Dad Wants son to Eagle Before High School

[Eagle92]

Horizon,

No apologies needed from ya, and no I don't believe that there is such a thing as a young Eagle. You are either an Eagle or you are not. BUT if you wear that badge/medal/knot, you BETTER live up to the ideals behind it! Me personally an Eagle not living up to ideals of Eagle, whether youth or adult, is insulting me, my brother Eagles, and all those leaders who helped me along my trail. But that is anotehr topic for another thread on another day.

 

As for my story, I should have added that my uncle called himself a "Double Eagle" as he earned both the Eagle and Exploring Silver Award in the 50s and there was some pressure placed upon my cousin to get eagle and get it fast: uncle kept telling both of us that once HS hits, your probably won't get Eagle. His words, not mine. And as for my cousin, he did in fact leave Scouting after Eagle. I think part of it was that He got his eagle and it appeared that there was nothign else for him to do. Also he got his Eagle just before "urban Scouting" came out in '73 and that also tarnished scouting for alot of folks, including my two brothers.

[Crew21_Adv]

Fellow Scouters,

 

 

I too hope that no one would have any problem with a "young" Eagle.

 

I think most of the controversy(if any) would exist with the father's statement. Not even expectations, but a bold statement on behalf of his son.

 

What I do find humorous.. Is a father stating that his son's goal is to "get" his Eagle before High School.

 

Horizon pointed it out, but I still find it humorous.. A father will talk on behalf of his son and the entire den (of parents) stating that they will GET vice earn his(their) Eagle. Stating "get". No Scout gets a rank, they earn it themselves. And stating "His", As if the rank already belonged to their Webelos Scout(s), and they are just checking off the blocks. It still seems funny to me, for a father to be that bold.

 

Hopefully the new patrol will set good goals and achieve rank advancement. But probably the father will need to be reminded of the BSA mission statement, (from memory) to enable young men and women to make good moral and ethical decisions throughout their lifetime.

 

The Scouts will decide when and if they want to earn Eagle. If they want to achieve rank quickly, or if they want to make efficient use of every second of their time and squeeze every ounce of enjoyment out of their tenure in Scouting and earn Eagle just before they turn 18. It should be the Scout's choice and not the father's.

 

Scouting Forever and Venture On!

Crew21 Adv(This message has been edited by Crew21_Adv)

[SR540Beaver]

I guess I'm just one of those guys who scratches his head a little at younger Eagles, but it is based on my experience. I serve a troop that has been around for 45 years. In that time, the troop has produced 154 Eagles. Now, I've only been associated with the troop since 2005 and to my knowledge, we have never had an Eagle younger than 15. In the time I've been there, we have produced 18 of those 154 Eagles. Looking at the list of 18 I have personally known and worked with, I think the earliest any of them earned Eagle is 15 and I think it is only 2 that were that age. The rest have been 16 or 17. Out of those 18, 3 were boys who left and came back at 17.5 to finish up. 3 or 4 left after making Eagle, but the rest are either still there, stayed up thru 18 or have registered as adults upon turning 18.

 

We are not an Eagle mill. Our gola is to get a boy to 1st Class and then his advancement is in his hands. Our roster runs right at 60 give or take one or two every year with 40+ on any given campout. Maybe it is just our troop traditions and culture. I don't know. We just don't have boys come in and rip a path to Eagle. We have a boy run program that most find fun right up until their 18th birthday.....and beyond. There just isn't a sense of urgency to get to the destination, but rather to enjoy the trip.

 

I look at our 13 and 14 year old guys and see boys that are just hitting their stride as far as skills and beginning to see the big picture and stepping up to real leadership and all that scouting has to offer.

 

Again, just my personal experience. Other than the kid (or helicopter parent) who is checking boxes for the absolute minimum, I find it is a rare boy that gets to Eagle that quick and really understands what exactly he is accomplishing.

[theysawyoucomin']

Cue the HELICOPTERs PARENTs!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Tell them there is a lovely Troop in (fill in neighboring town) that would help you reach your goal.

 

 

For only having 5.1 % of the world's population how did we get stuck with so many &$$^@!@$

 

Let's suck the fun and adventure out of everything!!!!!

 

 

 

Seriously,

I would have said why don't you wait to see what happens after your son has spent one month in the Troop before we knight him.

[Knot Head]

Our guys bridge Feb. of the 5th grade. The motivated ones that attend summer camp 4 years, winter camp 4 years and go on most troop campouts seem to make eagle in the 9th, about 4 to 4.5 years later years after they join. Some (edit: Most) make it in 10, 11, 12th grade.

 

An 8th grade eagle would really be putting the hammer down.

 

If a go getter did it himself and made eagle in the 8th grade that's okay by me.(This message has been edited by knot head)

[maurergj]

I have the unique honor of being the father of three eagle scouts (brag every chance I get). My oldest made eagle at 15years, 7 months. My second son, who was the first one to make it, made eagle at 14 years, 1 month (and could have made it 4 months earlier but didn't want to be a "13 year old eagle"). My youngest son made eagle at 17 years, 5 months. They all stayed active until they were 18. The two oldest loved being camp staff and didn't do much with the troop in summer after they turned 14. The youngest is the only one that earned the religious badge and the only one that went on a 50 miler (he went on two). They all loved it and we had a great time. Doesn't matter when you make eagle, or frankly, even IF you make eagle. What matters is having a great time and becoming a self-sufficient honorable man. Scouting is the best thing that ever happened for my sons and I had the time of my life helping them grow up!

[eghiglie]

Every year we do a goal setting session as part of leader training.

 

The new boys who think at first they will be Eagle at 13 then realize that its not easy.

 

I've had mothers come to me and request blue cards for all the Eagle badges and I look at them quizzically and state "send joey to me" and walk away.

 

The one thing I have noticed these past few years is that the kids don't learn about setting goals and how to get there.

[eagle90]

In our troop, while we encourage advancement, we do not push it, and pretty much leave it up to each Scout's own pace. However, in my SM conferences I do recommend to the younger scouts that they finish as much as they can BEFORE reaching high school. When they get to high school, they have more homework, sports, extracurricular clubs, and of course, the cars and girls come into play. The more they can do before all that happens, the better the odds are that they will reach Eagle.