CBS Evening News Tonight Sept 9 - female Eagle candidate

[RememberSchiff]

FYI,  according to last night's CBS Evening News, a report on a female Eagle Scout candidate is scheduled for tonight.

 

[sri_oa161]

I have no problem with a female Eagle Scout.  My concern is that if a female only became a member of a Troop in January, how is it even possible to make Eagle this fast.  That would not allow for the proper time between ranks.  

[FireStone]

1 hour ago, sri_oa161 said:

I have no problem with a female Eagle Scout.  My concern is that if a female only became a member of a Troop in January, how is it even possible to make Eagle this fast.  That would not allow for the proper time between ranks.  

Is that the case here? I saw the preview for the episode at the end of the last episode and it didn't say anything about that.

[BAJ]

For a female scout who joined right at the beginning (February 2019), the timing is possible.  The ranks with “time in grade” require 14 months, plus the time required to attain First Class.  Since the beginning of February 2019 there have been approx. 19 months.  So, assuming completion of First Class in 5 months, the timing is possible for an very advancement-focused scout.  Particularly if the scout involved joined at an older age, and so was motivated by the deadline of aging out (setting aside the potential for extensions), it doesn’t surprise me that there are scouts who have either completed Eagle at this point or are near completion — even with the limitations of COVID on program in some areas.  

While there can be a legit discussion (and has been other places on the site) about speed to Eagle, etc. and whether the scout gets everything they could or should from the scouting program with that fast progress/focus on advancement, I can’t say I am disappointed with BSA and female scouts in BSA getting what I assume will be some positive national-level press and attention.

[FireStone]

I'm really disappointed that the discussion immediately went to the legitimacy of this Eagle candidate's advancement. Unless @sri_oa161 has some other info we don't have based on the episode preview, we don't know that the scout did anything questionable whatsoever. 

The program has allowed for girls to be in long enough at this point to have completed all requirements by the book. We should trust that they did exactly that unless presented with anything to the contrary. Even more so in this case, considering the scout in question was shown in the episode preview with what i assume is her family, dad (Eagle scout), brother (Eagle scout), and mom (volunteer). Makes it even more likely (in my opinion) that her family traditions in scouting would make her inclined to follow proper procedure.

But because she's a girl it immediately calls her integrity into question? Ridiculous.

Let me do what we all should have done and just say congrats to this Eagle candidate, we applaud all of your hard work and dedication.

[RememberSchiff]

For this topic, let's wait and watch.

For those who want to discuss eligibility, this previous topic comes to mind.

Thanks

 

Edited September 9, 2020 by RememberSchiff

[sri_oa161]

I stand corrected.  My comment had nothing to do with male/female only timing.  

I messed up the timing.  This year has had me all messed up.

 

[FireStone]

1 hour ago, sri_oa161 said:

I stand corrected.  My comment had nothing to do with male/female only timing.  

I messed up the timing.  This year has had me all messed up.

 

Understood. Thank you for clarifying.

[RememberSchiff]

 

Scout Salute,

Edited September 10, 2020 by RememberSchiff

[T2Eagle]

She built a bench.  Like oh so many Eagle scouts before her.  I would love to know how many benches have been built as Eagle scout projects over the years.  I see them in virtually every park I've been to over the years, and have had my share of my troop's scouts build them.  The number has to be in the tens of thousands.

ETA ... and the sore feet and tired legs of a nation,including yours truly, are grateful.

[mashmaster]

20 minutes ago, T2Eagle said:

She built a bench.  Like oh so many Eagle scouts before her.  I would love to know how many benches have been built as Eagle scout projects over the years.  I see them in virtually every park I've been to over the years, and have had my share of my troop's scouts build them.  The number has to be in the tens of thousands.

ETA ... and the sore feet and tired legs of a nation,including yours truly, are grateful.

I have issues concerns with the female or male part of the Eagle process.  My worry is that an Eagle project is something that you need to show leadership on. And there have been way too many "benches" for projects, IMHO. I have seen a range of Eagle scouts through the boards I have staffed for EBOR, you get to see quite a range of projects.  All of the are approved by the district so they all count.

I have a girl in my Ship that is getting her Life rank this weekend and what impresses me most about her is that she never takes the easy route, she is always pushing to do it right. She even redid a merit badge personal finance on her own because she felt she really needed to get more of an understanding on it.  That was when I had talked with her about how it wasn't necessary, she insisted that she really wanted to do it again. It wasn't a surprise to me when she was asked to staff NYLT.

[qwazse]

On 9/9/2020 at 10:33 PM, mashmaster said:

... And there have been way too many "benches" for projects, IMHO. ...

IMHO. There have been way too many scouters who think every Eagle project should be something more than a scout and his buddies slapping together a nice looking bench in a public location.

I have more trouble with projects that are barn-raisers that take thousands of man-hours where the scout’s hand on the tiller seemed incredibly light.

[skeptic]

We can never have too many well placed and well constructed benches.  When you get to my age, that will be more obvious.  

 

[elitts]

I only have one question and one comment about the news story:

• (Question) What the heck is she doing using a bow saw to cut down a standing tree?  (assuming that wasn't simply a staged photo)
• (Comment) The fact that she thinks having earned Eagle Scout in 20 months means she's gotten everything possible out of the program does not say great things about her mindset with regards to participating in scouts.  Though I'll admit this viewpoint isn't exactly uncommon.

 

4 hours ago, qwazse said:

IMHO. There have been way too many scouters who think every Eagle project should be something more than a scout and his buddies slapping together a nice looking bench in a public location.

I have more trouble with projects that are barn-raisers that take thousands of man-hours where the scout’s hand on the tiller seemed incredibly light.

I've never questioned a bench project that had thought and planning with regard to appearance and durability involved; but many I see really don't.  Most of the time you get a wood bench put together with no finishing done to the wood at all, they just cut up the raw lumber, and slap it together with screws and a few lag bolts, then set it on a surface that is pretty much certain to rot the wood out within 10 years.

But if you are talking about a bench that is done right, with surfaces sanded and sealed, screws and bolts countersunk to avoid scratching people, with grass and dirt removed and replaced with either concrete or well drained gravel and the ground contact points protected from standing water, I agree that's sufficient for an Eagle Project.

The worst projects I see though are the ones where someone just gets a bench or picnic table kit from a "big box" then dumps them on the ground on project day and says " Ok, you and you, build that one and you two build that one.  The instructions are in the box.".  In addition to the complete lack of planning and leadership required of the scout, the wood typically included in those kits is usually the lowest quality possible so a year or two later you end up with warped table-tops and benches.

 

 

Edited September 24, 2020 by elitts

[qwazse]

37 minutes ago, elitts said:

I only have one question and one comment about the news story:

• (Question) What the heck is she doing using a bow saw to cut down a standing tree?  (assuming that wasn't simply a staged photo)
• (Comment) The fact that she thinks having earned Eagle Scout in 20 months means she's gotten everything possible out of the program does not say great things about her mindset with regards to participating in scouts.  Though I'll admit this viewpoint isn't exactly uncommon. ...

1. This season could have done with more preemptive bow-sawing in some parts of the west.
2. It’s sheer folly to judge someone’s mindset, especially a teen’s, based on a statement (probably parroted by adults throughout the scouterverse) clipped from an interview that was no doubt 10 times as long.