Untucked shirt vs. Fine

[Double Eagle 128]

A thread from "what to do with a disobedient scout". It was brought up whether charging a scout 25 cents for having an untucked shirt was allowed. I say this is one of those areas where you are on thin ice with hot skates. The up side to this is they will want to tuck in their shirts? The down side, charging and managing the money collected. Those of us with more than one son in scouts may see this as another "FOS" campaign, just kidding. But seriously, I think that there is a better way to deal with this type of problem than charging money. How about just reminding him? Let them save their money for real issues.

[evmori 11]

When we go to summer camp, we have a "cuss cup". Any foul language, a quarter goes in the cup. This goes for insults, too.

 

What I would do about the untucked shirt is tell the Scout if he doesn't have his shirt tucked in 100% of the time when it comes to have his Scout Spirit requirement signed off it migh not happpen!

 

Ed Mori

Scoutmaster

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[FScouter 24]

Shirts are not untucked because the boy "forgot". They're untucked because that is the way the boy wears all his shirts. I've "reminded" boys until I'm blue in the face, and it only works until he pulls it out again.

 

A boy with an untucked shirt is out of uniform. The key is to develop a pride in wearing the uniform correctly. Positive incentives work better and last longer than fines or punishment. I've had the most lasting results from pulling a boy aside at an opportune moment just to tell him how good he looks in his uniform, and that I'm proud of him.

[k9gold-scout 10]

The only time out trop mares sure that shirts are tucked in is at assembly. If everyone just stands and waits for the few scouts to tuck in their shirts. 10 or 20 secounds with the whole troop stairing at a few scouts can seem like a long time. Only about once per year dose the SM have to tell a scout that the troop is waiting for him.

[Double Eagle 128]

I find that being mainly associated with the military and about 95% of our scouts are of military families, we don't have that big of a problem. Seeing people in uniform daily kind of brings it on. Although we had the discussion about they can "sag" and untuck with other clothes, the uniform is not to be worn that way. It worked and has to be reinforced from time to time. The good thing is the scout pants don't hang off the hips well and tend to fall down during scout activitities if worn that way. As much as I don't like the style they do well in this area.

One thread was, what happens if a scout refuses to pay, or wants to pay for the day? This is the real question that we should look at. We all agree on the importance of wearing the uniform. But how do we fix the problem when confronted with these two quesitons?

I remember a few months back about an eagle candidate looking for 6 eagles with long hair. I did not get to help him but I had hair shoulder length for a long time as a scout. Being on the OA ceremony team, I kinda fit in there. Also being a beach bum (lifeguard year round) It presented no problem.(This message has been edited by Double Eagle)

[acco40 95]

I don't like the 25 cent fine idea. We had our February campout in Chicago (boys idea, not mine) and when going up in the Sears tower one of the boys refused to wear his field uniform correctly. Most of the adults (leaders and parents) were yelling at him to wear it right. The more they squawked, the more he resisted. I took him aside, in private and tried to explain that his uniform represented BSA and the Scouts to many people, that he was not just wearing it for himself. He kept repeating that it was HIS shirt and he could wear it the way he wanted. After a while, I think he got the message and since I have always complimented him when ever he wears his field uniform properly (shirt, pants, socks, and on rare occasions his neckerchief). Now if I can only get the SM to wear his field uniform instead of his 2001 National Jamboree T-Shirt ....

[Rooster7 11]

Most of the adults (leaders and parents) were yelling at him to wear it right. The more they squawked, the more he resisted. I took him aside, in private and tried to explain that his uniform represented BSA and the Scouts to many people, that he was not just wearing it for himself.

 

Perhaps it's just me...Maybe I'm more of a disciplinarian than most other Scouters. This Scouts attitude really "bugs" me. If one (i.e., a leader - adult or boy) were dealing with a five year-old (vice an 11 or 12 year-old Scout), I wouldn't blink an eye at this post. So I have to askwhy does an 11 or 12 year-old want to resist the adults? Does resist mean defy (that seems to be implied)? If so, I believe this boy needs to be lectured/disciplined again. The topic should be "granting respect to adults." Was this addressed at all? Sorry...but disrespectfulness, especially from Scouts get my shorts in a bunch.

 

By the way, were the adults actually yelling (as noted above)? It appears that the adult leaders need some training. Regardless, I stand by my original question/gripewhere's the respect from these Scouts?