Uniform/Insignia question

First off Betsy, please allow me to calm some of your fears about your son being “touched”.  Chances are, the only thing that has “touched” your son (and to be honest, touches “me” as a longtime Scouting volunteer and former member) is the fact that he WANTS to wear the Scout uniform.  I can’t tell from your posting if he’s in Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts — but it does not matter.  The BSA has a very strong Youth Protection Plan and program, and anyone who comes in contact with our program — not just with kids but anyone in the movement — has a background check and screening before they are accepted as registered volunteers or full time professional employees.

Second, I share with you a lot of pride in your son.  He is clearly the “exception” and not the “rule”.  I have been involved in Scouting for close to 40 years, and I can tell you from personal example that when I was younger, everyone wore their Scout uniforms everywhere — school, church, field trips, and just hanging around the neighborhood.  There would be fights breaking out during school in which Scouts from different units would fight each other over which unit was “the best” or “did the most”.   Somewhere around my senior year of high school — 1977 or so — this all changed and the prevailing attitude was “leave your uniforms at home” and many school systems started insisting that Scouts (boy and girl Scouts) don’t wear their uniforms to school for fear of being “singled out” by emerging bullies. 

When I went to college, I wore my Scout field uniform out of necessity: I was employed by the Scouts to work in some rural and urban areas of the state, and it was better for me to wear the uniform to class than to spend an additional 30 minutes changing clothing and then driving an hour or two to get to the meeting location.  My boss encouraged me to keep a full Scout uniform in the trunk of my car “just in case” the opportunity came up for me to award a badge or certificate to a Scout or Scouter (Scout leader).

When I started my military service, I kept a Scout uniform in the office — mostly for decoration but I had to sometimes do a “Superman” — going into a bathroom, changing from Army man to Scout man — before exiting and going to a meeting or some other activity.  When I became a Scoutmaster, I always wore my uniform as an example to my Scouts — and without me harping on them, they started wearing their uniforms to and from meetings too.

May I suggest a couple of things:

– purchase a couple more of those “keepers” (they are actually called “slides”, as in “neckerchief slides”) and keep one where you can find it and another one where your son can find it.  The slides are relatively cheap and also easily misplaced or lost completely.

– take your son to one of those store photo studios and have them take his photo in his Scout uniform.  Those images will be keepsakes when your son is older; but also if the school’s policy is that he can’t wear his Scout uniform to take the “school photo”, your son (and you) will have photos of himself wearing the thing he’s proudest of.

– and take your son out to someplace “dressy” and encourage him to wear his complete uniform.

My mom and dad were not “keen” on me being in Scouting, especially when she saw that most of the other kids in our neighborhood — and most of the kids sharing my skin tone — were not in Scouts.  I found wearing the uniform one of the many things which broke down racial and ethnic barriers and allowed me to interact freely with other people at a time in American history that such interactions were frown upon if not downright disallowed.   I wished that my parents shared my pride in my wearing of the Scout uniform. 

The “newness” will go away, Betsy, in a few months or years.  Continue to encourage your son to participate in Scouting, even if he succumbs to peer pressure and become a “Superman Scout”.   It is well worth the encouragement. 

And get a “high five” from your son for me please — I get SO MANY postings from Scoutmasters and Cubmasters asking me “how do I get my Scouts to wear the uniform?” — it is pleasing to get a posting asking me “is wanting to wear the Scout uniform “normal behavior”? 

Thanks for asking me!!

Settummanque!

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Settummanque is writer, retired military officer, dad, friend,
traveler, public speaker, webmaster, Eagle Scout, and/or “sweetie”
(LTC) Mike Walton. South Lake Minnetonka area, Minnesota.
http://www.settummanque.com

——————–original message follows ——————————-

Hi Mike.  I’ve got a question and while it reads funny, I really need a serious answer in the manner of your “Patch Police” comments.