cub scouts won't let my 1st grader join! - Page 2

[allybrat]

I wouldn't let my child join cubscouts again. We tried it for a few months. Maybe it was just the pack my son was part of, but it was a little military indoctrination, at least we felt. At our blue and gold banquet they played "proud to be an American" by Lee Greenwood and played a video of bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then my son came up to me and said "Mom, did you know that American Military never die?"
My other feeling is that the Boy Scouts of America is a bigoted organization. They disallow gay den leaders, and I think it is just wrong to exclude someone because of race, color, creed or religeon.
I do live in a very conservative community and there is a heavy military population, so my pack may be a special situation, but we want to breed peace and love and respecting the earth, and we decided to find other kids organizations... shoots and leaves is really cool.

[pigpokey]

If you have the money, you can get him un-homeschooled for the year by signing him up at an umbrella school but continuing your instruction as you normally would. If he's ACTUALLY IN FIRST GRADE at a "school," they don't have to know that you don't hear from them too much throughout the year. Then there's nothing they can do about it. He won't be home schooled at that point. Though why they question your grade assignment, I don't know.

Or find a home school pack or a pack associated with a private school.

I am sorry you're going through this.

Girl Scouts is by "grade," but our home school troop does it by year of birth. So the cutoff for public and many private schools may be Sept 1, but in the troop it's 12/31. Around here people often don't assign their home schooled children to a "grade in school."

[Youngfrankenstein]

Originally Posted by xanandali

I'm crying right now so if this is written poorly please excuse me. Just got a call that my brilliant and kind 5 year old first grader won't be allowed to join Cub Scouts of America SOLELY because he's homeschooled. Talked with corp. and local. If he were 5 and in public school he can do it, but since he's homeschooled he must be 7 years old. But they have no written policy for this neither online, in the guidebook, or even written at the office! Online/Application states they must have completed kindergarten or be in first grade or 8 years old. Not even sure where they are getting the number seven from. Most public school kids are 6 when they go into first grade and they would be allowed in, but not my son because he's homeschooled.

I'm disappointed and furious. Most of all I'm sad because we've already gotten our son his uniform & taken pictures, told him he's going to camp next weekend, started making his race car, etc. Not sure we want to be part of an organization who doesn't want us, but really feel like this might be worth fighting. Thoughts, ideas, past experiences?

I haven't read the other replys but I know for a fact that homeschoolers can be in Boy Scouts. I'd be making some calls and checking other local troops.

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by allybrat

Maybe it was just the pack my son was part of, but it was a little military indoctrination...

Wow. Our troop was nothing like that! More like just the opposite... I didn't realize there were such distinct regional differences. I agree about the bigotry - I don't think that was so evident when we were associated with it, hadn't hit the news yet - but I'm sure I would have struggled with the moral/ethical dilemma of what to do, because of the fact that it wasn't at all like that locally. As it turned out, we just dropped out after that first year anyway. He did really enjoy some 4H classes after that - they offered some really good ones, and there was no rowdiness at all. - Lillian

[elizawill]

where i live, they are very strict about age. you HAVE to be 6 to join cub scouts. i'll be glad when my ds can participate, as he is only 5 as well. when my dd was a daisy, she HAD to be 5... a little girl (4 years old) was not allowed to be in her troop because of age requirements. it is very strict here & there are no exceptions. i'm sorry you're disappointed. hugs.

[shoefairy3]

Originally Posted by Lillian J

Wow. Our troop was nothing like that! More like just the opposite... I didn't realize there were such distinct regional differences. I agree about the bigotry - I don't think that was so evident when we were associated with it, hadn't hit the news yet - but I'm sure I would have struggled with the moral/ethical dilemma of what to do, because of the fact that it wasn't at all like that locally. As it turned out, we just dropped out after that first year anyway. He did really enjoy some 4H classes after that - they offered some really good ones, and there was no rowdiness at all. - Lillian

ours wasn't at all military...just the flag part at the begining of the meetings. The rest was really laid back and fun. We quit b/c I was very pregnant and wasn't a very good scout mom. I hate camping

[ocelotmom]

Originally Posted by allybrat

I wouldn't let my child join cubscouts again. We tried it for a few months. Maybe it was just the pack my son was part of, but it was a little military indoctrination, at least we felt. At our blue and gold banquet they played "proud to be an American" by Lee Greenwood and played a video of bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then my son came up to me and said "Mom, did you know that American Military never die?"
My other feeling is that the Boy Scouts of America is a bigoted organization. They disallow gay den leaders, and I think it is just wrong to exclude someone because of race, color, creed or religeon.
I do live in a very conservative community and there is a heavy military population, so my pack may be a special situation, but we want to breed peace and love and respecting the earth, and we decided to find other kids organizations... shoots and leaves is really cool.

I had the same hesitation about Boy Scouts. However, I found the policies, on a local level, to be acceptable. No one has ever been excluded from our local troops for being gay, and local people are working at a national level to try to get the policies changed. That seemed like something I was willing to support and expose my child to, even if I have problems with the organization as a whole.

However, I'd have pulled DS out in a minute if they had pro-war stuff like you describe, and I don't imagine DH, a disabled veteran, would be particularly happy about it either.

[PGTlatte]

Originally Posted by allybrat

At our blue and gold banquet they played "proud to be an American" by Lee Greenwood and played a video of bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan.

:Puke

Seriously, that is alarming and sick.

[mommyinIL1976]

Sorry I'm coming to this discussion late, but thought I should throw in our experience with this organization. Your experience doesn't suprise me. When DS1 was 7 we enrolled him in Cub Scouts. Everything was fine until a year later when the den mother found out we were atheists. We received a polite, but highly discriminatory letter stating that we were no longer welcome due to our son's disbelief in God. Our son was now barred from an activity being held in HIS school. I was disgusted and outraged, but we found no help at the national level.

After we found out the organization is openly hostile to gays as well, we were glad he was kicked out. It was an orgaization we wanted no part of.

[liliaceae]

See if you have a local Earth Scouts. I'm sure they wouldn't have a problem with him being homeschooled, and as a bonus, they don't discriminate against homosexuals.

[earthmama369]

I'm in my second year of helping to run an Earth Scouts group, after being a member in another one three years ago. It's hella fun. Our group is all homeschoolers, non-discriminatory, and it's been great to meet and connect with other families who are interested in the same basic principles of social justice, economic fair trade, environmental responsibility, democratic practices, and human rights.

[eilonwy]

It's too bad there only seem to be about two dozen Earth Scouts troops in the entire country. . .