Eagle Scout Extension for new 2019 Scouts

[qwazse]

Tough love time (Hawk's already heard this pep talk) ...

On 10/5/2018 at 11:18 AM, Momleader said:

We have 2 girls who want to join the pack as Arrow of Light scouts and are upset there isn’t a Girl Troop set up for them to join in town. (We struggle to get parents to be leaders for the all Boy Troop as it is).  

The parents of the girls feel it isn’t fair that a plan hasn’t been made to create a girl Troop yet 🤦‍♀️  Can’t even imagine what February will be like. 

On 10/5/2018 at 12:46 PM, Hawkwin said:

Sounds like a problem for the Council or the District, not your troop. I would refer them to the appropriate entity.

I have an AOL daughter in the same predicament and I continue to work actively with the local district to find her a troop in February. I don't harass my son's troop (or their CO) about it but I have asked them what they plan to do.

 

27 minutes ago, Pale Horse said:

Nothing stopping said parents from making that plan and putting it into action. 

We parents and unit and district and council scouters can beat drums for these one or two girls here and there and never find a finger-hold to get a BSA4G troop up and running.

The responsibility for starting a patrol then a troop, rests squarely with the youth. These girls need to dig really deep and ask other girls if they'd like to hike and camp together every month. This probably means talking to strangers ... every girl in their class ... every sister of a boy scout ... even if she is a couple of years older. Once they have their gang of five, they need to list all of the potential sponsors in their community (every church, every fire hall, every knitting group) and knock on a lot of doors, until they find someone with the brains to realize that their good name would benefit from underwriting such girls.

Then, they go down the list of adults of highest integrity who they know and trust, approach them and say, "Have we got an offer for you -- forty hours a month for the time of your life. " They keep asking until they have at least two -- at least one being female-- of SM material and a few committee.

They may fail -- in some districts failure will be inevitable. But, if they fail, they will know it was not for lack of trying. If they succeed, they will have so much to be proud of, down to the first CoH where they hand out those Scout ranks.

Parents, put away your lawnmowers. It's time for these 11 year old girls to shine.

[Treflienne]

2 hours ago, qwazse said:

The responsibility for starting a patrol then a troop, rests squarely with the youth. These girls need to dig really deep and ask other girls if they'd like to hike and camp together every month. This probably means talking to strangers ... every girl in their class ... every sister of a boy scout ... even if she is a couple of years older. Once they have their gang of five,

And if the girl has already talked to every girl at her school and every girl at her church and hasn't found five?   If she cannot talk to the sisters of the boy scouts because she does not know who they are?   

I think that in our locale we may need to combine beyond a single school or town to find enough interested girls.

Helpfully,  the four boy scout troops in our school district have said that they will inquire of the families of their boys (and also ask the cub scout packs to enquire of the families of their cubs) about interested girls that they know about.   The troops have the contact information for their families.  My daughter does not.  Helping put the interested girls in contact with each other, so that they can make further plans, is something existing troops can do to help the new girls troops out --- even if the boys troops have no interested in being linked with girls troops.

 

[qwazse]

11 minutes ago, Treflienne said:

And if the girl has already talked to every girl at her school and every girl at her church and hasn't found five?   If she cannot talk to the sisters of the boy scouts because she does not know who they are?   ...

She doesn't know who they are yet. She might have to ask to visit a troop during their parent night/court of honor. (I'd take her over an FOS presenter any day of the week.) Besides the troops, there are other churches, other schools, the local newspaper (here you might want to have an adult party be the contact, but the pitch should be hers), lemonade stands.

And after all that, she falls short? She will have met dozens of youth and adults around her community. That will count for a lot!

Like you said, there are other towns. But she has to count the cost of added commute time, etc ...

My point is, when it looks like scouters will disappoint, the best people to sell scouting are scouts. It might not work. But sometimes there's more to be gained from trying and failing than from waiting for others to step up the way you think they should.

[walk in the woods]

1 hour ago, Treflienne said:

And if the girl has already talked to every girl at her school and every girl at her church and hasn't found five?   If she cannot talk to the sisters of the boy scouts because she does not know who they are? 

Then she'd have the same disappointment as any boy living in small town America when it comes to starting a scout troop.  It's not a new problem.

[Treflienne]

1 hour ago, Treflienne said:

Helpfully,  the four boy scout troops in our school district have said that they will inquire of the families of their boys (

Maybe my tone wasn't clear.  I wasn't complaining.   I was trying to say that I was appreciative of the helpfulness of the local boy scout troops.   (And since they are willing to be helpful,  we need to be willing to be patient and go at their pace.)

I was also trying to hold them up as an example of how existing scout troops can be helpful to the new girls troops -- even if they don't want to become linked with girls troops.  And it might even take pressure off the boys troops to be linked with a girls troop -- if there is a girls troop already getting started in the area.

