Where did the boy scout thread go?

[Gale Hawkins]

While it was hard work in Austin's case making Eagle has been nothing but positive and he will soon be turning 21 and still helps assist with his old troop.

The cost for some kids can be a show stopper if the troop finances are not strong enough to cover the costs in these cases. Our homes, schools, work place, religious groups like the Boy Scouts are going through deep changes with some being for the better and some for the worse I expect. It is not just a Boy Scout issue.

 

[Sigarms]

I have been to camp raven knob, mt airy NC twice. Very nice camp.

It is a nice camp. The new climbing wall is amazing. That doesn't change the fact that most local boys families can't actually afford to send them to a week long camp.

That said, there is a new building going up by some great parents who lost their child. That building represents all that is wrong with the BSA per council and national leadership IMO, not the other crap that makes the national headlines.

 

[/pine]

I think we can all agree that most of these organizations would not succeed without the volunteer efforts of the parents of the kids involved, and that you'll only get out of them what you put into them.

What's surprising is that a lot of parents won't lift a finger, or make an offer, to assist, even in the slightest way. No money needed, just your time....

anyone? Anyone? (hears crickets and says :confused3

An abstract example of similar attitudes is with team sports...namely soccer (futbal)...The kids are highly interested but not so much the parents...

Money and alumni support pours in for traditional American sports like football and basketball but not soccer...a shame...!

 

[Sigarms]

I wasnt in scouts as a youth, but went to 4H camps every summer. When i was 14 or 15, i was a counselor for the younger kid camps. I loved taking shooting and archery, actually i loved it all. Still have my safe hunter patch from then. When i was an older teen i taught the rifle classes.
It was so different then, to now in scouts.

Bottom line, it all comes down to the ratio of adults supervising boys IMO, particularly when it comes to shooting events with a gun or bow.

Have a couple of boys with one adult when participating in a shooting event, no issue, have 40 kids with 4 adults, then they dynamic changes on how you have to interact with the boys per procedures even with the same safty policies in place.

The most fun my boys and I have ever had shooting is when we're out out back, perhaps maybe with a friend or two.

The added reality is the BSA can't control the adults. Thus, any shooting activities HAVE to be on BSA grounds. I understand that.

 

[MossRoad]

An abstract example of similar attitudes is with team sports...namely soccer (futbal)...The kids are highly interested but not so much the parents...

Money and alumni support pours in for traditional American sports like football and basketball but not soccer...a shame...!

I never liked soccer..... until, as a parent, one of my kids signed up for it, and all we had to buy was a pair of shoes and some shin guards. Got out of that sport for only $100.00. :laughing:

Then, you go to the match, the clock starts, a kid could be crawling on the ground in total agony from taking a hard kick to the gut, but that clock keeps running. You know it's only gonna take an hour, and when the hour is up, the game is over!!! :thumbsup: (hope that kid is OK.... :confused3:.... let's get ice cream! :licking.

 

[mark02tj]

I never was a Boy Scout, so I just learned something new. Until about 2 hours ago I always thought that a soapbox car was something which the kids rode down a hill. It just goes to show that you're never too old to learn.

Soapbox is a car that kids ride in. Pinewood Derby is what the scouts build.

Soapbox Derby started in Dayton, OH on the Huffman Ave. hill back in the early 30's. I used to take that road to and from work back in the 80's. Super steep!

Back to Scouts - my daughter's first Brownie troop had a leader that pilfered the kids' scout dues money. Class act. Their mother went to drop them off at a meeting at this lady's apartment and the lady (on public assistance) wasn't there - just the very creepy boyfriend. My wife stayed there with the kids - NO WAY was she leaving our kids there. Couldn't believe that other parents never bothered to even walk their kindergarten age kids up to the door of the apartment.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Yea, our first cub scout pack had money disappear. Never got it resolved, so we moved to another pack.

 

[oldballs]

When I was a kid my parents and school taught me what I needed to know about life...to hunt, to fish, to sweat, to study, to help others and be respectful.....and we never got a merit badge for it. It was just expected of me. Didn't have to join anything or sell popcorn.....just sayin' But I'm not against the BSA as it used to be either. Today, I can see the problem with the PC crowd mouthing off all the time. :2cents:

 

[Sigarms]

Yea, our first cub scout pack had money disappear. Never got it resolved, so we moved to another pack.

Open books for all that are members solves that issue.

We did have one instance where the money didn't add up, and the person in charge was "let go" (would of pressed criminal charges if it were up to me, but the minister "vetoed" me).

ANYTIME people donate money or do fundraising drives, it's the RIGHT of those people to know exactly what the funds they're raising is being used for IMO as well as an account balance.

Hold the church to the exact same standards.

 

[Sigarms]

When I was a kid my parents and school taught me what I needed to know about life...to hunt, to fish, to sweat, to study, to help others and be respectful.....and we never got a merit badge for it. It was just expected of me. Didn't have to join anything or sell popcorn.....just sayin' But I'm not against the BSA as it used to be either. Today, I can see the problem with the PC crowd mouthing off all the time. :2cents:

The ultimate Scoutmaster is your mother and father. The sad reality is some kids don't have that.

In my area, some kids really have nothing. That's the only reason why I still help where and when I can even though my own kids have moved on (they did keep their commitment until it ended in their defense).

I honestly do believe it takes a village to raise a child.