sctmom

I saw one new parent have a hard time with giving her son the cash for him to give to the patrol leader. She thought she should give the cash to the Scoutmaster. She was a little surprised when I explained otherwise. When I was about 12 or 13, my parents decided to give me the money they spent on my clothes. I could buy whatever I wanted, within certain guidelines. Wanted expensive designer jeans? Go right ahead. But if I complained about only having one pair of jeans when I could have bought 2 or 3 pair by waiting for a sale or buying a different brand, they had no pity. I could even sp

Let me wipe away the tears in my eyes. I'm so happy Julia. I was wondering if he got the shirt yet and saw your post. I've been watching ebay for some scout pants for my son and I've yet to see another 6X shirt since then. More than coincedence? Take some good pictures at that parade, because it sounds like a few new scouts will be standing tall and proud.

If I show up at a public demonstration to support gay rights in my BSA uniform or saying I am representing BSA, I am wrong. If I show up at a troop meeting with a t-shirt that says "I am gay and proud of it." I am wrong, I'm outwardly trying to provoke people or to influence the youth. If I'm lobbying for organizations to pull their support of BSA because of this issue while at the same time being an active BSA member, I'm wrong. If you ask me my thoughts on this issue, I have the right and the duty to say what I believe in. If I say I agree or I keep silent, I have lied. I also have not

Here in Georgia the Boy Scout camps range from $130 to $180. The top end being a council that charges extra for out of council units. Cub Scout Day Camp in our District is about $70, I think $100 if you register late. The YMCA is offering "day camp" or daycare are the rate of $190 for 2 weeks. Most daycares charge $100 a week during the summer for school aged children. 4-H camp is $190 for Monday - Friday (4 nights) summer camp. I've known of people who have sent their young elementary school children to private camps for weeks at a time, out of state. I have no idea what the

A related article: www.mormonstoday.com/000709/N1Scouting01.shtml

When I signed my son up for baseball, I specified that he cannot practice on Tuesday nights (troop meeting night). The coach asked why not Tuesday's? I told him because of scouting. His reply was "well, when my son was in Cub Scouting, this time of year they don't do a lot because they know kids are playing ball, so it shouldn't be a problem." I tried to explain, but it fell on deaf ears, this isn't Cub Scouting and this IS my son's preference. My son reminded me to make sure he got on a team that didn't practice on Tuesday nights. Even in Cubs, my son didn't want to miss meetings. I t

Interestingly enough, I have a very hard time finding an address for BSA National. I can't seem to find it on the official BSA website. Looked in the Boy Scout handbook and don't see it there. Not just about this issue, but in general, it seems that BSA should gladly say "send us your comments, here is where we are." Most parents do not even know who to go to other than the Scoutmaster. They don't know about the Committee, Charter Rep, District, or Council.

One other thing, a year ago I had doubts about my son being ready for Boy Scouts and summer camp by now. I never told him that. He really proved me wrong! He has been growing a lot -- physically, mentally and emotionally. The only time I would stop him from trying something new would be if I felt it was truly unsafe. Like I want let him have a mini-bike (mean mother that I am). I could have gotten away with putting him on the 9-10 baseball team this season, his birthday is near the cutoff and he is small. I didn't do that -- for one thing I would be lieing about his age. But also, I know

In a few other threads there have been mention of parents who feel their boys aren't ready for certain adventures like summer camping and backpacking. Do many of you run into this? How do you deal with it? Chippewa mentioned that the parents don't think the boys are ready to backpack, even though the boys have been in scouting a couple of years, have camped a lot and done day hikes. Also, most importantly, the boys WANT to go backpacking. As a parent, I'm amazed. My son is almost 11 years old and weighs 60 pounds fully dressed. If he wanted to backpack, I'd say "Great! Let's get your

Even at young ages, coaches and some parents expect children to devote all spare time to their "sport". My son's baseball coach thinks that the 11-12 year old team needs to practice every night of the week right now. Every night! For 2 hours! HELLO! He has homework, Scout meeting, 4-H project due THIS week. Not to mention eating dinner, bathing, playing and sleeping! Except for summer camp, I've never heard of a scout having to devote EVERY evening to working on Scout skills. Yes, he must live up to the Scout Oath and Law at all times, but that doesn't monopolize his time and I believ

Well said, Long Haul. Thank you. I am NOT trying to destroy BSA. I do NOT agree with pulling funding for BSA. But I DO have the right AND the responsibility to stand up for what I believe in. Do I say these things at a troop meeting? No. It has no place there. This forum is an approriate place. I have the write to express my opinions and beliefs to other adults, just like I tell them what a great thing Scouting is, if the situation arises. Quote from the BSA Handbook "A Scout is brave. ...He has the courage to stand for what he thinks is right even if others laugh at him or threat

YES, women working or wanting to remain single was considered ABNORMAL as recent as 50 years ago! At the turn of the century, it was THE mainstream belief about women. Something was "wrong" with Susan B. Anthony for wanting to remain single, for wanting to vote, etc. Most recently, Andrea Yates was told that a "good" wife did what her husband said, didn't use birth control, and home schooled her children. She was told this by her church. Does it make her not guilty - no, but it contributed to her problems. Bob, do you REALLY want everyone who disagrees with the policy to leave? As many of