10 minutes ago, walk in the woods said:

same disappointment as any boy living in small town America

We live in a densely populated area.   Lots of people.  Lots of towns close together.  Lots of existing boys troops within a short driving distance.  (Actually three within WALKING distance.)   Small town America is a different situation.

[shortridge]

4 hours ago, qwazse said:

The responsibility for starting a patrol then a troop, rests squarely with the youth. 

I agree, to an extent. But we also need to keep in mind that starting a troop completely from scratch is something most boy Scouts will never ever be asked to do. For the most part, they have an automatic program pipeline from Cubs to Scouts BSA and don’t have to lift a finger to join — whereas we’re telling the girls to be masters of their own destiny and complete a task that plenty of grown men and women have failed at before them.

These first few years of girl Scouts will darn sure be earning their badges, and their tents and packs, and their summer camps, and their flags, and their ribbons and trophies ... They’re going to have to work twice as hard as any of their male counterparts just to get the basics.

I find it instructive to think of the model of the great Scoutmaster Lem Siddons, who stood up in a town meeting and volunteered to get a troop started. Without an adult stepping forward, that troop wouldn’t have gotten off the ground. We can’t put it all on the Scouts’ shoulders.

[qwazse]

@shortridge, I agree that synergy is the name of the game.

The challenge in post-modern nomadic culture is the absence of bubble-breaking town halls. A lot of us are counting on the social media to do that shoulder-rubbing for us, and with BSA in the straights that it is, it ain't happening in some districts and councils. I'm just saying the scout who hops from bubble to bubble, pulls a few of them together, and maybe gets a few adults to see what's being asked plus maybe one adult to step up while the others are sitting on their hands ... that scout earns a reward sweeter than any polished, established unit could ever offer.

[MikeS72]

20 minutes ago, shortridge said:

I find it instructive to think of the model of the great Scoutmaster Lem Siddons, who stood up in a town meeting and volunteered to get a troop started.

I am pleasantly surprised at seeing the "follow Me Boys" reference here.  Probably my favorite Fred MacMurray role, along with the best  performance of Kurt Russell's many roles as a child actor.

[DuctTape]

3 hours ago, Treflienne said:

And if the girl has already talked to every girl at her school and every girl at her church and hasn't found five?   If she cannot talk to the sisters of the boy scouts because she does not know who they are.

 

Another option is to use the Lone Scout protocols until a troop is formed.

[rehayes]

I have read (and reread several times) the extension language which indicates that the request for extension must be withing 30 days after the Scout turns 18 but must be before January 7, 2020.  The real question is: May the Scouts file the request for extension as soon as possible knowing they are already over 16 when joining and so will need the extension in order to complete the requirements according to the established timelines?  Essentially, the question is: Can the extension form be filed as soon as they join officially on 1 February 2019?

Separately, while the notification refers to the "extension request form", it is not clear whether there will be a new form created for this special extension request or if the standard extension request form (typically used for those with some sort of disability) should be used.

[qwazse]

@rehayes welcome to the forums!

Generally, extensions are filed when it is clear that the scout is likely to make Eagle. In the past, that has meant a Life scout with maybe a project or merit badge left, but something like boot camp or service in O/A or camp staff get in the way. So, a 17.0 year-old star scout would probably not be welcome to file before the end of the year, but 17.6 year old life scout would.

Basically, I would encourage a scout to at least achieve 1st Class (which with determination would take a month or two) then submit an extension.

It will be interesting to see how many boys' vs. girls' extensions are turned in.

[Eagle1993]

On 10/3/2018 at 7:53 PM, scotteg83 said:

Taken from Facebook. 

https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/Implementation-Details-for-Scouts-BSA-FINAL.pdf

2. Requests for extensions must be received no later than thirty (30) days after turning 18 years of age. Extensions must be in writing by submitting the designated form to the National Service Center and the form must be received no later than January 7, 2020. Only the National Council may grant extensions. The actual extension will be based upon the individual’s registration date and age at the time of the request and will provide not more than twenty-four months from the date of initial registration to complete all requirements.
. 

 

A couple of people posted in FB that National’s changed the above policy...

As you can see in the text, the extension was going to be up to a maximum of 24 months. If you go to the linked file, they changed it to 22 months.    They also changed when to file the extension.  

[RememberSchiff]

So a procrastinating  Scout with 0-20 months to go before he turns 18 could drop out and then join the new rebranded Scouts BSA and have 22 months to complete Eagle?  

 

[Eagle94-A1]

12 minutes ago, RememberSchiff said:

So a procrastinating  Scout with 0-20 months to go before he turns 18 could drop out and then join the new rebranded Scouts BSA and have 22 months to complete Eagle?  

 

No. They have to be a brand new Scout and start from scratch on rank advancement. Bet Ireland was an influence on this policy being made.

[Eagle1993]

2 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Bet Ireland was an influence on this policy being made.

https://patch.com/new-york/southampton/boy-scouts-changes-name-allows-girls-teen-still-not-eagle-scout

I’m not sure she will use this extension.  They are pressuring BSA to count work she already did.