andrewserff wrote:I just clicked on it and it says it requires Internet Explorer which is a problem for us Mac users (they don't make IE for Mac any more). I know that isn't your problem, but just compounds the lack of easy to use tools for this purpose...
If you get with the ward clerk he could help you get on the clerks machine.
andrewserff wrote:I'm going to rant for a moment, and please don't take any of this as personal. These are just observations I've had in my involvement in Scouting.
Nothing personal I have felt your pain. I have been involved with the scouting program for 30 years on both LDS scouting units and the non-LDS scouting units.
I will do my best to give you some pointers that may help you better understand the scouting program as it pertains to LDS units.
andrewserff wrote:Like I said, I'm a new Cub Master, but I've been a Bear Leader for almost a year, was Scout Committee Chair for about a month as well.
Since you are now the Cub Master your primary job is to conduct pack meetings and be a best friend to the boys. Pack Meeting is your meeting you plan it along with the help of the den leaders. You should not have to worry about tracking advancement that is the Den Leaders and Pack Committee member over advancements responsibility. You job is to hand out the award and make sure there is a nice ceremony for rank advancement. Being a Cub Master was one of the best jobs I have had in scouting.
Attend you monthly round tables this is where you will get lots of good ideas for pack meetings and round-tables are geared toward the next months theme.
andrewserff wrote: I'm also a convert to the Church, so not everything policy wise comes naturally to me.
All the policy you need to know for Cub Scouts is on LDS.ORG under Primary.
Here is a quick link.
https://www.lds.org/callings/primary/le ... y?lang=eng
Make sure you down load and read "The Scouting Handbook for church units in the United States" You will see it on the right of the page at the above link.
Everything else is in the Leader Handbooks the BSA has. If you don't have the handbooks talk to the Primary President about purchasing them. As you work through magnifying your calling you will find lots of good material to help you at the Scout Office. The person who conducts your Cub Scout Round-table will be able to give you lots of help in this area, also find out who your Unit Commissioner is and make them your best friend their whole purpose in life it to help you have a successful Pack.
Also get familiar with BSAs "Journey to Excellence" program it help you to have a quality program. Here is a link.
http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Awa ... lence.aspx
andrewserff wrote:I understand your points about magnifying our callings, however, there is still a problem with way I've seen the Scouting program run in the Wards I've been in.
Yes there is. However the biggest problem is leaders not going to training, not using the program materials, and not attending round tables.
andrewserff wrote:I don't believe we can blame the individuals for not magnifying their calling when there really should be dead simple way of tracking of the boys progress within the Church.
BSA has all the materials necessary for tracking advancement its in all the leaders handbooks. There is also a large wall chart one can use to display all the boys advancement progress.
andrewserff wrote:Like Robert said, it should be as easy (if not easier) as membership records. The Church is 100% engrained in Scouting and has been for 100 years, so it's not like the policies and practices are unknown,
It is easy if the Pack Committee does their job. For example on the pack committee you have an advancement person if that person is doing their job correctly when a boy is moving they would give them a transfer form to carry to their next scout unit. Everything is on the form that the new unit needs.
andrewserff wrote:yet when new leaders are called, they often are told what you just said: "Go to Roundtable, do the trainings that BSA puts out, etc" While those are good, they are not Church specific. I have been to Roundtables and they have been mostly useless to me because the way the Church does Scouting and the way BSA does Scouting are not the same.
The Scouting Program is the scouting program in and out of the church there is no difference on the program is to be carried out. There are some slight differences on what the church will allow the boys to do. But every chartered organization are allowed to set some policies that may conform to their organization standards.
andrewserff wrote: Sure the achievements are the same, but we don't, and are not allowed to do, everything they do (take Venturing for example).
True. But its really no big deal.
Here are some of the differences I know right of the top of my head.
In Cub Scouts the churches program is Base on Age starting at 8 and there is not tiger cubs. In community units the program is usually base on Grade in school and there is a tiger cub den.
Cubs in the church do not do overnight camping, in other units they do family camping and the Webelos will do some camping.
There is some difference in how we conduct our new scout patrol, 11 yr old scouts.
The only difference in the Venture program is the church is not coed.
There are not many more differences that i know of.
andrewserff wrote:1) What boys are in what Dens, 11 yo Scouts, Scouts, etc
See your ward clerk he can give you this information. In our ward well made custom classes for Cub Scouts.
andrewserff wrote:2) What achievements each boy in a Den has earned. How many achievements a boy needs to get their next badge.
There is a form Den Leaders use to track achievements for each boy int the Den the form should be passed to the new den leader when they move to the next Den. The Committee member over advancement should have a book with everyone's achievements in.
andrewserff wrote:3) What belt loops/pins have they earned
While lots of units keep track of belt loops and pins there is really no need to a boy can earn the same belt loop and pin as many times as he whats. Belt loops and pins are not considered advancement awards. They are just recognition awards.
andrewserff wrote:4) What achievements to buy (and what have the boys already received). I just went to the scout shop and bought a bunch of awards for the boys for my first pack meeting. Come to find out, the boys already had received some of them. How was I supposed to know? Budget wasted right there.
The only awards for cubs I know of they they can only earn once is Advancement Awards, everything else can be earned as many times as the boy wants to earn it. As Cub Master you should not have to worry about keeping track of achievements as the Pack Committee Member over advancement should be doing this.
andrewserff wrote:Because of these experiences, many Wards go out and sign up for something like ScoutManage, Troopmaster, ScoutTrack or the many other tools out there that cost money. Sometime the Ward pays for that, some times the leaders pay for it, either way, it's money that is being spent on something that should be provided.
Talk the Cub Committee chair and the primary president (She hold the purse strings for CS) about purchasing something like this if you think it will help then the ward will have it and all the information will be there for the next leaders. Leaders should never have to pay for any materials out of their own pocket.