Which Eagle do you regard higher?

[RememberSchiff]

Another topic influenced this question: Which Scout would you regard higher in having earned his Eagle?

[perdidochas]

The scout who's parents are involved/are an SM/ASM, probably do a lot more work to get their Eagle than the rest. They clean up after meetings, make sure the trailer is cleaned up after a campout, and just generally do a lot more detail work. That said, they also have more opportunities than the rest, which evens things out.

[Stosh]

It depends on the Scout, not the parent.

 

Stosh

[Twocubdad]

The Eagles I hold in high regard are those who live the Oath and Law, who stay with the program and give back to it, who show real concern and compassion for their fellow Scouts and those in their patrol and troop. These are the guys who take on extra responsibility and thrive on it, who do more than the minimum, and put forth sincere effort to do their best.

 

While that is often independent of the parent's involvement, apples tend to fall near apple trees.

 

[qwazse]

It depends on the Scout, not the parent.

 

Stosh

Ditto.

[kjmillig]

Parents should be involved in a boy's Scouting advancement. What matters more to me is the personal initiative of the Scout and how much he really worked to earn the award as opposed to the Scout who is pushed through to be an Eagle in the shortest possible time limit. An immature 13 year old Eagle with 35 merit badges doesn't hold much weight in my book.

[TAHAWK]

Some Eagles are more worthy than others, but I do not see any of your three factors as relevant to the worthiness of an Eagle. Sorry. Perhaps you could explain why you set those factors out for voting.

[RememberSchiff]

Some Eagles are more worthy than others, but I do not see any of your three factors as relevant to the worthiness of an Eagle. Sorry. Perhaps you could explain why you set those factors out for voting.

As I mentioned another thread "Involved parent vs. leader parent - does it matter to the boy? " brought this to mind. I tend to have a higher regard for a scout who navigates the Eagle Trail with less adult help.

And it may sound radical, but I think a parent should step down from SM maybe even ASM as his son takes on higher troop leadership (ASPL, SPL) and higher Scout ranks (Life, Eagle). Sit back and watch your son succeed on his own.

Another $0.01

[DeanRx]

Some Eagles are more worthy than others, but I do not see any of your three factors as relevant to the worthiness of an Eagle. Sorry. Perhaps you could explain why you set those factors out for voting.

In a perfect world, maybe. Truth is, if a parent is in a leadership role, the lad is more likely to show up, thus have more opportunities. In order for the adult leader to step back, it requires a new adult leader to step up! That is the crux of many a discussion on this board and others. Usually, new blood is not willing to take the reigns until the outgoing SM, ASMs have one foot out the door. You resign as SM when you son is a Life scout, there may not be a troop left for him to complete Eagle in !!

 

Truth is - most kids with adult leader parents put in more time and are held to a more stringent standard of completion than their drop-n-go peers. We already have parent leaders recuse themselves from SMC and BORs and other advancement duties if their son is up for the award. The only exception I can think of is MB classes when taught as a group.

 

I don't see why an adult leader should need to remove themselves from the leadership structure for their son to excel. I've camped 1/2 week with my son and seen him maybe 2 times in four days for about 2 hours each time. If you have the right approach, they won't be riding the adult's coat tails in advancement, IMHO.

[RememberSchiff]

Some Eagles are more worthy than others, but I do not see any of your three factors as relevant to the worthiness of an Eagle. Sorry. Perhaps you could explain why you set those factors out for voting.

Not perfect, just a scout program done right whereby a scout wants to "show up" whether his parents are there or not and a troop is not held together by one adult (whether true or not).

 

Not arguing your real world examples that a scout/player could do well with a parent as SM/coach, but I have seen the opposite side of the coin as well.

 

Another $0.01

[qwazse]

The causal path may be reversed. A driven boy (or two) may motivate a parent to take on leadership roles. For example, I announce HS soccer games and try to coordinate other parents and youth as announcers and spotters. Not because I'm all that into sports, but because all of my kids are passionate about soccer. And thanks to my scouting career, I'm a bit of a ham.

[Sentinel947]

Did we succeed in helping form a young man of good character? That's my type of Eagle. I earned my Eagle and had drop and go parents. I turned out ok. Been aged out for a few years and I'm still active in my original unit. I don't think it matters. I wasn't the Scoutmasters son yet I always stayed after meetings and trips to help clean and organize. Good topic.

[Basementdweller]

What a bunch of self righteous BS..

 

 

Seriously folks, Eagle is just a checklist, Run the checklist get your patch.

 

 

So who puts in more work to Complete the check list????? Depends on the Troop and how it is run. A lad could be in a troop with figure head youth leaders and the adults do all of the work. So certainly not him.

 

or he could be in a purely boy led troop where the youth run the program and take care of the gear.

 

Or somewhere in the middle, I bet most of the troops run like this.

 

 

So from my experience the Leaders son's do more work than any other troop member, they arrive early and stay late, help set up and clean up. on and on. I would like to add that it also depends on the leader......Is is a do nothing ASM or committee member???? Or is it the QM mentor???? So I would like to qualify my statement a bit to exclude these folks.

 

I posted a thread a year or two ago about a statement my son made......It stinks being a leaders son. I am sensitive to his sense of fairness and the amount of work he puts in compared to the rest of the troop.

 

 

To answer the question, I hold neither in higher regard.

 

But I know who put in the extra effort in my Troop.

 

 

[Basementdweller]

Some Eagles are more worthy than others, but I do not see any of your three factors as relevant to the worthiness of an Eagle. Sorry. Perhaps you could explain why you set those factors out for voting.

I disagree, many units are held together by one driven adult. How many units have you seen self destruct after a longtime SM retires???

[Basementdweller]

Did we succeed in helping form a young man of good character? That's my type of Eagle. I earned my Eagle and had drop and go parents. I turned out ok. Been aged out for a few years and I'm still active in my original unit. I don't think it matters. I wasn't the Scoutmasters son yet I always stayed after meetings and trips to help clean and organize. Good topic.

So explain to me how you judge the character of a 14 year old Eagle candidate???? How do you know the man he will become when he has yet to face most of the decisions that will mold him into the adult he will become.