Cub Scout Edition · 2018. 2. 5. · Vol. 7, No. 7 Cub Scout Edition The Cub Scout program of the...

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Vol. 7, No. 7 Cub Scout Edition The Cub Scout program of the Boy Scouts of America is rolling out some of the biggest changes in its history. Exciting opportunities will be energizing Cub Scouting for years to come. This is also a great time to look back to the beginnings of BSA’s program for younger boys and the important role it has played for more than 80 years. IN THE BEGINNING When the Boy Scouts of America opened its doors in 1910, a boy had to be twelve years old in order to join. That was also true in England, where Robert Baden-Powell had founded the Scouting movement three years earlier. Scouting grew rapidly around the world, and boys younger than 12 also wanted to take part. Baden-Powell acted first by launching Wolf Cubs in 1916 for boys ages nine through 11. He explained everything in The Wolf-Cub’s Handbook.

Transcript of Cub Scout Edition · 2018. 2. 5. · Vol. 7, No. 7 Cub Scout Edition The Cub Scout program of the...

Page 1: Cub Scout Edition · 2018. 2. 5. · Vol. 7, No. 7 Cub Scout Edition The Cub Scout program of the Boy Scouts of America is rolling out some of the biggest changes in its history.

Vol. 7, No. 7

Cub Scout Edition

The Cub Scout program of the Boy Scouts of America is rolling out some of the biggest changes in its history. Exciting opportunities will be energizing Cub Scouting for years to come.

This is also a great time to look back to the beginnings of BSA’s program for younger boys and the important role it has played for more than 80 years.

IN THE BEGINNING

When the Boy Scouts of America opened its doors in 1910, a boy had to be twelve years old in order to join. That was also true in England, where Robert Baden-Powell had founded the Scouting movement three years earlier.

Scouting grew rapidly around the world, and boys younger than 12 also wanted to take part. Baden-Powell acted first by launching Wolf Cubs in 1916 for boys ages nine through 11. He explained everything in The Wolf-Cub’s Handbook.

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To enrich the program, Baden-Powell borrowed characters from The Jungle Book, a collection of stories written by his friend and Nobel Prize-winning author Rudyard Kipling. Among them were a bear named Baloo, an untrustworthy tiger named Shere Khan, and a wolf called Akela who was the leader of a pack. Mowgli, a human boy was raised as a cub by the pack and taught to obey the Law of the Jungle.

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As with his other Scouting manuals, Baden-Powell did the artwork in himself. One illustration showed Mowgli and Shere Khan.

Another was a sketch of a young Scout howling with a wolf.

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The book explained that the Wolf Cub sign of two fingers extended was meant to imitate the appearance of a wolf with ears alert.

Wolf Cubs were encouraged to develop a meeting place, perhaps in a backyard. A tarp, a fence, and a blankets could be transformed into a den’s “lair.”

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While not for boys younger than 12 to join BSA, the Boy Scouts of America sold Baden-Powell’s Wolf Cub’s Handbook to anyone who wanted a copy. Some councils and many troops unofficially allowed younger boys to take part in Scouting.

By 1924, BSA’s national leaders realized a program similar to the Wolf Cubs could help prepare young American boys for troop membership when they reached Boy Scout age. After another six years of study, the Boy Scouts of America launched Cubbing for boys ages 9 to twelve. (The name was changed in 1945 to Cub Scouting.)

Each Cubbing den was led by an older Boy Scout serving as Den Chief, often with the assistance of the mother of one of the Cubs.

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In 1936 women were invited to register as Den Mothers.

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Den Mother designation changed in 1967 to Den Leader, recognizing the fact that both women and men could head up groups of Cub Scouts. Twenty years later, women were invited to serve in all of Scouting's adult leadership roles, from Den Leader to Scoutmaster and beyond.

Boys earned the Bobcat pin upon joining, the Wolf award at age 9, Bear at 10, and Lion at 11.

The Lion rank was replaced in 1941 by Webelos, and the Arrow of Light became a stepping stone from Webelos into a Boy Scout troop.

To accommodate even younger boys and their families, Tiger Cubs appeared in 1982.

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From the beginning, the BSA strived to keep Cubbing different from Boy Scouting. While Scouting was community centered, Cubbing was home and neighborhood centered. “Scouting goes camping,” explained a 1934 Scouting Magazine article. “Cubbing does ‘backyarding’ and ‘vacant-lot-ing.’”

Cub Scouting has always delivered important guidelines for life, but the real attractions for boys have been the fun activities they can do with their friends. Here’s a quick overview of some of the best.

CUB SCOUT ACTIVITIES

Among the most famous activities of Cub Scouts is the Pinewood Derby. In six decades, more than a hundred million cars have been built and raced.

Completing rank requirements has given Cub Scouts goals to work toward. Awards ceremonies celebrate the pride and confidence boys can gain by finishing something important that they began.

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Cub Scout day camps across America have been scenes of games, learning, projects, and fun.

Today, Scouting’s emphasis on STEM shapes many Cub Scout events to bring out the best in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The NOVA awards encourage Scouts of all ages to become involved.

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When it comes to conservation, Cub Scouts have always done their part, too. Sometimes their efforts have led to recognitions. Often Cub Scouts have pitched in simply for the joy of caring for the environment.

Most of all, Cub Scouts today are just like boys of the 1930s. They love to have fun with their friends, to engage in activities they find important, and to live by Scouting’s values.

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THE FUTURE OF CUB SCOUTING

Building on the successes of the past, the Cub Scout program is evolving with exciting changes. Ethan is a Cub Scout eager to show the way. You’ll find him in new Cub Scout literature and other materials that will help youth and adults make the most of Cub Scouting today and in the years to come. You can find all the new Cub Scout literature at www.scoutstuff.org. To learn all about changes in the Cub Scout program, check out www.scouting.org/programupdates

(This edition of the Be Prepared Newsletter was developed and written by Robert Birkby, author of the current editions of the Boy Scout Handbook, Fieldbook, Scout Stuff, The Conservation Handbook, and Eagle Scouts: A Centennial History.)

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