Scouting for Food
 

I don't know if this is a local thing, or a national thing. But our district is involved in a can food drive for a local food bank. We put out bags and flyers one week, and pick up the bags (full of cans) the next week.

Because LDS troops are retarded and generally poorly run, the district gave all the LDS troops in the stake just one area.

We were assigned to put out bags in about 1/3 the area.

This would be fine, except for the fact, it is hard to accomplish when only one scout/YM decides to show up.

I'm sick of this bull&^%. I'm going directly to the parents, and I'm going to lay it on the line. We're going to have a real scout program, or we are not. If not, that's fine. We won't have uniforms, we wont' have scout books (we don't anyway right now), and we wont' bother about advancement. We'll go on campouts purely when I feel like it.

Sometimes you get into this strange place, where you are busting your ass, but the kids don't care and the parents don't care. And then you are realize you are the fool.

YM can drive you crazy sometimes. I was asked to be the YM basketball coach. So we have a game today, and one of the YM is harping about my substitution patterns. He didn't like the fact that I was playing everyone that showed up, including the deacons.

"Look who's on the floor, we're going to lose!"

"Yes, we are down by over 20 with 5 minutes left. We are going to lose.
The reason I subbed you out is because you walked for 4 possessions straight. I figured you were tired."

"I wasn't tired."

"Then I guess you were just being lazy."

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I'm not sure this was the right thing to say, but I know how some of these boys are constantly coddled. "If I say the wrong thing, maybe he will go inactive. What a blessing it is that he shows up, even if he constantly shows disrespect and is disruptive."

Sometimes I feel like this is the philosophy in this neck of the woods, and I am getting sick of it.

Just had to vent a little bit.

That's frustrating, especially the inability to give any constructive criticism to the young men. Good luck with that.

I should have been born in the 20's, and then been a scoutmaster in the 50's.

My dad said that in his troop, boxing was a not infrequent activity.

Back when parents could beat their kids. And wives knew how to cook.

:)

Mike, I feel for you, my friend. The YM program is tough enough as it is, but Scoutmaster can really be a brutal calling.

I think you have the right idea going to the parents. What you're doing is for the benefit of the boys, but if the parents will not lend a hand and encourage their sons to participate, you're just wasting your time.

I'd rather be president of Little League Baseball in my area (wait, I already am. Again. Crap.) because although it's very time consuming, participation actually exists and most parents are willing to help or stay out of the way and keep their mouths shut.

Good luck to you. And do it by your rules.

Scouting for food is a national program. We used to do it every year in southern California. Our scoutmaster always volunteered us for this crappy neighborhood where nobody believed in chaining their dogs up. I hated it.

You can only do so much Mike. And sometimes you need to say it like it is. Just this past summer when my father was in the bishopric and assigned to the young men/women program he was the priesthood leader at mutual. One of the young men was listening to some hardcore rap on his mp3 player and was singing right along and not omitting any of the expletives. So my father told him to turn it off and that the language he was using was inappropriate no matter where it was being said but especially at church.

The young man was very defiant and asked my father what was wrong with the language he was using. My father told him that the language used was for the uneducated and/or ignorant. The kid then said that it was because he was black. My dad told him that anyone who uses that type of language is uneducated or ignorant. The kid then said that his family uses that language and then asked if he was saying his family was uneducated and ignorant. My dad repeated what he said earlier. So the young man challenged him again and repeated his question. My dad ready to punch the kid finally said that if his family used that language then they were uneducated and/or ignorant. So the kid stormed off and left mutual.

My dad related the story to everyone in Bishopric meeting the following Sunday and said that if the kid goes inactive that's why. There had been several altercations with this young man constantly challenging the authority of leaders and disrupting classes and meetings. The mother being the only other member, inactive, and though wanting her son to attend church was otherwise unsupportive particularly in disciplining him. The bishop agreed with my father and said that he said nothing out of line.

So Mike, do all you can do and if nobody is going to support you in your calling then there is nothing else you can do.

I used to coordinate community service for a group of students on campus. It was sooooo frustrating. I'd have like 25 kids sign up and five would show. And then I'd have to try to explain to the director of the orphanage (or whatever) why I've only got 20% of volunteers they'd requested.

I was not too disappointed when my term as volunteer coordinator expired.

I thought of this thread as I was driving to church today. I passed a typical Texas BSA troop on the road presumably returning from a campout. It was a Suburban pulling a good size utility trailer with the tropp and BSA logo on it and was labeled as the "High Adventure Group". Looking inside the vehicle, all the boys and the driver had on their uniforms as well.

I thought of the typical LDS troop in comparison .... we suck at scouting.

The way that we staff and support scouting sucks.

We treat it like an assignment, when in reality, it is something of a calling (from within, not from a phone call from the executive secretary).

We get leaders who really aren't interested or equipped to do the job.

One of the wards in my stake has a phenomenal Scoutmaster. He has become a support to all troops in the stake. Young guy too. We need people like him. His troop has doubled or tripled in size, almost all the new growh is from nonmembers. He has at least two nonmember assistant scoutmasters.

They recently bought a trailer. They are now the real deal.