8 July 2009
A Themeless Transition
Posted by admin under: themes .
KISMIF.org previously posted about Cub Scout themes ending as a staple of the program. Mike has deduced the same result again from a couple of recent clues.
There are now more signs that 2009-2010 is the last year for Cub Scout Monthly Themes:
o The 2009-2010 Cub Scout Program Helps book has no mention of the 2010-2011 themes.
o The 2010-2011 themes have been removed from the BSA National website.
Don’t take my word for it. Click on over and find his link to the national site without mention of the themes.
It’s too bad. They’ve been doing themes since my first son was a Tiger. As a Den Leader I always based my monthly program around the theme and usually incorporated that into our presentation at the pack meeting. It’s always been a comfort to me as a way to unify the dens that need to pursue their own accomplishments. As a new Cubmaster for the pack I was looking forward to encouraging the dens to feel more connected using the national theme. I still like the idea of themes, but I guess we’ll just have to come up with our own after this next year. C’est la vie.
Update: So, of course I had to run out and buy the new Cub Scout Program Helps and I noticed, also, that unlike last year’s program helps which had a preview of the next year (2009-2010) there is nothing similar to this in the new book. There is a link listed in that secion: www.scouting.org/100years which looks like it has some cool information, but the evidence does lead to the conclusions that themes are on the way out.
- Cub Scouts Shakeup in 2010
- More on the End To Cub Scout Themes
- Last September Cub Scout Theme
- Boy Scout Themes
- KISMIF Collection for Cub Parents
3 Comments so far...
Lysssa Wilson Says:
10 October 2009 at 12:23 pm.
About the end of the Program themes – I’ve heard that they are going to start using a “focus” to serve like the themes did. Instead of having a theme that may or may not really apply to what the scouts are using – it will be more like “first aid”, “citizenship”, etc. I heard it through the grape vine – but here is the information for what it is worth.
Laurie Beitler Says:
21 October 2009 at 8:11 pm.
They are changing it to something called “Cub Scouts 2010″ which you can find on scouting.org. Getting advancement up until now required parents to do alot at home. Parents today don’t have time. the focus is more on earning acheivements in the Den. It is based on their pilot program “fast tracks.”
PurcellvilleScouter Says:
25 November 2009 at 12:53 pm.
I went to Pow Wow recently, and while the information was limited, the takeaways were as follows:
- Program Helps are being replaced by something that is an even more complete recipe for the meeting, if you want to use it.
- The Current Themes are being replaced by a focus on one of the 12 “Core Values” of Cub Scouting. Perseverance, Citizenship, etc.
- The requirements and handbook are NOT changing, only the Program Helps, which are being called something else to highlight the transition. It is apparently fairly close to a “Fast Tracks” program that has been tested in a number of areas for up to 10 years, and which has been shown to improve retention.
- The new system is supposed to make it easier to run each den meeting with less required planning.
