Core Value: Citizenship
Theme: Your Vote Counts
Adult Leader Training
http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/CubScouts/Leaders/DenLeaderResources/DenandPackMeetingResourceGuide/PackMeetingPlans.aspx
Gathering Activity
“America Is Special” Chain
Have strips of red, white and blue construction paper 1 inch by 8 ½ inches. As Cub Scouts and parents arrive, have them take a strip of paper and write on it what makes America special to them. Then make a paper chain with the strips. Use the chain to decorate the awards table.
Opening Ceremony
“The Rights of Americans”
Materials: Narrator and 10 Cub Scouts, each with a poster with their words on the back and an appropriate picture (they could draw the pictures themselves) on the front.
Narrator:
As we begin tonight, let’s talk about our rights and freedoms. Our nation has remained strong and free because our government is of the people, by the people, and for the people. Each of us has an obligation to do all that we can to preserve the freedoms for which thousands of our ancestors have died. Here are the freedoms guaranteed to us in our Constitution.
Cub Scout 1:
The right to worship God in one’s own personal way.
Cub Scout 2:
The right to free speech and press.
Cub Scout 3:
The right to assemble peaceably.
Cub Scout 4:
The right to petition for a redress of grievances.
Cub Scout 5:
The right to privacy in our homes.
Cub Scout 6:
The right to protection against illegal imprisonment and the freedom from excessive bail.
Cub Scout 7:
The right to trial by jury. A person is innocent until proved guilty.
Cub Scout 8:The right to move about freely at home and to travel abroad.
Cub Scout 9:
The right to own property.
Cub Scout 10:
The right to a free election and a personal secret ballot.
Narrator:
Maintaining our freedoms is the responsibility of every American. Keep your freedom. Vote as you think, but vote.
Training Topic
“Why Uniforming?”
Suggested discussion questions:
1. Why is a Scout uniform worn? Why is it important?
• Scouts and adults alike should take pride in belonging to this program and wear the uniform correctly.
Some ideas to be covered and included in the discussion:
• Gives a Scout visibility
• Creates a level of identity within both the unit and the community
• Promotes equality while showing individual achievement
2. What are some of the differences in the various Scouting programs’ uniforms?
Some ideas to be covered and included in the discussion:
• Vary in color and detail to identify the different membership divisions of Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, and Venturing
• Field uniform and activity uniform (Scouting-related T-shirt and Scout pants) are often referred to as “Class A” and “Class B” uniforms, though that terminology is not used in any official BSA publications and is not correct. It would be better to call them field and activity uniforms, following
BSA terminology. Troops and packs are free to create their own activity shirts.
3. What is the official uniform for youth and adults?
Some ideas to be covered and included in the discussion:
• Official Scout uniform consists of shirt, pants, belt, and socks.
• A neckerchief and hat are optional.
• Units may have different uniform expectations, such as requiring that Scouts are consistently uniformed for meetings and outings. The Scout uniform is not a mandatory part of Scouting, and a Scout should not be prohibited from participating just because he does not have a uniform (or a
complete uniform).
4. What are the correct positions for insignia and awards?
Some ideas to be covered and included in the discussion:
• Refer to the insignia guide or uniform inspection sheets.
• Encourage units to supply parents/leaders with these resources to avoid incorrect insignia placement.
5. What are some ideas for those awards, patches, etc., not worn on the uniform?
Some ideas to be covered and included in the discussion:
• Every badge, patch, and pin has some memory of a fun time had with other boys.
• Take pride in awards and achievements earned, and display them where other boys can see them.
• Suggestions: framed shadow boxes, blankets, vests
6. Where can BSA literature, uniforms, and other program materials be purchased? How can families save money on the cost of uniforms and equipment?
• A Cub Scout pack may provide assistance to families.
• A uniform exchange, uniform bank, or fundraisers may enable to boys to earn their uniforms.
• Some packs award boys rank-specific uniform components (hat and neckerchief) and/or the program books that the Cub Scout needs each year. Parents should inquire as to what the pack provides, or ways boys can earn necessary
items, before purchasing the items themselves.Resources:
• Uniform Inspection Sheet, www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34283.pdf
• Guide to Awards and Insignia, www.scouting.org/Media/
InsigniaGuide.aspx
• http://bsauniforms.org/
Audience Participation Activity
Skit:“The Important Meeting”
Materials: Six to eight players sit around a table scattered with papers, a couple of water glasses, etc. They mime a discussion, some jotting down notes, etc. Enter the narrator, outfitted as news reporter.
Action: In confidential tones, the reporter says, “This is an important meeting—top congressional leaders are here to make some very important decisions.” As the reporter says something like, “Let’s see if we can get a bit closer to hear how things are going,” the group at the table adds some mumbling and unintelligible arguing to their mime.
Occasionally, they punctuate the din with outbursts such as, “No, no!”; “I disagree!”; “That’s better”; “No way!”; “That might work,” and the like. Finally, the hubbub dies, and the group settles back.
One member stands and announces: “Then it’s decided: a 12-slice pizza with olives, mushrooms, lots of cheese, but hold the pepperoni.”
All: Agreed!
Quotes
“This nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principlethat all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one
man are threatened.”—John Fitzgerald Kennedy
“The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight.”—Theodore Roosevelt
“There can be no daily democracy without daily citizenship.”—Ralph Nader
Cheers
Constitution: We the People, APPROVE!
George Washington: I cannot tell a lie. That was great!Abe Lincoln: “That was great—honestly!”
America: Spell “AMERICA” rapidly three times. Shout “Cub Scouts” twice. Yell “U-S-A” once.
Commissioner’s Minute
Song: “God Bless America”
(By Irving Berlin. Original, 1918; Revised, 1938.)
Spoken introduction:
While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that’s free,
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.
Everybody sing:
God bless America, land that I love;
Stand beside her, and guide her,
Through the night with the light from above.
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the ocean white with foam;
God bless America, my home sweet home.
God bless America, my home sweet home.
This song would be great for our Cub Scouts to learn for several reasons. Why is that?
First, it is being lost as our children cannot sing it in school because it mentions God.
Second, in 1940, Irving Berlin established the God Bless America Foundation, directing that all royalties from its performance earned by either Berlin or singer Kate Smith go to the Boy and
Girl Scouts of America. That arrangement exists to this day. These organizations were chosen, to quote the contract, because “the completely nonsectarian work of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts is calculated to best promote unity of mind and patriotism, two sentiments that are inherent in the song itself.”
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