Community Service? – Opinions Wanted

[Balding Eagle 10]

Our pack is chartered by the PTO of the elementary school where we have our pack and den meetings. When I met with the principal to schedule my den meetings he requested I consider have the boys or some parents painting some restrooms in need of painting. He would supply the materials and we would have to supply the labor.

 

He(This message has been edited by Tiger_Dad)

[Balding Eagle 10]

He stated he made this request last year and it almost started a major battle with the pack looking for another meeting place. I would like to hear opinions as to this request. By the way my Den is 2nd grade Wolfs.

(This message has been edited by Tiger_Dad)

[Bob White 20]

Remind him that Cub Scouting activities are meant to be HANDS-0N for the boys so that they can learn by doing.

 

Is he willing to let it look like it was done by second-graders?

 

If his answer is yes I say go for it.(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[Bob White 20]

(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[NJCubScouter 1389]

Is he willing to let it look like it was done by second-graders?

 

That was my initial reaction too, but even if the principal said yes to that question, we all know what probably would actually happen. The dads ans moms supervising their 7-year-olds would let the painting project go on for about 10 minutes, see what kind of disaster it is turning into (Jackson Pollock comes to mind), say "We can't have THIS" and take over themselves. At first the boys are standing there watching their parents ("Watch and learn, son), but eventually the boys filter out onto the school playground while moms and dads are painting away by themselves. The job turns out well, but it's not exactly what the BSA has in mind for a service project, because the boys didn't really do it. I suspect the principal knows he'd be getting a parental paint-job, and the fact is that he already asked for the boys "OR some parents" to do it. What he's REALLY asking is, can the parents paint the restrooms.

 

By the way, if the school is that short of funds that they cannot afford painters, then depending upon insurance considerations, there may not be anything wrong with the principal recruiting parent-volunteers to do the work -- but not just parents of the Cub Scouts. I know in my school district several years ago, they had a bunch of parents in on a few weekends installing computer cables all over the schools (I think that may have been part of a nationwide campaign.) But the recruitment was directed at the ENTIRE "school community" -- not just targeting the parents of Scouts or any other particular organization.

 

The pack my son was in also was chartered to the PTO of the school that almost all the boys either attended or had "graduated" from. We did service projects for the school, but they consisted of picking up trash from the fields, woods and parking lots etc. outside the school. That's the kind of project that boys can actually do (though as I recall, the dads went around holding up the garbage bags while the boys threw in the trash, but that's OK.)

[dsteele 20]

I agree with Bob White on this one. It's a legitimate request on the principal's part. I also think any Cub Scout with a brain can handle a paint roller up to his own height. I wouldn't look for a great paint job, but I think the kid could handle it. It would also be a pack service project.

 

The only potential problem I see would be for the principal, not the pack. If there is a union for the janitors or whoever would normally do the painting, the principal ought to look for a grievance from them.

 

Unc.

[johndaigler 10]

As long as this project doesn't have some kind of hidden rquirement to it...it sounds like fun. If there's some implied "do this if you want to keep meeting here" thing, then I'd be mighty upset if I were TigerDad.

 

Parents or staff would definitely need to prep the place and teach the boys "how", but after that . . . just wear clothes you won't ever need again and those cool white painter's hat and have at it!!!! Try to involve as many different colors as you can!!!! This service project could be the talk of the community for YEARS!!!!

 

jd(This message has been edited by johndaigler)

[Balding Eagle 10]

There is no other requirement. The principal made it very clear that if we didnt paint we could still have our meetings there. I agree with everyone that this something the boys can do. I do not know why the principals request was meet with so much resistance last year.

[lasteagle83 10]

I'd say aside from the fact it is a great service project, think of the pride the Cubs will take in knowing they've improved their own school.

[evmori 11]

Let 'em paint away! Sounds like a great service project to me!

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[EagleInKY 14]

Do It. It builds goodwill with the community, the school and the principal. When someone critizes the quality of the work to the principal, he'll just say "the 2nd Graders in the Cub Scouts did it for us for free, wasn't that great?".

[fotoscout 15]

I think that this is a terrific project!!!!!!!!!!!!! We would never be allowed to do this; we're not even allowed to move tables for our meetings.

 

My suggestion would be to do this with a very limited number of boys at a time. The parents will of course have to make it nice when the boys are done. Cub Scout project or not, its the programs reputation that will be judged here. You dont want to be foolish about it and leave it so that it looks like the kids did it. Finish the job in a professional manner.

 

[Bob White 20]

And I guess I have a different vantage point to offer. If the principal wants it to look professional he should hire professionals. If he wants it to look like a skilled amateurs did it then he should have asked you if anyone in the group had experience in this.

 

But he asked a second grade cub scout den. He should expect second grade work. When my son did a project for for in second grade no one was brought it to "make it nice". I see nothing foolish in the work of a second grader, I just see second grader work.

 

If the principal expected something more he should not have presented this as a den project. Or at the very least he should be up-front with his expectations just as you should be up-front that you intend this to be the boys project if in fact he wants the pack to do it.

 

The real point I am getting at is, he has every right to ask his pack for a service project, but he should be smart enough to ask you to do a project that is appropriate for the age group you serve.(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[scoutingagain 20]

"Jackson Pollock comes to mind"

 

I was thinking more like Moe, Larry and Curly (No Shemps).

 

Still think it's a great idea if second grader quality is considered OK. If your careful with specific painting assignments it might not be as bad as some might think. Some boys can probably do a decent job, other will still have trouble keeping the paint away from where it's not supposed to be. Judicious use of drop cloths, masking tape, etc. will help. These are Cub Scouts, so I would include relatively close adult supervision. I would want the boys to use only latex paints, soluble in water, and if possible avoid the use of ladders, or use them only under very close adult supervision. (I've had adult construction workers, supposedly trained in ladder safety, suffer life altering injuries from step ladders. I would not want to see that happen to a second grader.)

 

Good luck.

 

SA

[johndaigler 10]

TigerDad,

 

As you can see from the different posts, you better be clear with the principal just what he expects the end product to look like!!!! If he's looking for adult quality, your unit is better off doing a fund rasier and paying a pro. But, if he's daring, partially color blind, and truly interested in offering second graders a chance to do their best, then this could be one GREAT boy's room!! Any chance of bringing in the school's art teacher for some direction?? No reason not to plan your chaos ahead of time!! A mural is probably out of the reach of second graders, but the art teacher will know -- and will be able to give you some sound advice about little boys and paint. I agree with Scoutingagain about ladders and safety!!! Have fun -- Be careful!!!

 

Make sure there's a planned way for the boys to autograph their work -- handprints, footprints, self-portraits, anything but make sure they get credit for decades to come!!!!

 

And BTW, Scoutingagain, dissing Shemp is very LOW!!! He saved the franchise for a few extra years!!!

 

jd