SagerScout

Would some wise scouter (yes, I'm hoping for you, Bob White) please let me know what the rules for utilizing the fleur-de-lis on a troop tshirt would be?

I'm thinking of doing a troop t-shirt for casual camp outings and wear-around use, using my trusty color printer and t-shirt transfers. (you'd be surprised at how good they can come out!)

We're too small and broke to go to a screenprinter, I think. Short runs are always expensive. I was thinking of having the boys do a design but I don't want to infringe on the BSA trademark in any way.

I noticed you can buy a sew-on fleur-de-lis - we could work with that if we can't reproduce the design another way.

Guidance please? I haven't brought this up with the PLC yet, wanted to find out the rules first. How do other troops get their cool t-shirts?

No, he's an adult size. And I think he really is that big. His shoe size is a 15, and he's easily six-four, and hefty puts it pretty mildly. His younger brother is also somewhat heavy, but less so, and he's not going to have problems getting uniformed. He is extremely intelligent, an avid ham radio operator, and a very pleasant and interesting young man. But standing out for his size, as he must have done from a very early age, he's not felt welcome in scouting before. However, he's been active in 4H and one of his 4H buddies is in our troop, so he has gotten interested in trying it.

Since I'm pretty overweight myself, and I allowed it to limit my life in some ways before I got older and smarter, I'm happy to see this kid decide NOT to let it limit him. And as someone else observed, he might not need this size forever if he's active in scouting (although that hasn't worked on ME!)

Julia

THANKS sctmom! I'm now in the fray over at ebay but would have missed it without your alert because the title said CUB scout shirt 6x, so I hadn't even opened the picture. Now everyone just cross your fingers for me that the other bidder's last names aren't Rockefeller....

julia

We have a new scout, entering scouting at age 16 with a high degree of interest, who needs a uniform shirt in a size 6X. His younger brother has also joined, so the parents are hit with a double whammy on uniforming them, but they are doing their best to get the kids dressed.

If anyone has a shirt in this size range that you would be willing to donate or sell for a reasonable cost, please contact me! And please spread the word among Scouters.

Thanks in advance - Julia

OK, I found out half of the size info. We're seeking a 6x boy scout shirt. This is assuming the sizes are close to T-shirt sizes. The boy was ill and didn't make Scouts tonight, but the TCC is also in his 4H organization and knows that she ordered him a 6x tshirt and it worked out for him. Don't know about pants, but I think under the circumstances we may be able to get at least a one-time dispensation for him to wear non-regulation olive-green pants for the parade.

Troop committee chair has talked to council four times. Local council doesn't have a needy scout fund but does have some sponsors that might help out, but no one has put pen to checkbook yet. After I post here I'll cruise to Ebay as has been suggested by others, and see what I can shake up. I'll also start the shirt request as a new thread hoping someone can help.

Thanks for all your suggestions, more are welcome.

Julia

Bob White - Thank you for your reply, and as I have said earlier I understand and accept the BSA position that the uniform is required. We just are having a problem in our dirt poor startup troop with this one young man. The issue is that to get one custom-made uniform you must buy 2 the same size, at double the cost. Since even the normal cost is a problem for this family, this isn't looking good. I'm going to try ebay as soon as I find out what size I really need, and our troop committee chair is going to call council and see what she can come up with....

I just brought up the girl scouts because they do handle uniforming differently. It's optional, and there are lots of ways to get one including making your own at slightly lower cost than buying. The desirable up-side is that cost doesn't keep girls out. The down-side is that they don't look as nice all the time, they are less visible except at cookie time, and I agree that the uniform requirement builds a certain esprit de corps.

Thanks for your posting.

julia

Amen to the toilet paper.

My belt pack for such events also has adhesive bandages, gauze, antiseptic wipes, benadryl stick (for bug bites), triple antibiotic ointment in little packages, a break-and-shake cold pack (no hot pack, Texas doesn't have much frostbite), pair of gloves, feminine hygiene supplies (pads can double in an injury situation - they aren't sterile but they can back up a sterile gauze on a bleeding wound. Obvious when you think about it!) Yes, this is REALLY packed. Cell phones don't work all the time in our rolling hills but I try to have walkie-talkie contact with someone at base camp. We bought the 5-mile range family radios with NOAA and have really liked them.

