Eagledad

On the third day of one of our campouts, one of the new fathers and I were taking a walk and I asked him what he thought of our troop. He said that one of the first things that really stood out to him was just how much the scout side of the camp behaved like the adults side of the camp. Our two camps were seperated by about 100 ft, so he was surprised. In general, you will find that boys, and probably girls of the scout age behave much the same as the adults they watch and follow. I wouldn't look at your experience as a reflection of all Boy Scout or Girl Scout units. Have a great week. Barry

>>If a SM is requiring this, he/she is adding to the requirement and that is a BIG no no.

>>This means that man is basically stupid as a sheep and needs religion and a clergy to save him from himself. I disagree completely with your view.

>>I do not believe your biggest stick theory. Man is capable of building a soceity without religious influence.

>>But if Joe waved the stick around in defiance after being told twice not to do it - then I would talk to the parent.

>>Epicurian poet Lucretius wrote on the issue of how easily religion led to evil in the name of god. Lucretius was branded an enemy of religion by the early Christian church.

>>A spiritual guide / religion is not necesarry to the development of a moral code in the least.

>>I am a Unitarian and the particular church I attend every Sunday has several gay couples.

>> I only point this out to pose two questions: 1) Why are right ring religious fanatics singling out loving same-sex families for scorn and ridicule?

>>I have always been under the impression that the BSA policy towards homosexuality was based on a fear of child molestation.

>>On the issue of belief in God. Perhaps it would be more of a universal and acceptable for those other than Christians for the BSA to "have a belief in Deity" for admittance.

>>For example, if a boy was caught stealing from another boy, then the SPL with help from the PLC would discipline the scout. If it were a first time episode, the boy would have to return the item and then perform some service while at camp

>>I understand your vexation Dan, but I also understand the parents view as well.

>>Bobanon, using terms like "religious reich" detracts from (destroys, really) your ability to persuade anybody who doesn't already agree with you.

Good Morning All >>Religion belongs in the Churches and the daily life of the individual and should not be watered down or disturbed by school activities.

You may have been right back when the leader of a state was also given the title of god. But God today is more a reflection of moral concious, and at the state level the assumed ideals the county represents to its people. However my question was toward people thinking for God. Are we putting ourselves above God, or are we really showing our disapointment in man, but we just don't know who to blame. Barry

>>I don't believe God thinks one way or another about us actually. If he did, he would love all equally, and maybe a little more for the poor, suffering and destitute.

>>Actually, I did let the District Advancement Chair know (he insists on attending all Eagle BOR's). We had a SM conference and a troop BOR about it. Parents present. He was given some suggestions & told to wait for maturity. When the time is right, the DAC wants to know & will to schedule BOR. As a team, we are all working to help this young man advance...and I don't just mean get his Eagle, I mean advance in maturity, knowledge, etc. To BECOME an Eagle.

>>Your 'go getter' will have his time.. if he is as good as you think he is, he'll earn the respect of his peers and get elected.

>>Not to sidetrack this thread too much, but Eagledad, can I ask what the accomodation you made for this scout was?

I had a similar situation with an autistic scout and while I agree with the other posters, I found that our Council was very lenient on the procedures. Our Council just kind of wanted a heads-up, but pretty much left it to us in determining how to modify requirements. You may be surprised, weve had experience with several mentally handicap Scouts and they usually end up completing any requirement they try without modifying the requirement. The only requirement we had to change was the swimming requirement for an autistic scout who was deathly terrified of water, even in a glass. My neighbors Downs son is about to earn his Eagle at age 17 and I dont think they changed any requirements for him either. God bless you and your Troop. Barry

>>but the Jamboree tragedy is the most likely culprit in this instance - regardless of your 5 categories.>Now that the 2005 numbers are out I will forward the following unfortunate observation. I have the 1st quarter numbers and it looks as if there has been a dramatic loss in membership over that 3-month time period.

>>does not every youth deserve a trained leader?

>>That being said, there was a distinctive drop since 2005, probably due to the Jamboree tragedy, but the scale was not in the order of Merl's numbers.

My gosh you are good. You hit the nail on the head. What makes scouting so hard is while the program is for our sons, it is an adult program. That can be good or bad but I find in general that it is bad bcause we set the limitations on the boys in their activities. What makes your post so hard Eamonn is that I've come to obseverve that most all the limitations we put on these boys in our program comes from our fears, not our dreams. I was talking to a new father yesterday and I was telling him that boys are natural dreamers, but our culture today fears new ideas and tends to hold dreamers down. I suggested that when his son gets around 10 or so, find a place, maybe a scout troop that will allow his son to express his dreams and pursue them to their end. I can think of very few other programs where a boy can dream of being a man and try to make that dream come true except a Scouting Unit. But the adults of such a unit need courage to watch a dream different than their own. Adults need the patience to watch failure and the humility to watch success. Scouting is safe because the adults hand over their trust that they will follow boy on his path to manhood and not lead them toward their own fearful visions of a man. Eamonn is right, Scouting is the real world scaled down to a boys size. For a boy dreaming to be a man, just how much better can it get than a Scout Troop where the main restrictions are only the law and oath? Is it so hard to imagine sailing around the world? Is there any more honor before God than helping a our youth might live that dream? What a wonderful place a Scout Unit can be. Thanks Eamonn for for your wonderful thoughts. I love this scouting stuff. Barry