Disappointed in our pack

[Torveaux]

I am still rather new at this. I became Den Leader because my son's Den had 3, yes three, den meetings last year (Wolf). The DL was well-meaning, but simply did not have the time to devote to scouting. My son was, for all intents and purposes, a lone scout with a Pack.

 

My goal for this year was to have one after-school den meeting and one meeting/outing. (in addition to any Pack functions) Had I pushed for more than that, we would have lost boys/families. As it is I was able to get two boys recruited (+1 transfer from out of state). Had I tried to push for the recommended weekly meetings, we would have had only 2 scouts left in the Den, rather than the 8 we now have. When I was a kid, there were no sports for elementary school kids during the school year. Now these kids have so many after-school and weekend functions that they barely have time for twice a month.

 

It seems to me that some people get it in their heads that the way they did it is the only right way to do it. Sometimes you need to adapt your themes or procedures to the group that you have.

 

Another problem I noticed was with the Webelos I (now II) Leader. He had the opposite problem vis-a-vis Boy Scouts. As an Eagle, he seemed too pre-occupied with getting the boys to Boy Scout events. They had little time to enjoy being Cub Scouts because he pushed them all so hard to finish their Webelos badge ASAP. The younger boys in the Pack need to see the leadership of the Webelos in being Cubs, not in just being unofficial Boy Scouts. There is a happy medium in there somewhere, I just hope I can find it next year....