In my car kit, which stays in my car all the time so weight is not an issue, the added items include FLARES AND a folding TRIANGLE to keep other idiots from killing the survivors and first-aiders; the pressurized bottle of sterile normal saline for washing grit out of scrapes; extra break-and-shake cold packs since multiple victims easily occur on the road; latex gloves, CPR shield which I've thankfully never needed; and some essentially disposable orange safety vests - wimpy little vinyl things that don't take up much room at all. I added those after seeing a big SUV lose control and roll on a highway, stopped to help and was simply amazed at how many people chose to zoom by - well, actually THROUGH - the accident site at 45-55 miles an hour. (the SUV was IN the left-hand lane, upside down, its contents strewn over 50 yards, the dazed victims sitting on the shoulder...both survived with only minor injuries, thank God, but I wouldn't have given a nickle for the car.) Almost made you wish that broken windshield glass would cause a flat tire... if you were an ugly-minded sort.

Chippawa wrote:

My son is now happy to put on his full uniform for meetings and no longer minds being seen out "in public." But he doesn't go to public school anynore and the peer pressure is greatly reduced on him. When he was in public middle school he was a closet scout.

He's able to resist the few nay-sayers on the block because he knows them well enough to say "what did you do last weekend? Oh, played video games...again? Let me tell you what I did..."

I'll ask his mom tonight what size he wears. It can be done, it shall be done....

Yes, starting the new troop is hard but I think it will pay off in the long run. I hope.

Julia

You wrote:

,,SagerScout, I've heard some people say Girl Scouts are not AS friendly as BSA about wanting family involvment. Especially at the younger ages. Cub Scouts MUST have a parent on all campouts. Siblings are not only welcomed but encouraged in Cub Scouting. Boy Scouting is different, because it is also teaching independence. >>

I've heard this too, and all I can figure is that it must be a localized situation. OK, yes, we do take Brownie scouts camping without parents where the boy's MUST have a parent along. But most Brownie troops in my area "camp" in comfy cabins at our local program site, not quite as scary as tents in Yellowstone or where ever! Also much easier from a leader standpoint (no tents to pitch or strike). If you're anywhere in central texas and want to volunteer with a GS troop, hey, I'm here for you!

With very young girls, I know that some troops have to ask parents to stay home, but I've always had the opposite problem: begging for parents to camp with me. I have pretty good support for other activities but for some odd reason most of the parents in my troop are not keen to spend all weekend with a dozen or so noisy, hyperactive girls. Can't explain it, myself, to me nothing sounds better.

Imagine my shock when a parent of a new boy in our troop did not let him stay overnight in an overnight campout in the scoutmaster's backyard because she just didn't know yet if he would be ok. This is a 12 yearold boy, and we had 5 deep leaders all day and 3 all night. Made me feel like a very careless mom, as my kids went on backyard campouts at friend's houses when they were 9 and 10, with only the friend's PARENTS there.

In GS I took 10 3rd graders cabin camping in the pouring rain with only a firstaid mom with me. We started out with two more moms but after they saw the dead mouse in the cabin and we killed a black widow spider in the girls cabin the extra moms bailed out on us early Saturday morning. (left their daughters with us so they must have thought we had it under control....) OK, I don't recommend that...having only two leaders meant we ALL went potty at the same time and we ALL did EVERYTHING together, with not a minute of down time for the adults.

Good idea, but...

This troop is only a few months old and is fundraising like crazy. We sold popcorn after the sale was already over due to the grace of our local council, who shared some of the 'leftovers' but it was a tough sale as the market had been saturated already. We've had a garage sale and will have another soon. But our bottom line is still not into 4 figures yet, our chartering organization is very non-profit (read: goodhearted but BROKE) and many if not most of the families are also pretty broke. We are really scrambling to try to get enough funds for summer camp this year.

