Re: hazing

> Singing is part of the school curriculum in most school
> districts. Standing up in front of a crowd is listed as the number
one biggest
> fear most people have. Get over it now. Learn to sing and learn to
speak in front of
> people. Why put off overcoming fears.

James,

Strong statement, but I have to disagree. Yes, we should be encouraging
public speaking and/or singing from the Scouts (and do, in fact, very
regularly). But to force a single Scout to perform against his will in
order to regain his property doesn't work, IMHO. At least, you cause
resentment. At worst, you traumatize him if he has stage-fright (like
me). If I had been forced to do that as a young Scout, I would have
quit the next day. Call me what you will, but I learned to deal with it
in my own way and learned how to love public performance and now am an
amateur musician and publicly speak as a PTA President. Speaking and
performance should be taught as a fun activity in the form of patrol
demonstrations and campfire songs and skits, not as a punishment.

On another tangent, how would we as leaders handle it if one scout was
forcing another scout to do something against his will (however
innocent) in order to get his own property back? "A Scout is courteous
and kind".

Jim Gibson
ASM, Troop 119
Merchantville, NJ

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