sctmom

Hey Guys! Long time, no talk. I'm no longer a scout mom, just "mom of teenage boy". No longer a Cub Scout leader. Heard this news story and knew this place would be buzzing with talk. At first I gave the guy the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he received an email that he didn't request. I've known that to happen. News now says they found 520 images including video clips of boys, some under the age of 12. He had been doing this for years. As an outsider, let me say this....if a Scout or leader or employee does "good" everyone wants to say "Look, He/She is a member of BSA". Well, this guy represents BSA as well. Sad that many boys will be confused by his actions compared to what BSA says it stands for. Why look up to those Eagle Scouts? Why try to attain that rank? Will his Eagle award be taken away? Is this somehow excusable because he isn't an "avowed homosexual"? Is he a pedophile? Is he a homosexual because he was looking at pictures of boys, not girls? Do some of you NOW understand that getting rid of all "avowed homosexuals" does not get rid of pedophiles? (these are rhetorical questions and not sure if I'll be back to see any answers anyway) I do hope that he has not harmed any children. I also pray for his family because this must be extremely difficult for them. Hope all are well and happy. Yours truly, Formerly Sctmom

National also distributed a computer CD for the troop level. I didn't look at the one I had, just passed it on to the troop. It came in a sleeve that looked like a backpack. From what I gathered, the boys could create a disk that showed the things their troop did and how cool scouting was. Then they would share that disk with their friends. It was aimed at 11 and 12 year old scouts. I never did get my hands on the Cub scout disk, as much as I tried.

One more comment about the stick in the fire...this is a TOP rule with our pack -- up there with the buddy system, NO POKING THE FIRE, Scouts are to NEVER put ANYTHING in the fire. Never, never, never. We even tightly control marshmallow and hotdog roasting. Maybe with one or two kids it is possible to do, but with the scouts we have too many to do it safely.

Did you address the mother specifically to tell NO STICKS? Our pack has found we have to do that at times. Does the boy have documented behavior/emotional problems? Maybe sit down with the mother and explain the problem and ask for solutions. Ler her and son know that next time they will be asked to leave immediately. On a recent campout, we had a 5 year old sister who kept wandering out of eyesight (behind the picnic pavilion). I finally looked her straight in the eye and said "if you are mad and want to walk away, fine, but you must be where i can see you. if you walk away again, I will ask your parents to take you home." She understood immediately and complied.

Not trying to get off subject, just adding a bit of info --- my sister is Pagan. She attended a Protestant church a few months back when I got baptized. She recently attended a Catholic Mass for someone who had died. We all might learn something from attending Vespers even if it is not the same religion we practice each day.

I would also recommend decorating cards. We did some last year by cutting out snowflakes from white paper. The younger kids glued on snowflakes that older kids cut out. Folded a piece of construction paper in half, snowflake on front (sometimes more than one snowflake on front). Inside glued 1/2 sheet of white paper and the kids drew pictures or wrote Happy Holidays (give them an example). The boys also colored Christmas type pictures I printed off the internet. All ages enjoyed that. Both of these are things that even the younger siblings can help with.

I just read this today. Due to some personal problems I have been considering quitting Scouting. Last night I had one of "those" moments. Young boy in my neighborhood that has lots of family problems and school problems joined cubs this year. His family barely survives. His grandfather paid his registration and got his uniform for him. The parents barely can take care of themselves, much less children. I got the pack to pay for the family to go on a family campout. Borrowed a tent for them, others put up the tent for them. Let them borrow a couple of sleeping bags for the kids. To be honest by the end of the one night campout this family had worn most of us out -- the parents and the children have NO social skills, we spent a lot of time making sure the children didnt' take other's things and didn't wander off. I had moments of "what have i done?" Last night I saw the young boy. First he made a big point of coming over to me to see if I needed help carrying stuff to my car (of course I did). I asked how he liked camping -- he was BEAMING! He loved it. I could see him grow a foot taller with pride. He confided that he had stayed dry through the night camping, something very hard for him to do. I may not be able to change his home situation. But I hope that this one trip can give him some self confidence and show him how other people live. Even if he only remembers one thing about the campout, it will be worth every bit of aggravation from his parents. I drove away wiping the tears from my eyes and thinking "THIS is why we do this stuff"

EagleDad, I also thought the snack should come last but then remembered that the den meets at 3:30 in the afternoon. The boys are probably ready for a snack when they get to the meeting.

Therm-a-rest self inflating sleeping pads!

Maybe I missed something, but in your list of everyone you contacted it sounds as though you are focusing on males. While that might be a great idea for men to Webelos leaders, it is not reality in many communities. What about some of the moms of those Webelos?

As the others said -- busy, busy, busy. Get a wall advancement chart from the Scout shop -- something like $1.35. Let the boys put sticky stars on the chart when they complete an achievement. Do get Program Helps -- a wonderful thing. Maybe it's just me, but I shudder everytime I hear the idea of the candle. The last thing I want in the room with a bunch of active boys is an open flame!!! First safety. Next boys are atracted to fire -- some will spend the whole meeting staring at it or trying to play with it. The idea of den rules is also great -- you may have to suggest some of the rules, but usually they are very good at coming up with the rules. Start each meeting the same. I always used the Pledge of Allegiance and Cub Scout Promise -- it triggers everyone's brain that it is Cub Scout time and get focused.

Well said Campaholic & Yarrow. If a parent doesn't like the direction of the Scouting Program (girls or boys), then they need to step forward and see that it is done the "right way".

There are still lots of girls in the United States that are told they can't have traditional male jobs. Studies have been done that show girls are still steered away from math and science in high school. Society teaches boys to be the leaders and girls to be the followers. Yes, there are some areas where this is not true. But you might be surprised (as I have been) at how many people still live in the 1940's mindset when it comes to education of females.

Yes, that is the right age comparison. And that's about all you can compare. I'm not sure what you think is "not fair". Perhaps that is a discussion for a different thread. If you are refering to earning the Gold vs. earning Eagle, I think you are misunderstanding a few things. The Gold award is very hard to achieve and requires a set number of hours and many other achievements (like boys earn merit badges). The difference is you can't have a 13 year old Girl Scout with her Gold. Just not allowed. That age earns her Silver (still a major project). You must remember Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts have different Goals --- because boys and girls have different needs.

Girl Scout "ranks" are not like Cub Scout ranks. Cub Scouts still earn their rank each year. Girl Scouts are called Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette, and Senior. It is not a rank but a level. Like Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts are two levels of the same program.