This is what you end up with when you have a homeschoolers troop - homeschoolers tend to be pretty broke, at least the ones I met have, as they are usually scraping by on one or maybe one-and-a-half incomes so that someone can be home with the kids most of the time. We have a little help from a very small corporation (mine) which has agreed to provide matching funds for the troop's fundraising efforts through April but even with that it's going to be tight for the first year or so. These kids don't have the sleeping bags, lanterns and tents that most of you scouters would take for granted, and neither does the troop. Being a GS leader of several years, I bring a fair amount of that kind of junk to the table (Girl Scout troops do not typically own their equipment like BS troops, but GS troop leaders tend to accumulate quite a bit over the years!) And we do have parents in the military with access to MWR equipment, which will help. But it doesn't get a uniform on our scout!

The boy in question has participated in our fundraisers so far but I'm not sure how much is in his account. But the killer is this: assuming catalog prices are valid (which I don't actually know) he has to buy TWO shirts and TWO pants to get made-to-fit. Total cost thus approaches or maybe exceeds $200 - this is before the young man buys council insignia, his handbook or anything else. Gasp! And the family has TWO sons in scouting, so they will already be writing a $100 check to the scout shop if they can't find what they need at thrift stores.

This kind of situation that does make me sigh for the Girl Scouts. No, they don't look nearly as spiffy as a general rule, because uniforms are a) optional and b) have a zillion different combinations that are all OK. And I do love to see my son in his full Scout uniform, he looks fantastic, and I love the leveling effect of the uniform where all boys are the same. So it isn't that I'm a uniform opponent at all.

But in the GS, I've never had to say goodbye to a girl because she couldn't afford the uniform. I HAVE seen a prospective cub leave a rally crying when Grandma- raising him while parents are ???whereever - was told a uniform was required and it with the dues and handbook would be around $100. They left immediately, no one even suggested there were any other options. On the other hand, on several occasions where I've had a GS family in a real pinch, it has not handicapped me greatly to discreetly find the $25 or so dollars necessary to at least get a vest so the girl has a place for her badges and signs, so she feels like a REAL scout. Everyone recognizes a girl scout in her vest and membership pins, as long as the rest of her is pretty neatly dressed. The only folks that I know for sure MUST have the GS uniform are the professional Scouts and council trainers - and at least they let the trainers buy them at cost.

Anyway, I'd love to help this scout and could afford some of this expense. But $200 plus is just out of my range, personally, the other parents are all suffering from sticker shock at the uniform shop and camp fees, and so I just can't figure out how to get this kid dressed. Time is of the essence too, as we have two uniform-required outings planned, one in April (torchbearer in a parade) and one in May (Memorial Day ceremony).

Any ideas?

If it makes you feel any better, gentlemen, the women's shorts fit women as if they were men - that is to say, not well at all. Waist too big or hips too small, take your pick, bunch and gather in the crotch, sheesh. Yes, I confess to being generous in proportion but looking at these things, I can't imagine a time in my life when I was ever shaped that way, including my early twenties when I was a size 7!

I assume that there was a particularly rude post that has thankfully been removed about Tiny. Being pretty dedicated to the idea that Scouting is for everyone including the differently abled (physically, mentally, and emotionally handicapped, I have them all if you let me count both my boy and girl scout troops). I'm especially happy to hear of an adult wheelchair user setting such a good example for the kids by volunteering, thereby PROVING that a physical handicap doesn't mean that you have to hide in a corner and watch TV all day. I'm glad we have a moderator with a delete key.

But I wanted to pick his brain as we have a new scout in our troop that is about(?) his size - young man is 16 but towers over everyone and although I have not asked, I'm virtually certain he's bigger than the biggest off-the-rack size. Money is an issue for this family so having to buy TWO made-to-measure uniforms out of the catalog is cost-prohibitive. How did you solve this? Can you buy the fabric anywhere as you can for Girl Scouts? We really need to know as this young man wants, needs and deserves to be able to wear a uniform. I think between the adults in the troop there is enough sewing talent to manage.

