Need advice for aging out Eagle

[Tampa Turtle]

Son #1 is aging out soon at 18 after finally getting his Eagle. As he still has two more years of High School I am not getting rid of him yet and he is (somewhat) interested in staying on in a limited capacity as an Adult Leader. I think he is over the weekly meeting (he has perfect attendance since Tigers for ten years) but is a pretty advanced Backpacker, Canoe/Kayak/Sailor, Camper, Knot and Lashing kind of old school guy. So I think he wants to keep his hand in a bit (despite the bad taste the BSA paperwork driven Eagle application process has become).

 

I would like some advice on how to avoid the pitfalls of this sort of things. On occasion we have had some college age scouters come on trips and the boys ate it up. But sometimes the parent scouters could be difficult. How would you handle it? 

[Krampus]

Son #1 is aging out soon at 18 after finally getting his Eagle. As he still has two more years of High School I am not getting rid of him yet and he is (somewhat) interested in staying on in a limited capacity as an Adult Leader. I think he is over the weekly meeting (he has perfect attendance since Tigers for ten years) but is a pretty advanced Backpacker, Canoe/Kayak/Sailor, Camper, Knot and Lashing kind of old school guy. So I think he wants to keep his hand in a bit (despite the bad taste the BSA paperwork driven Eagle application process has become).

 

I would like some advice on how to avoid the pitfalls of this sort of things. On occasion we have had some college age scouters come on trips and the boys ate it up. But sometimes the parent scouters could be difficult. How would you handle it? 

 

If he's that accomplished and he has two years until he ages out, I would recommend a JASM or Instructor role for him.

 

I always tell my guys like that what my football (soccer) coach told me. He was from Africa and had a very unique but simple outlook on life. He'd say, "Life is like a well. If you keep taking from the well and don't help dig it deeper or build a new one, future generations will have no well, no water, no future. Dig another well or dig the well that's there deeper before you leave." His point was simple, put back into the program what you have taken out. If you are an Eagle there is a great deal you owe the program.

 

I pass that wisdom on to my Scouts. Don't Eagle out and leave. Troop meetings can be dull. How can HE help make them fun? How can he help equip the new Scouts coming in with the core Scouting skills they need to be just like him? How can he help develop the youth leaders of the troop? How can he help train the adults in the troop how to stay out of the Scouts' hair?

 

My kid is in the same boat. As a SMs and CMs kid, he's put in WAY more time than perhaps 99% of the all the other Scouts. However, I always point out to him that the ability to continue to give -- even after you have given your full measure -- is what defines you as a human being and a good Scout. He's taken a role as a JASM and lead Instructor until he ages out. He's going to come on as an ASM before he graduates.

 

Sounds like your Scout still has the interest. It's up to you and his SM to help him challenge himself further instead of thinking he's "done".

Edited May 2, 2016 by Krampus

[scoutldr]

Sounds like a candidate for a Venturing Crew.

[desertrat77]

+1 for JASM

and

+1 for Venture Crew

[Eagledad]

+1 for JASM

and

+1 for Venture Crew

Agreed, many of our scouts do both. We once had a 17 year old SPL who was part of a crew, and participated in Troop High Adventure. He couldn't get enough of this scouting stuff.

 

By the way, you don't have to be an Eagle to give back.

 

Barry

[Krampus]

 

By the way, you don't have to be an Eagle to give back.

 

Barry

 

Very true, Barry. All Scouts should give back what they take out of the program...not just the Eagles.

[qwazse]

Congratulations to your son ... both on rank and age. (Survival is a good thing!)

 

Until he's 18, you all could give him a JASM patch ... if that sort of thing matters to your adults. That would still involve meeting attendance, but he could take on a particular tasks as the SM needs.

 

If he wants to invest time in a crew, have him give a call to every advisor/crew president within whatever you deem a reasonable driving distance, find out what each crew is doing, and pay some visits. Also, have him check out any Sea Scout ships in your area.

 

For his birthday present, be sure to include a BSA adult application (two if he wants to be in both Troop and Crew) and the links to myscouting with instructions to make an account and take the Boy Scout Youth Protection and Venturing Youth Protection. (That's assuming there is both an SM and Advisor who would welcome him.)

[NJCubScouter]

If he's that accomplished and he has two years until he ages out, I would recommend a JASM or Instructor role for him.

No, he has no years until he ages out. He will be 18 "soon." But he has two years left in high school. Now, why he is going to be in high school until age 20 when most people graduate at 17 or 18, I'm not going to ask. I'm sure there is a good reason.

 

I see no problem with him being an ASM, if the SM thinks he's qualified, and mainly going on camping trips rather than coming to every weekly meeting. Maybe he can come to meetings when camping trips are being planned. TT seems to be saying that in the past when there have been "young" ASM's, "sometimes the parent scouters could be difficult." Difficult how?

[King Ding Dong]

Difficult how?

Probably all the "mature" knowledge that you suddenly acquire at 18 that 15-17 year olds know nothing about.

