

-- And do things that either you, or a willing volunteer, find easy to lead that will be fun for the Scouts.

-- Under the Guide, Rank Badge is earned at Meeting 8 for Tiger, 11 for Wolf, 12 or 13 for Bear, 8 for Webelos if you're doing a Web I/WebII program, and for Arrow of Light, 10, but often that really depends on the Troop visits, etc., that are "prompted" in the Guide, but ya have to work that out for yourself (since here, all Scouting is local).

 

On "I did not know there was a webinar", FYI, I think that they were supposed to continue running these until interest ran out, but I see from the site at https://www.kintera.org/AutoGen/Register/Register.asp?ievent=423114&en=8qIOLWOsEbJMIRPsGdKKJNPrEeJWI3NyEbIJLROxEkKZIdK that the sessions this week are full. Suggest anyone check back to see if they add more (more are definitely on track for later this summer), and/or email program.content@scouting.org to find out. In the meantime, the powerpoint from the session is linked at http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/CubScouts/Leaders/NewDeliveryMethod/Resources.aspx, and it is pretty substantive.

 

On "Is the new delivery program the EDGE", I don't think it has anything at all to do with that.

 

On "or is it the fact that you now work through a specific guide each week, rather then figure out what you want to do on your own", that's one way to state it, though I would caution that nobody think this is what you "have to do". Rather, where before there was either little guidance about what to do, or it was in a less usable format that wasn't very advancement-related, now there is a meeting program that you have, ready to roll, with less need to research to come up with an advancement related program. Makes it easy for a new Den Leader, or an experienced Den Leader who ran out of time for the normal "One Hour A Week" of planning! ;^) Or CPCC has it right: "the new delivery method has basically all your den meetings planned out for you. It says that it is flexible and you can move them around, so you probably can plan your own instead of working off of them". And that is right. There are lots of ways to teach the advancement activities and make it fun, and this is one way: not the only way. Keep it Simple, Make it Fun. This attempts both, but isn't the only way.

 

As to "In some ways this will make the planning easer for the den leader. In others it will stretch your skills to have to lead something you don't feel comfortable in", well, I guess that latter point is true, but I suspect the alternative was to just toss it to be done at home where it might or might not get done well. My approach (and a good one, I think, for those who may worry that this takes "family involvement" out), is that if you have something that's not a topic you feel comfortable leading . . . find someone who is and induce them to help lead that meeting. Historically, we would talk to parents (or take surveys and then talk to them), and maybe find out who knew about knots or tools or trees, and if we summoned the courage to ask them to help, we'd say, see the handbook, and then there is a Program Helps guide and a How To book, and a Leader Book, and there's like stuff on the internet about how to teach this. Now, at least, there is a basic (usually) 2 page handout for a lot of these topics that newbie non-leaders can use as a guide for what they cover and/or we can use it as Den Leaders trying to lead an activity that isn't yet in our sweet spot of teaching. It should be easier for someone to now say "oh, I can do THAT!"

 

On Pack Meetings and the concept that "the webinar did not explain how to make the core values fun and exciting", I think that was beyond what they were trying to do in 1 hour, but in mine I think they referenced that you can/should add stuff that's fun and can help with the theme, as the Guide doesn't attempt to "be all" for that (and since, unlike Den Meetings, Scouts will see "that" meeting return 5 times, I am sure the idea is to find lots of stuff to use in those rotations). So I hope that Roundtables and Baloo's Bugle and others will add to the elements in the Guide and, in fact, present (as they do now) great ways to bring the themes to life, as there are lots of super ways to have silly pack meeting fun, and pull out of that the big idea that might shine the light. So Pack Meetings shouldn't be all preachy (I hope), but fun and inspiring, a game with a purpose, as BP said.

 

I hope we all agree and let TPTB (the powers that be) know that past Program Helps should be made readily available, so that folks can browse those and pick the best stuff they like and can do, and use those and rotate ideas as they like. It has been a great resource (though for me, like others, not one we "followed", but one we used to pick stuff we could add to what we had otherwise planned).

 

 

Bert Bender

Pack and District Trainer

South Fulton District, Atlanta Area Council