Rooster wrote:

I didn't think I had actually claimed anything, but I agree totally with your sentiment that I hope that the Girl Scout policy is protective of the girls!

>

If "tacitly condones" means the same thing as "considers it irrelevant" I guess you are right. However, if you look at it in another light you might like it better: The Official Girl Scout position is that education on these and other sensitive topics including religion is best left in the hands of the PARENTS so that the FAMILY may communicate their own FAMILY VALUES to their own child. What a concept! I get to teach MY OWN CHILD what I BELIEVE! And you can do the same! How radical! (Now that one of my children is a homeschooler I have begun to question the force-feeding in public school of the public school curriculum as well, but that is a whole other thread.)

As a GS leader, anytime we are going to do any program regarding one of the sensitive issues - "growing up female," drug and alcohol use, child abuse and child safety, anything that might be remotely controversial, we get written permission from the parents after allowing them to review the materials or activities to be used. This is expressly to retain the parental prerogative to educate their own children as they see fit on these matters.

Some troops - including mine - do skip some of these issues when we know that there are individuals in our troop that might be made uncomfortable. For instance, one of my troop members is currently in a group home and soon to enter foster care due to allegations of sexual abuse by her father ... she does not really want to discuss her situation with the troop as it is uncomfortable for her ... and so this seemed like it was just NOT a good time to go over child abuse situations with the whole troop. So we did a drug abuse prevention unit instead. Am I worried that the rest of the girls have missed something vital? Well, yes, a little, but there are only so many hours in a troop year and as I have said elsewhere, we really do have other things to do anyway.

On selling the ADHD meds, I'm less concerned about MY troop's scout - whom I know and love - selling it than some OTHER scout swiping it.

To some extent I agree with all those who point out that most kids of Scouting age should remember their own meds. However, some will either not remember or not want to be marked as different and those are the ones who may skip a dose or 3. The ADHD kids and those on psych meds will be in this list - the very ones you would like to be sure get their meds if they need them! (Although I agree that often ADHD kids do not need meds in a camp setting, and on a personal note my card-carrying ADHD kid did not use meds until his senior year in high school, so I'm not a big fan of meds for this alleged condition anyway. However, other kids with other psych issues DO need meds and often are loathe to admit it. )

The sleepy scout reminds me of my son. I arrived at summer camp about 3 days into the week and with one glance it was obvious my then-12 year old was on the edge of collapse. He had a physical and emotional meltdown that very evening.

Figured it out when the Scoutmaster, with a totally straight face, said "Gee, I don't get it. I've been trying to get them in bed by at least midnight or 1 am every night...." He is one of those energizer bunnies that only needs 4 or 5 hours of sleep. MY son takes after ME, and a solid 8 or 9 is the minimum. With all the physical activity of camp and the allergens out there, he was plain tuckered.

Ooops. I explained it and he was genuinely contrite, he just didn't understand!

Julia

For any of y'all who do opt to administer meds, I thought I'd pass along my procedure (developed from being a GS first-aider). I put each child's medicines in a big ziploc bag, and put a sticker on it. Whenever meds are dispensed, I note the date, time, and what medication it was. That way, if there were a question later about the meds I could answer it authoritatively. I've never had a problem.

The one time I had a girl who had a vision-threatening illness that required a tremendously complicated medication schedule, her mom volunteered to come along and chase her around with eyedrops, and we enjoyed her company and her help immensely. I WAS glad not to have to deal with that medication schedule - it made my schedule for my son (a mere FIVE medications) seem simple.

Most kids end up with no more than a three-times a day medication regimen and it really isn't all that tough to deal with, if you have an ounce of organization.

Here in South Texas, the Hispanic population outnumbers the Anglo. Our troop is mixed, both racially and income-wise (although the two lines do not cut at the same place). Honestly, I don't see a giant CULTURAL difference but the income difference is pretty big for several Scouts. My son's current troop is all homeschoolers, so that common denominator may level us out more than the race or income issue divides us.

