Summertime Activity Cancelled

[Jeffrey H]

"It might be a Council interpretation, but my Council says that a Pack earns the Award if they plan and hold one activity a month regardless how many go. If any boy attends all 3, he gets the pin. Any den that has 50% participation at each activity, gets a den ribbon. Therefore, in my Pack, under my council's interpretation, the poster's son would get his pin. They could be wrong, but that is what they say and it has been that way for awhile"

Our Council interprets the same way as well.  There is no attendance requirement % for a Pack event to qualify as an "event."  In fact, the Summertime Pack Award Form does not mention or require an attendance % for the Pack.

 

 

[Scoutfish]

Yeah..He gets the pin, and should be proud to wear it.

 

Have no idea about Minnesota, or what kinds of competition there is, But I live on the coast of NC.

 

During the summer, there are beaches, waterways, communityy pools, a huge amount of private pools, pool parties, boast, boats, boats galore. The waterways are full of jet skis and wave runners and boats pulling people on tubes.

 

With high 90's to triple digit temps and humidity of about 20,000% who wants to hike and make smores around a campfire?

 

LOL! JUst saying, when summer comes, school and strict bedtimes are not the only thing that gets discarded.

 

[AnnLaurelB]

I had recently asked a similar question. I planned, printed, and passed out reminders (before the end of the school/Scouting year) for our summertime Pack get-togethers.

 

June -- Fishing

July -- State Park & a Camp In (extra weekend in July!)

Aug -- Swimming Day

 

My son and 2 others came fishing. ONLY my son (since I'm the CM) came to the State Park outing. We cancelled the Camp In due to lack of response, but I had a Park Play Day instead. And we'll find out who comes to the swimming day in a couple of weeks.

 

There's no way we made the 50% for the Pack (clearly), and no other Cub came to either July event, so they don't get a pin, either.

 

But MY poor kid was schlepped to EVERY event. I'm givin' the boy his pin!

 

 

 

[kari_cardi]

Basementdweller, there is another thread here about how it stinks to be a leader's son. Scouter sons not getting an award they earn would make it stink more. As long as the events and the award were promoted and advertised to the whole pack, there isn't any reason why the leader's son shouldn't get his award, even if there are grumbles. Someone always grumbles IMO.

 

That would be a good spin-off thread, actually. What to do with the Negative Neds and Nellys in the unit who grumble, complain and criticize everything and everyone. I'd start it but I don't have time to babysit it.(This message has been edited by sasha)

[AnnLaurelB]

(*grumbles*)

[Basementdweller]

ya know Sasha, the other thread is mine.

 

Evidently you have never had to deal with it. When son was a wolf I was PD for the district day camp, and we also attended a cub resident camp. Over the summer he had completed his wolf, just shy of a couple requirements. So october pack meeting he received it, plus WCA and LNT. you should have heard the grumbling and back stabbing going on......

 

It effected him, when the his den mates started telling him to his face he didn't earn it. You can talk to a 7 year old all you want, but when his friends call him a cheater, it is tough for him to understand. There were tears and hurt feelings.

 

Since that time I have with held his awards until everyone else catches up.

 

they complained that he sold the most popcorn too.

We have talked about it and he understands, I think.

[kari_cardi]

Basementdweller, I have been in a similar situation, multiple times. I have three boys in scouts and all of them have been 'the leader's boy' more than not. And things have been said by boys and adults, and not in a complimentary way.

 

I am sorry that your son was treated the way you describe. I don't think I would have responded the same way, because I haven't responded the same way, but I don't know the details of your situation. Still, if at all possible, I would NOT hold an honestly earned award so that other boys can catch up or feel better about the work they didn't do. That isn't Scouting from any angle I can see. But I can see not wanting your young son to be fodder for the mill.

 

 

[Basementdweller]

Yes, I took the easier road and as dad protected him and make sure he was one of the guys.

 

He and I know when he earned the award and that is all that really matters.

 

Now he is in the troop, I have absolutely nothing to do with his advancement. He is his own man, so to speak, He approaches the spl or sm to have his requirements signed off.

 

No more behind the back whispers and accusations about favoritism or special treatment. Funny thing he is still advancing faster than the other scouts.

 

 

 

 

[momof2cubs]

In our pack it is generally accepted and understood that leaders kids will get more stuff. Parents usually understand. However, we have an active bunch of kids and they are not all leaders kids. We are lucky to have boys that love scouting and parents that drive them to where they need to be.

 

Basement: seriously, my heart just broke. Had that been my kid being called a cheater, heads would have rolled. You are to be commended for taking the higher road. And it's not surprising he's still advancing faster. You taught him well. Be proud.

[AnnLaurelB]

At our Pack meeting back in March, the Advancement Chair got up there to do awards, and my son's name was, yeah, called several times. He (the AdvC) make a crack about the CM's son coming away with a lot of bling.

 

I was about to be offended, but he went on to say that it IS because my boy has to be at Every Single Event, and cranking out the awards is the side-effect of that.

 

So I felt that he (in a back door sort of way) explained to all present WHY my kid was earning stuff some of the others weren't.

 

But I agree with MOM2 -- if someone grumbled about his awards, or implied that I pencil-whipped them, I'd have to remind them that "A Scout is trustworthy," and oh yeah, Um...because you didn't SHOW UP.

 

[moosetracker]

the Pack was a long time ago, but I do not remember people being upset over one scouts bling over another and comparing it.. I do remembe our den looking at the other den of the same rank, who was churning up and getting all the advancement (none of us though grumbled that it might be pencil-whipped, we thought they were really working hard and had their nose to advancement & advancement only.) We all asked each other if we wanted to start cranking up our advancement to keep up, consensus was "NO" we were enjoying our time in cub scouts, and would earn what we needed for the rank, but did not need to go above and beyound.. Just have fun.. The other group never made it to webeloes cross over, some big high tension blow-up between the adults and they all dis-banded.. Meanwhile we just kept having fun.

 

Now in BS, surprisingly our old Den Leader suddenly zeroed in on our sons advancement, and started comparing it to his son, and got competitive. Things were said by him like "Your son could have gotten to that rank, because mine is not there yet.." Well we only lasted a year in that troop and moved on. But, whenever we met up the father wanted to match our son's advancement to his son's advancement..

 

I think it was because one time I blew up at him about something. The patrol leader couldn't make a campout, and I found out left the patrol high & dry about food on the night of.. I called the old Den Leader to suggest our boys get together to do the food shopping to both earn the rank advancement.. (Ok, not more then 2 months out of cub scouts and still in helecopter mode..).. He said he had to check something and would call me back.. No call, so I called him up to say it had to be now or never, and I was ready to go with my son to the store.. The answer I got was don't worry, I had my son take care of it.. There was not enough time to work together.. Well I did see red, because if that was his opinion, he should have let my son go alone, rather then yank opportunity away from my son give it to his son to do.. And I went up one side of him and down the other.. I guess he was such a great and fair Den Leader, this action was the last thing I would expect of him.. He really lost my respect and trust that day.

 

After that he was in a constant "My son is better then your son" type of attitude.. And always comparing the two..