I'm gonna say it. I know that I will get all kinds of people saying, "How can you hate that?" But I do. I loathe that it's about to start again. That it will consume one night each week and several other nights and days to fulfill all the requirements. That's right. I hate Cub Scouts. I dislike that there are all kinds of awards for sports. At the last pack meeting we had in the spring there was one kid who had earned his basketball, baseball, football AND swimming badges. They went ON AND ON about how WONDERFUL this kid was. Everyone else was "Here - good job". Red isn't into sports. He likes to throw the ball around with Dad, but he just doesn't have that really competitive nature about him. Which means that he won't be WONDERFUL in the eyes of these leaders.
Now, I know they learn some good things in Scouts. Like respect for the flag. Respect for their bodies. Knowing things about their communities. These are all great things. But, does being able to do a "frog stand" really give a kid an advantage in life?
Actually, when Red did this, I was almost afraid he was going to break his arms. I guess some of these things just seem silly to me. And really, my biggest problem is with one of the leaders. We had the "rain gutter regatta" in the spring. The kids make little boats out of kits and then they blow on the sails to send them down the rain gutters. At the end, Red's leader was praising them all. Letting them know that she was proud of them for coming and participating and that there were no losers because they all did their best. Another leader pipes up and says "That's bull! If you don't win then you lose. Therefore, you are a loser." Which, technically, is true. But, seemed a little harsh to be calling these 8-10 year old boys "losers". Guess who had not won a single race? Guess who slumped over to me with his eyes brimming with tears? Guess who pulled it together and cheered for the boys that had won? Maybe Cub Scouts will be good for Red. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.
12 comments:
Ok, you need to voice your concerns over that other leader's actions. It's unacceptable. We have some great leaders and kids in our den and pack and scouts has been nothing but beneficial for Justin. Especially since he's sometimes socially, um, awkward... It's not supposed to be about winning. It's supposed to be about participating, having fun, and living life to it's highest potential.
That ridiculous "leader" makes me so upset! I'm sorry...no wonder you hate the cub scout thing! :(
The cub/boy scout organization itself is wonderful when it is followed correctly! My sons' experiences have been beneficial, like Tracey said. Neither of them is into sports, and neither of them ever won a raingutter regatta or pinewood derby...but that's okay, because they had fun, and their leaders were smart enough to understand what is important...the cub scouts themselves!
Whoa. Sounds like that one leader is a bit of a loser him/herself. C'mon! Who really cares about winning anyway?
But, you know, that "frog stand" will come in handy one of these days, you just wait. Just imagine Red has had...uh, serious burns on the bottom of both feet...and, he, uh...needs to grab some neosporin but his fingers are paralyzed, and he is forced to balance on the backs of his arms to...uh...no. You ARE right. I can't think of any possible situation where that might be even slightly beneficial.
I would have contradicted that second leaders statement right then and there in front of those boys. That is unacceptable.
That so-called leader was WAY out of line. I'm sorry that you and Red had to have an experience like that.
My boys have gone through Cubs/Scouts and 3 were athletic and 2 were not. They had leaders who helped them have success in the areas they were comfortable and confident in. Good luck with it, and hang in there.
(I love Wynne's comment about the importance of the "frog stand". To funny)
oh, how these kind of stories just break my heart. sure, there are always losers. but kids shouldn't be called out on that fact.
i would have said something to that leader and then threaten to pull my kid out if the leader can't let go of his/her own agenda and be there for the sole reason of encouraging and supporting the kids.
melissa:
so sorry to hear that you guys are having this kind of rough experience with this. it shouldn't be like that. wish i could wave my magic wand for you and make it all better. if you feel comfortable, you might want to talk to somebody in your church leadership and voice your concerns. that might help some.
and wynne so wins a prize here today for coming up with a hilarious reason for that frog thing. she totally cracks me up. hope the laugh helped. it helped me :)
best to ya,
kathleen
That father is a loser. What's wrong with him?
I haven't had the pleasure of cub or boy scouts yet but I'll tell you that if someone said that in front of my child, I would have been compelled to correct him. Sheesh!! I would say something to his leader. That is NOT cool.
I'm sorry that Red had to go through that.
Don't ever diss Cub Scouts......because they'll call you to lead it. My Papi got called as a Cubmaster a couple months ago a mere 10 minutes after a whole tirade about how he didn't approve of the way our ward handles it.
Know what I hate? We let our son put together his soapbox car himself as instructed. Almost 80 percent of the other kid's dads are engineers, though, who built aerodynamic masterpieces FOR their kid instead of WITH their kid.
that just blows.
yeah yeah sure they have to learn about winning and losing , but that leader needs to learn how to be a good sport.
I used to have parent's complete their child's homework and expect me not to notice-this was kindergarten
I'm a Wolf Den Leader and while I like den meetings well enough, I hate pack meeting and we have pack meeting once a month.
That said, we have some really good leaders and I'm sorry that your son has to deal with the stupid ones. Leaders make the biggest difference. I think the scouting program has many benefits but I don't think it is the end all be all program. I probably shouldn't admit that!
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