From: jim.speirs@canrem.com (Jim Speirs) To: dannys@iis.ee.ethz.ch (Danny Schwendener) Subject: Discipline in the Cub Pack Summary: A Cub leader's job isn't to control a group of rowdy Cubs, but to channel their energy and enthusiasm into constructive program pursuits. Here's how to do it. Article #R163. -------------- Discipline in the Cub Pack Dave Liscumb The Leader, August/September 1991 "I'm ready to pull my hair out!" Whether I'm servicing or training, Cub leaders tell me their most common problem is discipline. Although discipline problems are many and varied, they generally have a single source: the nature of youngsters aged 8-10. Cubs are typically very energetic. They enjoy acting out and test limits whenever there's an opportunity. A Cub leader's job isn't to control a group of rowdy Cubs, but to channel their energy and enthusiasm into constructive program pursuits. I put "discipline" into two general categories; general and specific. General discipline problems are things such as regular rowdiness or lack of control in a Cub pack. Specific problems might be the pack bully or a Cub who frequently cheats at games. General Discipline Here's a typical scenario for a general discipline problem I've seen over and over in service visits through the years. At 6:30, I show up at a meeting due to start at 6:30. Akela is talking with one of the parents. Baloo is talking with one of the Cubs. Bagheera is refereeing a fight between two Cubs carried away while roughhousing. Cubs are running around the hall throwing hats, chasing balls, and chasing each other. 6:35: Things really haven't changed much, but Bagheera is now looking for the flags. 6:40: Akela walks to the centre of the hall and tells the Cubs it's time for the Grand Howl. They gather and, after much noisy shuffling, eventually perform. Akela completes the opening and sends the Cubs to their sixes for inspection. 6:45: Sixers start filling out dues books, collecting dues, and readying their six for inspection. Cubs begin running around the hall. 6:50: Inspection over, the Cubs are ready for a steam-off game. Most of the discipline problems in a pack like this can be solved with some very basic programming corrections. First, start the meeting on time. It encourages Cubs to arrive on time, immediately establishes a performance standard for the meeting, and gives you more program time. Ask your sixers or seconds to complete the six books, collect dues, and take attendance as soon as they arrive. Assign the duty six the tasks of setting up the flags and getting out the totem and other pack props so that they are ready for the meeting. Have an organized coming-in activity that the rest of the Cubs can join at any point. This is also a good time for badge and star testers to talk to Cubs who have brought in star work for marking. If Akela is busy with parents or other Cubs, have another leader open the meeting. It's good to rotate the responsibility for openings and closings so that all team members are involved fully in pack routines. If Akela can't be at a meeting, any other leader is always prepared to step in. When the meeting is ready to begin, catch attention with special pack calls and hand signals. To teach and reinforce these signals with our Cubs, we occasionally play a game. We tell them simply to run around and make noise (they tend to be quite good at this game!). Before long, I raise my hand or call out "Pack" to see how long it takes for them to freeze and be completely quiet. Never raise your voice to talk over your Cubs' noise. Wait until they become quiet. If at first it takes forever, when you finally have their attention, quietly explain that the delay means they have less time for another activity they really enjoy. If you are consistent, your Cubs will very soon quiet down quickly when you ask for attention. Incentive: We've found a point system encourages Cubs to wear full uniform and be neat and tidy with Cub Book in hand for inspection. We award points if every member of the six has a certain item of the uniform. For example, if every Cub has a hat, the six receives 5 points; if one hat is missing, they receive no points. The approach encourages sixers to phone their Cubs to remind them to come in proper uniform. If you use a point system, you need some sort of reward or prize. We use a two level system. First, we have a "Best Six of the Night" award for the six with the most points for that meeting. Over the years, the award has taken different forms, from a necklace of wooden beads to a plywood wolf on a string. A leader gives the sixer the prize and the duty of awarding it to the Cub in his six who did the most to help the six earn the award. Every two to three months, we also give a prize to the six that accumulates the most points over that period of time. Positive reinforcement maintains discipline more effectively than punishment. It's better to give points for remembering hats than to deduct points if someone forgets, or to reward the first six into the circle for the Grand Howl than to punish the last six. Rules & Expectations: How many rules do you have in your Cub pack? In mine, there is one: no fighting. All else is covered by what I call "performance expectations". The rule is formal and rigid. If you break it by fighting, you are immediately disciplined, with no exceptions. Performance expectations are less formal and more flexible. Let's look at a relay as an example of performance expectations. At the end of the game, the winning six is the one sitting in an orderly fashion on the floor, not necessarily the six who finishes first. A six isn't punished if they choose not to sit at the end of the game, but most sixes want to win and, when they complete the relay, they sit. My advice is to keep rules to a minimum. In order to be effective, a rule must be applied consistently and uniformly. The more rules you have, the more chances you give Cubs to break them and the more chances you have to be inconsistent in enforcing them. If you have a few absolute rules, Cubs will obey them. Just make sure they know the difference between your performance expectations and the rules. It's a good idea to examine your expectations, too. How do you expect Cubs to behave? What I consider a well-disciplined pack might be considered rowdy by some leaders and far too strict by others. Are your expectations realistic? Do you expect the Cubs to standabsolutely