I'd echo the advice above: make it fun, make it affordable and/or help the kids who need it find camperships or other help, and watch closely to make sure that any adult prejudices that some parents may have do not rub off on the kids. Kids are kids, regardless of the color.

If you are really lucky, and the board will allow me a little stereotyping, you might find that your single-parent Hispanic families actually have a host of uncles, cousins, and brothers that are recruitable. Don't be afraid to tactfully ask if there's any special guys around in your Scouts' lives! Also, the moms may indeed be hard to recruit just because the facts of single parenthood often involve long hours of work with low income - and if there are other children to care for, well, that's even harder - but again, you might be surprised.

Rooster7 -

I'm sorry, I did not intend for that to sound derisive at all.

One of my best friends - and a very conservative Christian, I might add - says it like this: She thinks that the differing views that the different denominations and non-denominational churches have of God and the Christ may be largely attributed to an effect like that of the blind men examining the elephant. They got into a heated argument : "no, the elephant is long like a snake; no, stout and strong like a tree trunk..." God is so big, bright, shining and awesome that we his creations cannot grasp Him. So a heated argument ensues. At some point, I feel that civil individuals must retreat to a stance of "THIS is how I experience God and how He leads me to serve HIM ... but I recognize that YOUR experience may be different AND His directions to you may be different." And yes, this does extend as far as forgiving wrongs - even great wrongs - done to me, my family, and/or my country by those who think differently. I believe that we are all loved by the Lord. Judgement belongs to God and I fully believe S/HE is up to the task.

I was surprised at the medication paragraphs making kids responsible for their own medications - as pointed out, ADHD meds are essentially speed and can be peddled for good prices on the streetcorner. Doesn't seem smart to put that in the hands of a young kid at summer camp in a setting with a bunch of other kids, some of whom might not be perfect Boy Scouts, if you know what I mean.

On the other hand, as mom of a severe asthmatic, I am MUCH more comfortable with my son having his inhaler in his pocket. I also greatly appreciated the fact the his former ASM (a doc) went to camp with the troop and carried my son's Epipen with HIM. I felt very fortunate that he was willing to cover for me during the time I wasn't there.

But then again not many kids would volunteer to take bronchodilators for fun, at least not twice since they can really give you a killer headache. So I wasn't worried anyone would be rifling through the footlocker looking for the inhaler.

Now, my son's new troop has 4, count them, 4 kids with severe asthma in it, and a couple more mild asthma patients. In order for these kids to have any outdoor education at all, safely, the leaders will frankly HAVE to help make sure they get their meds. My son is one of them, of course, and part of the reason I'm a volunteer is to ensure that he DOES have a chance to do camping without undue danger. The scoutmaster's 3 sons are the other severe patients, and he had to form a new troop and volunteer as scoutmaster in order to find a setting where his kids health conditions could be accommodated. (They were asked to leave one troop as they objected to the idea that they should contribute dues and raise funds for high adventure outings that their kids COULD NOT attend.)

While I find that a sad commentary on their former troops, it has worked out in the long run as this new troop shows a lot of promise. The older boys are wonderful with teaching the younger boys, which I had never witnessed before - in other troops the older boys seemed far more interested in listening to Korn and hazing the younger kids for their small size. The scoutmaster strongly supports a boy-run troop and only steps in when it appears that there may be a safety issue - but he does include emotional safety and does not allow name-calling or harassment. We have tons of fun with these kids, they are far and away the nicest bunch I've ever met. The troop is new and small at this point but we're growing.

Julia

Rooster7 -

I read it despite your warning, as I AM usually offended by "conservative" commentary on liberal thinking. (Some of the articles explaining that the public schools are promoting homosexual promiscuity, for instance, I thought were really pretty off-the-wall, exaggerated, and hysterical, as some posts here from other Scouters - without mentioning any names....) However, this particular conservative commentary didn't really offend me at all, and I even found myself agreeing in many ways with it.

