Re: Shootings in Littleton, CO
Beaver (xl23795@SWBELL.NET)
Sun, 25 Apr 1999 07:56:57 -0500
> ". . . one of the shooters, Dylen Klebold, used to be in Cub Scouts.. .
> . One Scout trying to fix the mess caused by another Scout."
>
Bob, while I agree with the tone and intent of your post, I regret your
reference to Dylan Klebold as a Scout. The events in Littleton are tragic
and all of our prayers are with the families and that community. However,
a Cub Scout, IMO, is not a Scout. He is a Cub. Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts
are two completely different programs for two different age groups. I
love them both but they're not the same.
For the sake of the boys in your unit, please do not let them get to the
fifth grade thinking that they have been "doing Scouts." They have been
"doing Cubs." While I know this was not the intent of your post, I see
posts everyday on this list that equate Scouts with Cubs. Effective
transition of Webelos to Boy Scout units relies on a boy looking forward
to something different and new. Please do not let your boys (or their
parents) think they're in for more of the same.
I have some young men in my unit who did not discover Scouting until two
or three years after they were Webelos because they thought that they'd
done the "Scouting thing." They would really like to have a talk with
their former leaders. As soon as they discovered that their Den Leader
was going to be the ASM for new Scouts, this really confirmed their belief
that Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts were the same.
Cubs are boys in a program run by adults. Scouts are young men
discovering themselves and the world around them in a program they run.
YIS,
Dave Beaver
Scoutmaster
Mud Dogs 54
DeSoto, Kansas