[Stosh]

From now until he turns 18, he gets to pick whatever POR he wants.  Many of my Eagles enjoyed working the NSP as a TG.  Others stayed in their venture patrol as PL and did nothing but sit around thinking up high adventure activities for the patrol.  Either works for me.

 

After 18, he can either switch over to a Venturing Crew if there is one in the area or he can do the ASM route and pick up the adult training he'll need for the future. 

 

One of my Eagles fell into this same age differential and aged out during his junior year of high school.  He took the SM training during the summer camp that first summer and that fall (his senior year) he did Wood Badge.  He's in the Air Force Reserves right now and both he and his wife (family of 4 Eagle brothers and an Eagle dad) are SM trained and WB trained.  I'm thinking he's planning on staying with Scouting for a while. 

 

By the way he chose the go back and work with the NSP as a TG after he got his Eagle.  He wanted hands-on experience working with the youngest of the scouts.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Stosh

[CalicoPenn]

A Venturing Crew (as a youth) is a good idea, if you have one in the area and he's interested.  Is he in the OA?  OA members are youth members until they're 21 - at least in OA (in a Troop, he would still be an adult).

 

Transitioning to ASM can be difficult, especially if the Troop is boy-led.  Going on campouts can be especially difficult at first - unless the other adult leaders participate when the football (either one) or the frisbee is pulled out, if the Scouts decide to spend some time kicking the football around for a bit, he sits out - he's no longer part of those reindeer games and is now part of the old bear games.  When capture the flag time comes around, he's not part of any team - he sits out.  That can be a hard thing for an active young man to deal with.

 

Yet he still has a lot to offer - if he's in the OA and wants to get active there, makes him ASM and let hom work with the Troop OA Representative to help generate enthusiasm (or maintain momentum) for the OA.

 

Find a Venturing Crew that is heavy in to High Adventure and try that out.

 

Another, perhaps more radical idea, is to contact the District Commissioner and see if there are any Troops out there working (and/or struggling) to become more Boy led with a good Scoutmaster who could use some help and see if it makes sense to him to become an ASM in that Troop - he might do a lot more good as an ASM for that kind of Troop than for his current home Troop.

[T2Eagle]

Have him be a College Reserve Scouter or whatever the term is and come on campouts and help out.  Manage the other adult scouters so they don't cause problems.  The scouts love guys like this, and that's what's important.

[Krampus]

Have him be a College Reserve Scouter or whatever the term is and come on campouts and help out.  Manage the other adult scouters so they don't cause problems.  The scouts love guys like this, and that's what's important.

Had never heard of this, so googled it and found it here. It is called Unit College Scouter Reserve. The process seems simple but is done at the council level and not the unit level at recharter:

 

Your council’s registrar should have all the details on position code 92U, the Unit College Scouter Reserve, and you should be able to simply convert existing college-age members from SA to 92U at recharter time without having them complete a new adult application. Newly aged-out Scouts should still submit an adult application when they turn 18, listing position code 92U. (Be sure to use the very latest adult application form, which you can obtain from your commissioner or district executive, or at your council service center or scout shop. As of this writing, it’s the one with the perforations on the left, not at the top. You should recycle any other versions of the adult form.)

Edited May 3, 2016 by Krampus

[perdidochas]

Son #1 is aging out soon at 18 after finally getting his Eagle. As he still has two more years of High School I am not getting rid of him yet and he is (somewhat) interested in staying on in a limited capacity as an Adult Leader. I think he is over the weekly meeting (he has perfect attendance since Tigers for ten years) but is a pretty advanced Backpacker, Canoe/Kayak/Sailor, Camper, Knot and Lashing kind of old school guy. So I think he wants to keep his hand in a bit (despite the bad taste the BSA paperwork driven Eagle application process has become).

 

I would like some advice on how to avoid the pitfalls of this sort of things. On occasion we have had some college age scouters come on trips and the boys ate it up. But sometimes the parent scouters could be difficult. How would you handle it? 

 

Venturing crew and/or Assistant Scoutmaster and/or Merit Badge Counselor for Pioneering, Backpacking, Camping, etc..  The only adult position he can have is Assistant Scoutmaster, until he turns 21. 

Edited May 3, 2016 by perdidochas

[perdidochas]

No, he has no years until he ages out. He will be 18 "soon." But he has two years left in high school. Now, why he is going to be in high school until age 20 when most people graduate at 17 or 18, I'm not going to ask. I'm sure there is a good reason.

 

I see no problem with him being an ASM, if the SM thinks he's qualified, and mainly going on camping trips rather than coming to every weekly meeting. Maybe he can come to meetings when camping trips are being planned. TT seems to be saying that in the past when there have been "young" ASM's, "sometimes the parent scouters could be difficult." Difficult how?

My guess is that the parent Scouters don't take the younger ASMs seriously, basically thinking of them as just Scouts, and not as adult leaders.