Scouting, Volume 74, Number 4, September 1986 Page: 66
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problem with alcohol, and Alcoholics
Anonymous and alcohol treatment pro-
grams are available. "It's sometimes a
matter of getting the abusing person into
a setting where he can get help," says
Menninger.
If we know what the high-risk situa-
tions are, we can make sure our commu-
nities offer programs that can prevent
patterns of abuse forming in the lives of
many individuals and families.
Menninger believes communities
should work toward providing a network
of emotional support for families who
are isolated or under pressure, through
organizations such as churches and com-
munity agencies. Special care should be
taken in situations with children who are
impaired and more vulnerable.
Many community resources are
already in place to help such families.
There are support programs for new par-
ents, helping them with infant care and
fostering the growth of a loving relation-
ship between parent and child. Home
health visitors can identify physical and
developmental problems in young chil-
dren and recommend treatment. Some
communities have a foster grandparents
program or parent aides, to provide sup-
port and reduce isolation of families.
Where such services are not available,
concerned individuals can work toward
providing them. "One of the things that
have impressed me," says Menninger,
"is that a person who is dedicated to help
bring a service about and who really
makes a commitment to get involved can
often have remarkable results. Often it is
a matter of that person getting assistance
and ideas from organizations like the
National Committee for the Prevention
of Child Abuse and then making connec-
tions with people who have a similar
concern."
In the effort to combat child abuse,
"It's important to attack it from every
direction you can," says Menninger. ■
A BSA position statement and article
titled, "Child Abuse... Let's Talk About
It," (Supply No. 3943), will appear in
our October issue of Scouting. The cata-
log number for the Spanish version
(Abuso de Ninos.. .Hablemos Franca-
mente) is 3943S. Reprints are now avail-
able from your local council service
center for 25 cents apiece. A free infor-
mation packet may also be requested
from the National Committee for Preven-
tion of Child Abuse, P. O. Box 2866, Chi-
cago, III. 60690. It includes "It
Shouldn't Hurt to Be a Child," "Tips on
Parenting," "Selected Child Abuse
Resource Information Directory," and
the NCPCA catalog of publications.
Inside Post (from page 39)
has an Apple," he said. "Here we can
work on various big computers that cost
like $20,000."
What would this post do exactly, and
what would Aerospace do with it? "Just
grope our way along," the committee
said at first. But there was agreement that
unspecified Aerospace experts would be
urged to give talks, or preferably science
demonstrations, at the monthly post
meetings. Maybe the Explorers them-
selves could think up projects and plan
outings.
Dozens of young people from nearby
schools were soon flocking to the post
meetings, exhilarated by the thought of
being linked to such a glamorous com-
pany and maybe glimpsing its work on
the space shuttle, Navstar and Skynet
spacecraft, satellite rescue maneuvers,
and other far-out goings-on. Members
enjoyed socializing, too. Christina
DeLaRocha, the post's activity co-chair-
man, said, "I'd always been interested
in science but my friends at school
weren't. At post meetings I didn't feel
like a misfit anymore. Everybody there
was really into science—reading science
magazines and science fiction, talking
about all kinds of science. I got a broader
background just through conversation."
It was the same for Charlie Suh: "At
school I was interested in science but I
didn't want to show it. It was better to
pretend to be a party animal. In the post I
could be natural." But as months passed
the Explorers showed a tendency to
come and go. Likewise were the asso-
ciate Advisors, committee members,
and other Aerospace adults who took an
interest in the post.
One of them explained why. "Some of
us burned out, trying to keep a step
ahead of the kids. I mean, our presenta-
tions couldn't be as dramatic as you'd see
on TV. We were demonstrating real
projects on real equipment, which is less
thrilling. And how many times can you
talk about the same project?"
Julie White knows most about the
post's previous struggles and current
success. She got involved gradually.
"Danny Rubio, the first Advisor,
wanted someone to give the Explorers a
tour of our 15-millimeter radio tele-
scope, which we use for research in deep
space. Eugene Epstein, in charge of it,
said sure. But when the time came, he
was unavailable. So I gave the tour. After
that, Danny began asking me to help in
other ways 'just this once.' I did a spiel
about Exploring—astronomy as part of a
recruitment for science students at a high
school. Then I gave an astronomy talk at
the post's general meeting. Then some of
the Explorers wanted a special group for
astronomy projects, and guess who
became their associate Advisor?"
White was reluctant. Although she
had been a dedicated Girl Scout (from
Brownie in the first grade to Senior
Scouting through high school in North
Chicago) she didn't think she had much
in common with teen-agers. In her mid-
twenties, she was absorbed in work at
Aerospace and moving up steadily there.
But the Explorers in her group were
almost as keen about galactic and extra-
galactic matters as she was, and their
questions came smoking in like tracer
bullets. "They turned out to be challeng-
ing, even entertaining," she recalls. She
succeeded Rubio as Advisor and helped
recruit a dozen new associate Advisors
to steer special groups interested in the
thrust parameters of rocket engines, the
future of solar power plants, the uses of
chemical lasers, the invention of com-
puter languages, and other arcana.
But still there were problems. Even
though Aerospace sometimes lent sur-
plus company equipment for group
projects, and allocated $200 of company
funds for each project (to help the
Explorers buy or rent materials and gad-
getry that weren't otherwise available),
the groups were in chronic need of new
ideas for activities. She recalled
recently, "Nobody could hope to tackle
anything very comprehensive in a few
hours a month. Our Explorers kept run-
ning into knowledge problems. Aside
from just bringing them in for a look at
our labs, there really wasn't much we
could teach them. We couldn't run train-
ing courses."
Each associate Advisor strove to
invent worthwhile projects that could be
done in an evening or two. One Advisor
helped them make holograms that could
be taken home to amaze neighbors and
friends. Another produced a video com-
mercial for the post, and showed it in
science classes at high schools. Julie
White's own astronomy session let them
follow the method for estimating the dis-
tance to a quasar. Fascinating as these
were, the question remained: What to do
for an encore?
Later, to get another project started,
John Lewis sent a mailing to members:
The astronomy project is still
on the drawing board. If you
have absolutely no idea what
I'm talking about, then I'll tell
you. The astronomy buffs are
designing and machining an
adapter that will allow us to
attach a video camera to the
66
September 1986 "4? Scouting
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 74, Number 4, September 1986, periodical, September 1986; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353661/m1/90/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.