Re: Wet Tent

My response is to the list as a whole and not to Matthew other than he
has said the same thing that many others have. That being the notion
that scouting teaches responsibility and that scouting is not a place for
punishment. I would suggest we all stop and pick up the dictionary. The
act of being responsible means "liable to be called to account (to a
person or for a thing)", "person or thing for which one is responsible".
Thus, if you are teaching a scout to be responsible you must make him
account for his actions. This is not punishment folks, this is a
consequence of their actions. We as Scouters need to make sure that we
do our part and make the Scouts aware of what their responsibility is.
If we have done this and the scout brings back a moldy tent then he is
responsible for it's condition and the return to it's former condition.
He accepted the responsibility and it is our duty to the Scout and
society to re-enforce the concept that resposibility means something.
Currently in society many criminals are trying to say they are not
responsible for their actions. I am sorry, I have a problem with this
line of thought.

In this current situation, (not knowing the facts) I would question why
the Quartermaster allowed this tent to be turned in this condition. If
the Troop has not developed a method to check equipment in and out on a
timely basis the scouts responsibility is diminished and he is not
totally responsible. However, he with help should have to clean it up.
As stated in my previous post, it is up to the Scoutmaster to make the
call.

Greg Gough
SM Troop 201, Ozark, MO. I used to be an Owl but I will always be an Eagle!

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