maai

This message is from the person who started the thread. Several people have questioned if the younger scout provoked the boy earlier. Not to my knowledge. The younger boy came to talk to the 4 adults in camp that night: after hearing his story, we sent him back to his tent and brought in the older boy for his interview. He confirmed the story: he wanted the chair, he used the language, he did the touching, all because he wanted to keep the chair. Neither boy mentioned any earlier incident. I will also admit that my perception of the older boy is influenced by my own son, who found the ol

A final message from the person who opened this thread. As some of you may have concluded, I am not a Scouting leader, but instead am a parent attempting to understand the situation as other Scouting leaders may see it. Your responses ranged all the way from boys-will-be-boys to report-to-the-authorities. Now I understand why the leadership in my troop took the course they did. I will say this . . . I wish my son was in Bob White's troop. The situation now is that we held a troop meeting last night. The new scoutmaster, who at camp was the senior leader, started the discussion

This is the person who started this thread. Thank you so much for your thoughtful replies. Opinions vary widely both in this forum and in my troop, and it is tough to call. At first I felt it was a sexual thing and over time I have come to believe it was bullying. At minimum it was bullying. For those who want to know the background, yes, the older boy has bullied before, so much so that he had been the subject of a prior adult meeting. In addition, there were two boys who came to the adults that night to report bullying by this older boy; I told you the more serious of the two stori

I would appreciate your advice about a bullying incident. At the weeklong camp one of the new Scouts was fishing by the lake. He had taken his folding chair with him. An older scout (by a year or two)came along and took the chair down the shore several hundred feet. V. did not care at the time because he was standing. At dusk V. went to get the chair. B. refused to give it to him. B. called the younger boy some sexual terms, which did not discourage V. from trying to get the chair. V. had his hand on the chair. B. stroked his hand, saying, "I know you want to get it on with me. C

Regarding the study of martial arts, twin_wasp said it right. Interview the sensei (teacher). Ask to sit in on classes. Ask to observe a ranking test. There is one chain of karate schools that thinks it necessary to yell at its students (that's why you want to observe). I have a black belt in Shotokan Karate and studied Aikido for years. Both budos have remarkable qualities and can improve a student's ability to handle the frustrations of the world. I wish my children would study martial arts.