Boys and Girls Club of America

Glad to hear it.

boomerang wrote:

The only thing that gives me pause is the "B&G Club Code" which reads:

Quote:
I believe in God and the right to worship according to my own faith and religion.

I believe in America and the American way of life, in the Consitution and the Bill or Rights.

I believe in fair play, honesty and sportsmanship.

I believe in my B&G Club which stands for these things.

Mo doesn't know much about God, the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. He's 6, fercryingoutloud.

It sounds like a very good Code to me. :wink:

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My daughter attended summer day camp at the B&GC for the years when she was too old for daycare and too young to be left alone. There's an extra charge (over and above the membership fee) but it's less than many other camps. The Club offered very good, age-appropriate activities and travel around the city to parks, climbing walls, beaches... The club she attended had its own buses and commercially-licensed drivers.

She didn't normally go day-to-day at other times of the year but she had many friends who did. This made it easy for her to fit in during those summer weeks.

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I just dropped him off for his first big day at the club.

One of his classmates (the "cute girl with glasses" (I love that)) who sits next to him in class, and is a member of the club, must have tipped them off that I was bringing him in because the staff had rounded up all the kids and they cheered him when he came in. Some of them made an arch from their hands for him to walk through while the others chanted some kind of welcome cheer. A staff member said "This is Mo, it's his first time here. Everyone introduce yourselves." Mo was swamped by kids and whisked away. With a cheery wave the staff said "See you later!" and off I went.

Wow.

Just wow.

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Quote:

I believe in America and the American way of life, in the Consitution and the Bill or Rights.

and acknowledge that other countries are entitled to a way of life that may be different to mine.

the "Ra Ra America, the best!" has always bothered me.

sorry <shrug>

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No need to apologize. As I mentiond, I was a bit bothered by the "code".

I'm not really sure how much emphasis is put on the code but I'm sure to find out. I'm nosy. I ask a lot of questions. Mo does a lot of talking.

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I said I would report back so here I am.

He had so much fun. According to Mo, "it was nice to hang out and have something to do". The "girl who makes his eyes turn into hearts" (not the girl with the glasses but a different girl in his class) was there.

O Joy!

I've been so worried about him lately. It's been hard to see him so lonely. I'm glad he had a good time and is really looking forward to going back. We need a corner worth turning. I hope this is it.

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dadpad wrote:

the "Ra Ra America, the best!" has always bothered me.

sorry <shrug>

Really? I wouldn't be the least bit bothered if you have an Australian club that cheers that Australia is the best. (I'd find it tremendously funny, but I wouldn't be bothered.)

I mean, what are we supposed to be teaching our children over here? That America isn't the best? Is that what little boys and girls are supposed to believe? That they shouldn't have pride in the country they live in?

Next you'll say we shouldn't cheer for the USA at the Olympic games ... or at the World Cup. The Boy Scouts of America say the Pledge of Allegiance before den and pack meetings ... I imagine that bothers you as well? Rolling Eyes

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boomerang wrote:

I said I would report back so here I am.

He had so much fun. According to Mo, "it was nice to hang out and have something to do". The "girl who makes his eyes turn into hearts" (not the girl with the glasses but a different girl in his class) was there.

O Joy!

I've been so worried about him lately. It's been hard to see him so lonely. I'm glad he had a good time and is really looking forward to going back. We need a corner worth turning. I hope this is it.

Glad to hear it, B.

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All chest beating aside, Boom, it's a great place for a kid to be a kid, and be safe doing it. Good for Mo! Laughing

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I'm happy for Mo too! And the fact that there are kids from his class there is great- they'll get to see him outside of the classroom and see another (maybe more relaxed because he doesn't have to deal with the tensions of school) side of him...

As far as the code goes- I think loyalty and respect and responsibility are good concepts to instill in kids. Any emphasis I ever heard put on it at all stressed the concept of ctizenship and being a good citizen- they never sat around talking about the superiority of the US as a country. When my daughter joined girl guides in the UK- she had to pledge allegiance to the queen of England. Someone asked me if that bothered me and I thought about it and said no it didn't bother me because they also mentioned something about caring for her fellow human beings in general - so I just told her to remember the queen was a human being too and deserved her caring and respect the same as everyone else. Laughing

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That sounds really good, boomer! (I love the part about the girl who makes his eyes turn into hearts... heh!)

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I'm glad Mo is having a social success. I've crossed my fingers that the overlap of B&G members with classmates will be helpful.

For me there is a great difference between quiet, sincere patriotism and rah-rah chauvenism. When my younger son was in 5th grade I was summoned to the school because he refused to sing a little number, "Fifty Nifty United States"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_HeLofy7IE

He said that the song was bragging and that bragging was degrading.

My kids didn't do particularly well under teachers with weak egos.

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Quote:

My kids didn't do particularly well under teachers with weak egos.

That's brilliant!

I might just write that on my body somewhere. Tomorrow if my first parent/teacher conference.

The B&G Club... wow. Have I said that before?

There was no school today (no school this week as a matter of fact) so I took Mo to the Club. He was there for about 2.5 hours. When I went to pick him up he begged to stay longer.

Okay.

I'll pick you up in two more hours.

Then I picked him up and took him to get some food and listened to him ramble about fun. Lovely.

A neighbor friend who had hurt his feelings made a new inroad to repair the damage yesterday and today we picked up the ball to make amends.

I'm feeling kind of..... hopeful.

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Boom, there is no substitute for positive social interaction. Very Happy

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Boomer--

Not all holiday presents are the sort that you can wrap. Some of them won't even fit under a tree.

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