Active or Kicked-Out???

[Beavah]

Yah, sure. We're here to serve da kids... all of da kids.

 

There's always a balance between "generosity" toward one and the negative example one gives boys who work hard on the straight and narrow when you let somebody skate by with "minimal" expectations. Personally, I vote most often with keeping the expectations and examples high for all of the boys.

 

And yah, the service dat I owe I owe primarily to the boys who are takin' the time and effort to show up. Nothin' I can do to teach character to boys who don't participate, other than not give them awards that recognize trustworthy and committed service.

 

 

[MaScout]

To quote my favorite Vulcan, "SOMETIMES the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few..."

[Venividi]

I can't help but note the tenor of posts is highly affected by the words selected. If a scout doesn't attend for a year and the troop does not re-register him, is he really being kicked out or booted out?

 

I think not.

[Greying Beaver]

Unfortunately, . . . "Active" means "Annual registration fee paid." As long as the registration fee is paid before the troop re-registers, the youngster is on the troop charter.

There will be those boys who are registered, not take part in any patrol or troop activity, but when it comes time to sign up for summer camp, they come up with the money and show up are the date, time, and place to leave for summer camp . . . in uniform. They go, have a good time, finish a rank, or earn a couple of merit badges, come home and disappear until the next summer camp.

The extreme of this is a parent who appears out of the blue with checkbook in hand, his son is not registered with the troop, and writes out a check for the total the cost of registration, troop dues to date, and all camp and transportation costs. And he threatens to make things ugly if his son doesn't go to camp (This actually happened about four years ago.) The end of this story was that the boy was miserable at camp and was never seen again, but the father had insisted that the boy have a summer camp experience, like it or not. The father as correct, and dead wrong for doing it. Like I said, "Active" means "Paid up".

[SR540Beaver]

Greying Beaver,

 

A boy who only shows up for one week of summer camp will never move beyond the Scout badge to the Tenderfoot rank. If the camp provides wall tents and a dining hall, the boy will never sleep in a tent he helped pitch or assist in preparing and cooking one of his patrol's meals. Now, if he were to go to a camp where the troop uses their own tents and cooks their own meals, he still wouldn't be able to show improvement in push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, standing long jump and 1/4 mile walk/run after 30 days. Why? Because he was not "active" before or beyond the one week at camp....even if he is paid up for the year.

 

If he had made Tenderfoot earlier, he'd never make Second Class because he has to attend five separate troop/patrol activities, two of which include overnight camping. Why? Again, because he was not "active" other than the one week per year at camp.

 

You can call a boy active because he has paid his registration, but he will never advance without really BEING active.

[dan]

Greying Beaver

I would have told the Dad, make it rough, he is not going. Allowing a scout to go on a week long campout who has never camped with the troop before, is not a member of a patrol, and has no scout skills, is a disservice to all of the other scouts in the troop and himself. What is the worse the dad could have done tried to sue the troop?

 

MaScout

Live long and Prosper.