Commander Jen Wrote:
One of the things that differentiate Boy Scouts and Rangers is that parental
involvement in Scouts starts when the boys are very young as cub scouts.
Parents are not just asked to participate, it is a REQUIREMENT. As a parent
you sign up as to what kind of support YOU will provide in the pack, be it
transportation, crafts, snacks, merit counselor etc....or else your boy
doesn't participate.
However somehow in the Ranger ministry/program, the mind-set of alot parents
is that "THE CHURCH" will provide the leaders, the snacks, implement the
program, provide transportation etc. and often what happens is a small
handful of adults ends up running the program until they are totally burned
out. How many Outposts REQUIRE parental involvement? I have been involved
in 2 Outposts now where I hardly EVER see the parents. - any thoughts?
Commander Pier Replies:
Yes. A good part of that is the way the program is scheduled. Most
churches have it on Wednesday night, which they call "Family Night." The
parents are conditioned to attend the bible study (like I don't want to be
there also?) and the girls go to Missionettes, boys go to Rangers, and the
teens go to youth - something for everyone. In short, they think of it as a
"Sunday School class" for Wednesdays. If a boy does not like Rangers, he is
stuck and he ends up disrupting the group. The boys who are the most
disruptive are those who attend because their parents attend bible study and
they "stick" them in Rangers. In fact, our current peeve is parents yanking
boys out at 10 minutes before we close. The pastor has been ending the
bible study early and the parents come and yank little Johnny out because
they want to leave. What a message they are sending to Johnny, eh? "I am
more important than your little program - I don't care if you are finished -
we're leaving." I need to talk to pastor and the parents.
Kelvin Pier
OP34
Penn-Del
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