"How would you feel if your son went on a camping trip and you found out one or more of the leaders were homosexuals? Do you feel these people are good role models for your son? Do you want him to look up to them? " If the person is working with the youth, acting as a responsible adult, meeting all the other criteria of "good role model", I would have NO problem with it. If my child is inspired by someone who happens to be homosexual, so be it. I have worked with female homosexuals, they have never tried to "hit" on me. I realize as an adult that some people I knew growing up were h

What "they" want is to be treated as equal. Dale was a BSA member, had been for some time. BSA said "because of OUR political views we are getting rid of you". He sued to be part of something he already was a part of! Many people see no reason for this policy to continue. I am against the policy. That does not mean I'm trying to make "political inroads". It means that I want BSA to stop discriminating against a group of people who can provide, and have provided in the past, service to the youth of BSA. If I use your logic, if a company refuses me employment because I'm female (short,

Can you call the packs? Do you know when and where they hold their pack meetings and go visit?

I agree with Ed, I'd like to see some statistics. I'm reminded the cause/effect example I heard in a college class --- more people buy ice cream during the summer, more people are raped during the summer; therefore the buying of ice cream is causing people to commit rape. I don't doubt most boys can learn what they need to in order to be First Class in First Year. I agree that it is crucial to learn these basic skills so they can enjoy other Scouting adventures. Yet, I just don't see the correlation of FCFY and staying in scouting. These are also the kids who stick with things they s

Bob White says: "A big problem with the BSA on this issue is the politicizing of it. For most involed it is not about serving youth it is about making a political inroad, and the BSA does not intend to sacrifice itself as someone elses political pawn. " Where does this come from? What leads you to believe it is ONLY about "making a political inroad"? If so, what is the point of that "political inroad"?

Here is a comparison of BSA to a few other youth activities. This may mean nothing or it may mean something. Just food for thought. BSA (year 2000) youth 3,351,969 Adults 1,209,077 GSUSA (current website) youth 2,800,000 Adults 942,000 Campfire USA (current website) 650,000 youth (some of this is after-school type programs not traditional clubs that are like Scouting) YMCA 17.9 million men, women, and children This includes everything from sports to art classes Organized Sports Out of 48,374,000 youth (estimate of 1995) the following Agency Sponsore

I agree with Eisely that it's not about changing the program for the minorities, it's about convincing them the program is for them as well. A year or so ago I saw an article about a town around Kentucky or Tennessee that had a large population of Asians. The article touched on how strong Scouting was in that community. That Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting taught the type of patriotism and values of the Asian familes. They showed a Cub Scout den that was large and was 100% Asian descendent. I had some black boys in my Webelos den these past couple of years. The families were involved

By the way, here are the Five Pillars of Islam. The Testimony of Faith The testimony of faith is saying with conviction, "La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur rasoolu Allah." ("There is no true god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.") The testimony of faith is the most important pillar of Islam. Prayer Muslims perform five prayers a day. The Prophet Muhammad said: Bilal, call (the people) to prayer, let us be comforted by it. (Bilal was one of Muhammad's companions). Prayers are performed at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and night. Giving Zakat (Support of th

I agree with Big Beard, BSA needs more advertising. The program can be the most fun a boy ever has, but if the parents don't see a "need" then he will not get there. If a kid is hearing "oh, I have to drive you scouts AGAIN tonight?" or things like that, he will drop out. What about the kids who don't want high adventure? That have no interest in climbing, long distance backpacking trips or white water rafting. What do you offer them?

Bradley County Commission rejects request to post Islamic tenets By The Associated Press March 30, 2002 CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Bradley County, one of several Tennessee counties that voted recently to post the Ten Commandments, has been asked to extend its endorsement of religious documents in public places to include the Five Pillars of Islam. The county commission has been asked several times by Rachel Cate, a student at Cleveland High School, to post the Islamic document alongside the Old Testament one. "This is not only a Christian nation but a nation for everyone," Cate

A lot of threads people say "but that's not scouting" or something like that. Okay, then what IS Scouting?

Studies still show that girls do not get the attention at school in math and science that boys do. Even though schools have been coed for a long time now, girls and boys still get treated differently regardless of the gender of the teacher. In general boys and girls act differently when the other sex is around, especially when they are hitting puberty. Females tend to let males take the lead roles. Males tend to think they have to be in the lead. Also, how many teenage boys will do silly skits and games in front of teenage girls? Same for girls --how many will do silly things in front of

Many of recent threads have said the exclusion of gay leaders is not contributing to the drop in membership. None of us can prove if it is or not. Many have touched on the fact the program should be reaching more youth and doing more to keep boys in scouting. Let's discuss how to get more youth in scouting and keep them. What is BSA doing now about that? How is BSA changing to address some current issues such as demographics changing, attitudes changing, single parent families, etc.? One program Girl Scouting has is specifically for girls whose mother is in prison. Would this be a g