A clarification of expectations to Parents
Scouting is a commitment, to enhancing youth self image, character, and citizenship. It is not a club, a hobby, or a part time dalliance. A successful Scout has the support and encouragement of his Parents, and family. We know that a great many of today's families do not have the fortitude to follow through with this commitment. To borrow a phrase from the Marines, "We are the few", and many do not want to meet our standards, as is their choice.
When a parent signs an application for their child to join a BSA Scout Unit they are committing to the following, which is printed under the Scout/Parent section:
"Scouting uses a fun program to promote character development, citizenship training, and personal fitness for every member. You can help by encouraging perfect attendance, assisting with your child's advancement, attending meetings for parents, assisting with transportation, and assisting when called upon by the unit leader"
To Address many of the questions and avoid many issues that hinder a Scout's advancements the following is what is expected from parents:
1. Cub Scouts are not able to borrow the car keys and drive themselves to a meeting, they need an adult driver to get them to a meeting.
2. The answer to the question "When can I drop him off and leave him?" is when he is walking into the Armed Forces Intake Center.
3. We expect Parents to insist on the Scout following through with his obligations.
4. Once the commitment to join a Scout unit is made it is expected that both the Parent and Scout will make every effort to participate in the unit activities, through the entire registration year.
5. The registration year in Chesapeake ends December 31.
6. I don't feel like it", "I want to play with friends", "I don't like the stuff we're doing this month", these excuses would not be acceptable to get them out of a family obligation, and they aren't acceptable for not honoring a commitment made to a Scout unit.
7. We understand that a parent of a Scout may not be able to be at every meeting for it's entirety. We do expect however that the adult bringing him to the meeting walk in with him, and let the Leadership know where you are going to be in case we need to reach you, and how long you will be so we can make arrangements if you may be late retrieving your child.
8. We expect you to walk in to retrieve your child, and find out about any activity information that was discussed at the meeting.
9. We expect Parents to attend Pack meetings to support all of the Scouts in the unit's accomplishments.
10. We expect Parents to notify the Leader if a Scout will not be attending a meeting or activity.
The Volunteer Leaders do their best to have informative, active meetings. We strive to get every boy excited about achieving the goals set in the program, and recognize their achievements as quickly as possible.
We can not help a boy learn, grow, and advance if he is not at the meetings.
Once a boy is registered in Scouts the fees are not refundable, you have made a financial commitment for the registration year, if you don't attend what did you pay for?
You can contact us via e-mail at: cubscoutpack421@aol.com
You can find more information about Cub Scout Pack 421 at our main website: http://bsapack421.tripod.com/
For more information and the scout parent resources click scoutparents.org