I guess for me it goes like this: if the Boy Scouts were as careful as the Girl Scouts about establishing and enforcing child safety standards (two-deep leadership, family involvement welcomed), there would simply be no problem with gay scout leaders as pedophiles of either sex would have no chance and know it. The Boy Scouts historically were not that careful and I gather that in times past boys HAVE been molested in Boy Scouting - whether by leaders or older boys.

It is always a tragedy when a child is abused and seems far worse when abused in an organization dedicated to child development - whether it's church, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, or middle school. Bad things happen to children in all settings, because bad people hang out in a bunch of different places, and it's quite unfortunate. It is incumbent on those of us who feel strongly about this to protect the kids in our care at all times.

I don't know what the incidence of problems in Girl Scouting is. I do know this: MY references were checked when I became a GS leader, and are periodically re-checked. I was contacted by a council in another state for a reference on a mom who listed me as a reference after she and her daughter moved. I've now volunteered in two separate BS troops and while I don't know for sure, none of the good friends I've listed as references have told me that they'd been contacted. I don't honestly know if this is an area in which the BSA needs improvement or not but I just mention that it seems from my subjective standpoint as if the girls are a little more careful.

Welcome Scoutruud, I'm pretty new here myself.

You are correct that gay and lesbian persons have a terrible life here in the States, in some areas risking being beaten and killed if their preferences are detected. Here the worst insult that can be hurled in junior high (11-14 year olds) is "he's GAY" and if the label is believed to be accurate the unfortunate child may walk alone the rest of his school years (never mind the fact that many kids that age truly don't know yet if they are gay; never mind that something as simple as a speech impediment may falsely label a kid as gay).

I'm not real sure why anyone would choose this life voluntarily and so I personally have come to the conclusion that it cannot be voluntary at all. God created them this way, and God doesn't make junk. He has a purpose for all of us, including homosexuals, the mentally and physically retarded, and the intolerant bigots. I don't always get it, or understand what the purpose is, but that's why HE or SHE is GOD and I'm not.

This puts me in a minority, I guess, and puts me personally in a uncomfortable bind as a BSA volunteer as I am very aware that I cannot state my personal opinion to Scouts outside of my own son of course. However, on the plus side, no scout has ever asked me about it as it simply isn't a big priority to most of them. They are more interested in knowing how to get their tents up and whether or not we can go to the coast to work on their Fishing badge.

My guess is that I have known and liked many gay individuals without realizing it, and the few "out" individuals I've known I've also liked. It's a shame they can't be BSA members, but that is how it is and although I do strongly disagree with the BSA policy on this and would love to see it change, I do think that the BSA has a right to set it.

Personally, I find it almost funny that surely Scouters have been known to commit adultery with other Scouters (ok, or at least Scout moms, I know female Scouters are kinda rare), causing divorces and incredible pain to the families involved, but I've never heard of heterosexuals who have done this kind of stuff being tossed out of the BSA. Perhaps it has happened but just never got Supreme Court attention, I don't know.

Anyway, I wanted you to know that there are people who support the BSA in most areas, but do NOT support their exclusion of gays. It is a similar situation to that in which I love my husband but abhor his smoking habit - the rest of the man is worth the stench to me....

The Girl Scout book Safety Wise is MUCH more detailed although not longer. It just says it more concisely. I find meeting Safety Wise standards is considerably more challenging than meeting Boy Scout standards for similar outings. Also, the odds of getting "caught" if you shortcut Safety Wise are very high as the Girl Scout organization has leaders on short leashes.

Safety Wise is placed in the hands of every new leader in my service unit at no charge to her at her first orientation meeting, and is likened to the BIBLE (as a Christian I had a problem with the metaphor but got the point nonetheless). We had several tabletop exercises in training where we had to look up the SW guidelines for proposed outings.

I had to go buy the Boy Scout books myself and they were only occasionally mentioned in Scoutmaster Fundamentals.

