Favorite Eagle BOR questions

[Eagle74]

Re: my previous post; one must realize that there is no "right" answer. The intended purpose of the 13th point or which point to remove question is to elicit an introspective and retrospective reply regarding the virtues of the Scout Law and the Scout philosophy as a way of life. By the time a Scout reaches this level in Scouting he should have formed an understanding of the points of the Scout Law, the importance of each separately and as a whole, and how they have influenced him in his Scouting experience and life in general.

A reply of "None of them" would be perfectly acceptable. The important part is the reply to "Why?".

 

The intent of the questions should not be to grill a Scout or even to see how quickly he can think on his feet (my humble opinion) while at the same time rehearsed, read in a book answers aren't acceptable either. Guess you could say I look for something a little deeper. The Eagle candidate should have taken time to give some thought to the life and leadership lessons of Scouting (at whatever age he is at). That is where the true measure of an Eagle is; not in how many merit badges he has or how many knots he can tie. Those things are small steps along the way and icing on the cake.

[packsaddle]

Bob White, Thanks. The reason I ask is that I have detected an apparent lack of consistency in the process that occurs after the BOR. I take great pains to get the council records corrected (a pet peeve) prior to the board. Then I am told to turn in all the materials; application, project stuff, etc. On some occasions everything goes in and eventually it all comes back. Other times when I get to the council office, the lady takes the application, hands the rest back to me and says, "we just need the application". Huh? I obviously am not 'getting' something. Does national frequently change their minds on what they want to see? How they review the documents?

[Eamonn]

Eagle74.I have been in Scouting for a long time and I'm still trying to look for the "Right" Answers.

Do you really think that this ought to be part of a review?

It is fine with me if you really think so.

If on the other hand, the questions are there in order to put the Lad "On the Spot". I think that it is a bit over the top.

 

[Eagle74]

Eamonn, I think we are agreeing for the most part - I may not be expressing myself clearly. I think that most of the BOR questions posted here go beyond the mechanics of reaching Eagle. As I look over the questions - many of which I have used - they try to draw out from the Scout the knowledge, life lessons, and leadership that he has learned and experienced. To me, the Eagle BOR, beyond making sure that all the ducks are in a row, is a time to reflect upon these things and look forward to how they apply to the future of the Scout. No tricks, no traps, no grill. I would never intentionally put a candidate "on the spot" or "watch him squirm"; I just really want to know if he has gotten anything out of his Scouting experience that he will take with him as he continues or moves on.

[OldGreyEagle]

As I understand it, and I might be wrong, the only thing that goes to national is the Eagle Scout Application. And actually that might not be going either as I beleive our Council's registrar said he send the Eagle Applicaitions electronically over Scout.net (?) now. Our Turn-around time from national is 3-4 weeks, used to be 6-8.

[Eagle74]

Our troop's recent experiences mirror what BW & OGE posted above. Council still wants the complete package of paperwork, but my understanding is that only an Eagle application or electronic filing goes to National. We have been pleasantly surprised by improved turnaround time on the last few Eagle apps that were submitted.