Introduction (Finally)
David Weintraub (dhw@HPTELE24.TELERATE.COM)
Wed, 10 Aug 1994 17:11:19 -0500
Phone Number: 201-938-5808
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I've been sitting on this list for about 6 months now. Maybe it's time I
introduce myself:
My name is David Weintraub and I live in Central New Jersey. My oldest
son is seven and will soon be eight. He is a member of an Orthodox
Jewish Pack in the Thomas A. Edison council.
My personal scouting experience wasn't that hot. I never even bothered
getting a uniform.
My son is ADD and has very little low self esteem. I basically made him
join the pack because I felt it might encourage him to try new things.
First thing we did was make him earn his uniform. We designated a few
tasks around the house for him to do and posted how much of money he
would earn towards his uniform. It has been a tough year. The Pack is
still in the formation stages, and my son threw constant temper tantrums
whenever anything didn't go exactly as planned. However, with some
medication for the ADD, patience and understanding, and perseverance,
he did super.
On Wednesdays, he would come home at 4:30PM, do his homework, and be
ready for me to drop him off at his pack meetings. He learned that just
trying is sometimes a big accomplishment, and not everything you do has
to be perfect. He learned that while certain skills (especially
athletics) he has are very weak, he's got other skills that he
excels in. He learned that you have to keep trying and to learn from
his mistakes. And, that even if things don't work out exactly as
planned, you can sometimes improvise and everything will be fine.
This summer, he told me he wanted to go to Cub Camp. I was a little
worried at first. The camp would consist of a lot of sports and other
athletic events, and he's no Jim Thorpe . However, I let him go anyway.
Final Report: He loved it! He participated in every sports activity
and every relay race at the camp. He did arts and crafts, etc. He
never complained that he couldn't do something or that something was
unfair.
His school grades also picked up and he made honor role for the last
to grading periods. We still have some behavior problems (he is
a kid and he still is ADD), but he's now a generally happy kid.
I feel that a lot of this improvement was do to the scouting program.
--
David Weintraub | Opinions expressed are mine and not Telerate's
davidw@cnj.digex.net | Not that anyone listens to me anyway
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
