A Job To Do?

[Eamonn 61]

Why do they do that?

Was watching Friday Night Lights on TV this past Friday.

One of the main characters was send to do an internship with an artist who was more than a little of base, working in scrap metal, in a very dirty pair of y-fronts and nothing else.

Deep down I think I in some ways envy this guy.

I'm about as artistic as a cauliflower that's been overcooked.

While I have tried to follow paths that have interested me and made me feel good and worth while. For the most part my primary goal has been about making money.

I needed money to provide for myself and my family.

Money made things work a lot better and made my life a lot easier.

Even today when I don't need the money as much as I once did, providing for my family is still my main goal.

I'm lucky that I have found a job that I like and one where I think in some small way I might make a bit of a difference.

The money I have made has also at times done some good for some others.

 

Last week I was following a thread, which I didn't participate in. (Someone else had done a much better job of saying what I would have said.)

In this thread someone posted that young people are not good at time management and goal setting.

I'm not sure how true or false this might be.

It did however get my little gray cells working.

I kept asking myself "What is the job of a kid?" Not just a Scout but a kid.

I do have some thoughts on this but I'm hoping to post them after I have put this out there.

So what is the job of a kid?

What do we expect from them and for them?

Are we happy for them to find their own way?

If so how much risk are we willing to tolerate?

Ea.

[moosetracker 132]

Maybe some people will say their job is just to have fun. Well they should have time for fun. but that is not what I see as their "job". True some fun may teach them things, but not enough.

 

When school age, I guess you can look at that as their "job". To do well in school.

 

But overall, I believe their job is to learn how to get along in society, and to grow up to provide for themself and their family.

 

School does some of this, but parents need to make sure other things happen to make sure they grow to accepting responsability and knowing they are not the center of the universe. This is graduale of course up to 5 they child should feel secure and in a way be the center of the universe. But then slowly you must pull them out of this belief.

 

I do not believe in the current values that the child should never do any work. I do the family Life MB and I am surprised at how may scouts do not have to do anything at their home, usually Family Life is not done until Star or Life rank. By then they should have some responsibilty!

 

We had our son cook one meal a week, help clean the house, help take the trash to the dump... etc. This was not something he did for the 3 months of a MB, but even when he was in first & second grade he would have duties like feeding the cats or something small.

 

If they do not grow up to slowly take on responsibility, how will they be able to hold a job, or have their own family. They can not grow up totally only thinking and caring about themselves.

 

So, that is what I always loved about scouts. They help the family instill in the boy the sense of caring about others, the sense of responsibilty, the ability to make decisions. Etc.

 

But, like school, scouts only can go so far, if the parents to not reinforce some of this themselves in their home, on a daily basis.