Mr X and I are involved in Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts. (Yes, I'm the proud owner of one of those yellow scout shirts. *blush*) I am the assistant Den Leader to the Bears and I have no idea what stage/group of boy scouts Mr X works with - I never remember. Anyway, I am the assistant because I am incapable of being reliable enough to be anything more than a mere assistant due to the unpredictability of my job in regards to overtime work. Mr X is frequently gone due to his work as well, but at least his schedule is far more ascertainable than mine, therefore he is slightly more reliable than me.
Anyway, my reason for bringing this up is that last night Mr X was at boy scouts and he was talking with one of the other leaders. This leader told Mr X that he goes to something like 15 meetings a month, on average, relating to the boy scouts program/activities. He also told Mr X that these days, if you want to take the boys on an activity that involved rock climbing or rappelling, as the leader, you must first get certified to do so. If you want to take them swimming, first you have to get certified. The prerequisites go on and on. In addition to the camp outs that the boys go on, the leaders go on 'leadership camp outs' as well. So it's no wonder these leaders have to go to 15 extra meeting-type-things a month just make sure they are doing the best for their boy scouts. I applaud them for their dedication, but at the same time, I can't help but feel for the spouses of these leaders because, from the sounds of it between their full-time jobs and scouting, they aren't home that much. According to this leader that Mr X was talking with, he hadn't been home since he left for work bright and early that morning and it was 8pm that night.
My question is, is this normal?
Growing up in a household full of boys, I remember my dad being home regularly and he was involved in scouting for many, many years (and still is, I believe). So are adults nowadays just busier and over-abundantly involved in activities which require them to be away from home? Or are these programs like Boy Scouts just growing more demanding? What are your thoughts?
4 comments:
I think the guy was lying. Since when do you have to be certified in that kind of stuff to be a leader? I mean really...
If you get my spousal unit started on this topic, he could go on for a while. It's hard to be motivated to do things in the program when one has to wade through so much bureaucracy.
I baby-sat the sisters of a cub scout and his Dad was a den leader. It was once a week. That's it. I baby sat 2.5 hours maybe 3. They had some Saturday stuff or special events but not 15!
A - I kind of believe that guy is exaggerating too. Maybe they are just being extra cautious (lawsuits maybe?) by trying to get all the leaders to be certified in all of these things...if so, how are people supposed to keep up?
N - I want to hear more about Gib's scouting bureaucracy issues...
V - So you are thinking that the guy is lying or that scouts has changed a lot?
Post a Comment