silent at attention for five minutes while you perform a ceremony? If so, you will likely be disappointed. These are energetic enthusiastic youngsters. Noise comes naturally to them. Discuss your discipline expectations with your Service Scouter and your trainers. When you know what level of behaviour to expect, it is much easier to establish a realistic performance standard in the pack. Realize, too, that your own personality will bring out certain traits in your Cubs. I have a tendency to bring out their rambunctious side. I know many leaders who, just through their own personalities, bring out their quieter side. Specific Discipline Problems I don't think you can work on correcting specific discipline problems until you have good general discipline in the pack. One of the keys is to show problem Cubs exactly what you expect from them. Unless you can use pack behaviour as an example, you will find it difficult to convince them to change behaviour. Discuss specific discipline problems with your leadership team. Together, establish a plan that addresses the problems of the particular Cub. All Cubs have certain needs. Target your strategies around them. For example, we had a sixer almost ready for Scouts who was losing interest in the pack. It would have been easy to send him to Scouts immediately, but we thought it important that he accept responsibility for his actions before going up. The Cub and I sat down to talk about his behaviour and set specific performance standards. The reward for meeting the standards would be a visit to the Scout troop. The expectations? His six would finish first in inspection for four consecutive weeks (we talked about ways he could meet this goal), and he would show good behaviour as an example to others for the same four week period. The Cub not only met the standard but surpassed it. He visited the troop and, shortly after, moved up. Problem-Solving Steps 1. Set age-appropriate performance standards. 2. Discuss with the Cub the consequences of meeting the standards and the consequences of failing to meet them. 3. Follow up. Praise positive results as frequently as practical. Point out times when the Cub does not meet performance standards. 4. If the Cub is not meeting performance standards, review them to ensure they are realistic and appropriate to the circumstances. Follow the rule "Do Your Best" when helping Cubs improve their behaviour. You need to speak with problem Cubs before setting performance standards. Your talk may give you some insight into reasons for their behaviour. Discuss the situation with the other leaders, too. They may have additional observations to share. It's always a good idea to talk with parents, since they are ultimately responsible for the Cub's behaviour. Some children act out at Cubs because they are not permitted to act out at home or school. In the less structured environment of the pack, they test their leaders to the limit. When you talk to their parents, you learn that their behaviour at Cubs is completely different fromtheir behaviour in other places. When a Cub realizes he is expected to behave as well at Cubs as at home and his parents support Akela, his behaviour frequently changes. Sometimes specific discipline problems may be a matter of personal perception. A few years ago, the Akela of our pack said he was at the end of his rope with a particular Cub. I worked with the same Cub and didn't find him a problem. We talked with the other leaders on the team. The Cub didn't create problems for them, either. In this case, the problem was a personality clash between the Cub and Akela. After the leadership team discussed it, Akela became more tolerant of the Cub. Another part of the solution was to put the Cub with other leaders much of the time. When Nothing Else Works: Occasionally a Cub is so disruptive that we must consider asking him to leave. It is never an easy decision. Some leaders feel we should never remove a Cub permanently. I believe we need to examine every other available option first. If the decision is to remove him, review it with the leadership team, parents, and service team. Explore the option of transferring the Cub to a different pack. Doesn't that just foist the problem on some other leadership team? Let me tell a personal story. The Cub in question had been kicked out of several packs, but I didn't know that when I showed up early for the year's first meeting, car loaded with equipment because we were moving to a new hall. I arrived to find a Cub standing by the door in full uniform. He was an older Cub, and I found it curious that he had no badges on his uniform. He approached me, and we introduced ourselves. Without my asking, he began unloading things and carrying them into the hall. "Relax," he said. "I'll bring it all in." As I prepared for the meeting, he was as good as his word. Then he set up the totem, campfire, six curtains, and flags. When the other Cubs arrived, he started them into a coming-in game and kept them under control. That evening, I told the Cubs we'd be setting up sixes and picking sixers within the next couple of weeks. I'd already made up my mind that this new Cub, -- Peter, would be one of my sixers. Peter turned out to be one of the best sixers I've ever had. He tackled every star and just about every badge in his final year, went on in Scouting to earn the Chief Scout's Award and, later, became a Queen's Venturer. This was the boy who had been kicked out of several Cub packs! Why the difference? I believe that other leaders, warned about Peter, expected him to be a problem. He lived up to the expectations. Since I didn't know I was getting this "terrible Cub", I simply treated him the way he behaved. I believe it's imperative to keep an open mind with our Cubs and not automatically look to a troubled Cub every time something goes wrong. The next time you're ready to pull out your hair, look at your program. Are you getting 60 minutes out of every hour? Do you have large gaps between program activities? When you do need extra time to set up the next activity, be ready with a few quick games the Cubs can play to fill the time gap. For example, ask Cubs to stand quiet and try to guess how long a minute is. When they think time is up, they sit down. A strong well-run program reduces problems in the pack. Why pull out your hair when you can sit back and enjoy your Cubs? Dave Liscumb is ARC (Cubs) Northern B.C. Region.