OK, I couldn't vote because my answer is both. My older son is a senior in a public high school that has served him reasonably well; he's enjoyed being there and is popular with both the faculty (most of them) and the kids. It's a good thing he enjoys it because if he doesn't pull it together in senior English he'll be there one more semester.... He is diagnosed ADHD but has always tested 5 or 6 years above grade level in all skills, so has never had any Special Ed accomodations. I refuse to manage his homework so when he doesn't finish it or fails to turn it in, he gets a 0. Yes, these are symptoms of his ADHD, and if I wanted to go fight it out for him he might get an IEP that would help him keep his act together. But I don't. He's old enough and mature enough to either fight his own battles with his teachers or take the consequences of not getting his homework done. He's going to be fine in life, he has already worked as a successful computer programmer, he understands compound interest and will not get into trouble with credit cards, he does not drink, smoke, do drugs or believe in sex before marriage. I am blessed.

Number 2 son I educate at home. He also tests far above grade level in all skills (math comprehension at 12.7 when he was half-way through 5th grade, reading the same, writing was only 10.3 that testing round....it was his weak spot.) However, he DID qualify for Special ed because he had an anxiety disorder that caused him to refuse to go to school and required him to be in a small class setting. After 2 years of him earning candy in middle school by completing worksheets that he literally could have done at age 6 or 7, and the special ed teacher happy that he was "compliant," I asked when they were going to start him in a curriculum that was anywhere near his ability level. They told me, completely serious, that since he was so far above grade level they had no requirement to even try to educate him at his level. In other words, they were going to just wait for his age to catch up to his ability to start trying to teach him anything. We withdrew him from 9th grade when it was clear he was crashing and burning there, and the same attitude seemed prevalent.

At home, he builds robots and studies geometry online; he's just volunteered at the local library and he takes fiddle (but doesn't practice nearly as much as I'd like). Free from the pressures of high school he's more courteous, more cooperative, more relaxed, and reads more. He takes less medication, and his asthma is much improved. And he does have more time to work on Scouting merit badges, many of which are wonderful jumping off points for more advanced study.

My daughter is usually a straight A student in public middle school although this last progress report there were a few bobbles. She is learning some social skills that I abhor there, including how to make fun of slower kids, make fun of kids whose clothes aren't right, and exclude friends from her group based on truly trivial criteria. We're working like crazy on tolerance, and in some ways I wish she would home-school also.

BTW, BOTH sons had much better SKILLS than the daughter at the same age, although daughter's GRADES have always been very good and the boys' were not. IT was a shock to me (I always had good grades and was smug about it) to find out that grades have very little correlation with comprehension. I do not grade my homeschooler, and am fortunate to live in Texas where there is very little regulation of homeschoolers.

We are Christian BTW but pretty liberal, and prefer to teach love-and-tolerance together.

I'm astonished that we have not heard from any Sikh scouts or scouters. Are there none out there? A young man that has been confirmed in that religion does not cut his hair at all, and wears the turban... would this outward demonstration of inward faith make him less a potential Eagle scout? I think not.

My scout son has short hair but my other son (17) has hair down his back, medium brown, clean, straight, and normally neatly tied back. When it is worn loosely down, with his tan and his classic good looks, total strangers do a doubletake on him as he looks like the Renaissance painters' image of Jesus of Nazareth. For this reason, his hairstyle got him the lead role in the Easter passion play two years ago. Hmmmmmm. Perhaps the Messiah could not have been an Eagle scout.

Obedience to the scoutmaster is a tough one; but it does not sound like this young man has been disobedient in his working relationship with him.

I agree with the idea that a tactful, polite discussion with the Scoutmaster reviewing the boy's other accomplishments in scouting and pointing out the lack of a haircut policy in BSA is appropriate. I also feel that this is one of the VERY RARE occasions when I feel the parent should be in the room and in the discussion for the sole purpose of providing moral support for their son. IMHO if his PARENTS have no objections to his hairstyle, his Scoutmaster is over the line in trying to dictate to him, especially as it sounds like he is an obedient, respectful young man with a solid record.

Just my two cents. I hope this can be resolved without ill feelings on the scoutmaster's part, and also without grekonsz having to cut his hair.