As we enter summer and sports season I am reminded of what scouting is really about. It is about building character, developing respect, encouraging citizenship and doing what is right. While our scouts may be too young to really understand what this means, they see it in the examples we parents display. At work recently I overheard a conversation between two parents abouts sports and a parent's overzealous behaviour. One of the parents was a former coach and was talking about a parent's tirade against the coach. He intervened and reminded the parent about their responsibility and lack of respect. It is one thing to take a person aside and talk in private, and another to display your displeasure in a very public setting. It sets a poor example for our children and is disrespectful. Respect is a core value of scouting and I would challenge our scouts to remind adults when they are being poor examples of respect. It is one thing for another adult to point out our bad example and an entirely different thing when a child points out our poor example. Not only is it shocking but it makes us aware of how our behaviour is setting a poor example to our children. As summer quickly approaches I would remind our scouts that good attitudes will get them much farther and earn them the respect of their friends. Thank you for being a part of scouting. Happy Scouting, Tony
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