Oral Presentation of Eagle Project

[OldGreyEagle]

Our Advancement Committee has kicked around the idea of havin the scout orally present his Leadership project at the Advancement Commitee meeting. The advanatages would be a faster turn around time in approvals as we could iron out details with the scout in front of us and if a major re-write in needed then the scout would be in on the discussion of exactly what is needed.

 

What do you guys think?

 

Edited Section

 

Saltheart, I neglected to add that the Advancement Committee I am taking about IS the District Advancement Committee.(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

[saltheart]

We've pretty much been doing that longer than I've been in Scouting. The Scout will provide a couple of copies of his proposal to the committee for advance reading and review, and then meet personally with the committee for his oral presentation. Many times we've found that there are things about a project proposal that simply don't come across well enough on paper, but do make the grade when presented orally. It also speeds up the process so that changes, if necessary, can be made in a timely fashion such that the project is not held in limbo. It also grants all parties a good opportunity make themselves absolutely clear to each other about this or that point.

 

Actually, the process is a good rehearsal for the District level presentation for approval, as that effort is done orally, too.

 

[evmori]

OGE,

Sounds like a good idea to me. It could take up a lot of time. Maybe do this after a 1st pass at the project by the committee. It might not be needed on all projects.

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[dsteele]

I have several thoughts on this one and many will surprise some folk.

 

First of all, I try to remember and remind volunteers, to look at things from the youth side.

 

So let's ask our youth members who might possibly have to do what you suggest what they think. How about it Hops?

 

When I was a young Scout (yeah, I'm one of those 13 year old Eagle Scout guys) in the district I was part of, boards of review for Star, Life and Eagle were done at the district level. No troop leader was present. You went in, alone, into a group of old men with lots of knots on their chest, zippers on their pants that seemed 43 miles long to cover their bellies, and, in addition to the stress of the aforementioned, had the added fear that one of the buttons on their strained uniform shirts was going to pop off and put your eye out!

 

No stress there?!

 

Eagle Boards of Review were done at the council level . . . with the added fun of having the Program Director (Egads! A professional Scouter?!) present.

 

I remember telling my Dad (as he dropped me off in the parking lot of the vaunted SCOUT OFFICE) that I was nervous because Mr. Johnson (the professional) was going to be there.

 

Dad said, "Charlie? He's like an old shoe, son. Don't worry about him."

 

I said, "That old shoe decides whether I'm an Eagle or not." At the time, I thought the professionals had all the power. Boy was I wrong.

 

My point is, in the rush to get clear details of the project prior to approval, don't forget to look at it from the side of the Scout on the other side of the table.

 

I'm not saying that we should make it easy on the Scout to earn the rank, but we don't need to add discomfort to stress.

 

The other thing I'm thinking is that 1) I think the writing skills of many young people are poor at best. I can see why an advancement committee would like to ask questions and get an oral response. However, how are we going to build writing skills if we say "just tell me?"

 

If the committee has questions, bounce the workbook back to the candidate or call him and ask him. I prefer the former, but the latter is okay as well.

 

Remember, what adults see as an inquiry, the Scout may see as an inquisition.

 

Alright, I'm ready now. Fire away. I'm off to a council commissioner meeting -- we'll be shot at there as well, I suppose.

 

DS

[ManyIrons]

OGE, I highly recommend it. Our council has both. In addition to accepting written proposals, they also have an open time for Eagle project presentations on the same night/location as Roundtable. I don't know what percentage of the boys choose the oral presentation, but we seem to average 4-6 per month.

 

The advantages are exactly what you stated. I've been fortunate to sit in on a few of the presentations and for some of the proposed projects, the feedback process would possibly have added 1 to 2 months onto the Scout's timeline. With the oral presentation, everything was resolved on the spot.

 

Another benefit of the presentations is that they are open for anyone to observe. I've encouraged the Scouts in my troop to attend as a spectator. I think it's an excellent way for them to prepare for their presentations to troop and district. So far, only a few have taken the advice, my son being one of them.

 

By the way, when my son did his presentation he used a PowerPoint briefing to summarize all the details. He printed the sheets out and set it up in a loose leaf binder so he could flip through the charts. He placed his project binder on the table in front of the committee so they could review it. The committee loved the format and the chairman has even requested a personal copy to use as an example. In his words, it was an excellent way for my son to organize himself and allowed him to control the flow of the presentation.

[ManyIrons]

dsteele you're right about the anxiety level of the Scouts who show up to do a presentation. Some of the boys look down right petrified. Fortunately, the chairman is a very affable fellow (the other members of the committee are too) and works on putting the Scout at ease before they begin their presentation. Of course the other boys waiting their turn see this and it has a calming effect. By the time the 5th or 6th Scout comes up, they seem fairly relaxed. But it's definitely because the committee works at creating a friendly, mentoring atmosphere.

 

To piggyback on your suggestion to get youth feedback, I asked my son how he felt (in retrospect) about his experience with the committee. He said he preferred the oral presentation and wasn't particularly nervous (anxious yes, worried no) because he had observed other presentations. He was also anxious to start the project and saw the oral presentation as a way to streamline the process.

 

OGE: Looking at the original post, I can't tell if you're contemplating switching to the oral presentation, or adding it as an option. As much as I'd advocate the presentation, I would recommend it be optional.

 

Hope this helps.

[hops_scout]

Dave, I didn't understand the question, would mind rewording the question for me please? When I understand better, I'll tell you how I feel about it.

[FScouter]

The oral presentation idea almost sounds like a board of review.

[eisely]

The troop we were affiliated with several years ago in Southern California adopted a procedure for an informal review of the Eagle candidate's project proposal. This was before anything was written down on the form. The scout came in and orally described his project and the various steps he planned to take. Most of the time the scout had sketches of the work to be done if there was some kind of construction involved. This enabled the adults to make suggestions and ask questions. Inevitably there were things that the scout had not considered. This made for better projects, approvals accomplished more smoothly, and time saved for everyone. This review does not have to be accomplished at any level above the unit to be effective. This was not a substitute for formal reviews accomplished later on, but was an attempt to assist the scout when such assistance was most effective.