eagle age

[Mike F]

A rare bird, indeed, is an Eagle at 12.

 

My sons have heard me say a hundred times, "I'd rather see a boy finish up his Eagle on the cusp of his 18th birthday, rather than get it at 15 and drop out."

 

My oldest scheduled his Eagle SM Conference for the evening before his 18th birthday a couple of months ago. When I asked him about his timing, he just grinned and said, "Dad, I've heard you say it one too many times!" I knew what he was talking about and we had a good laugh.

 

He wasn't one of those that disappeared in his late teens, showing up at the 11th hour to finish a project. He was actively engaged in various leadership positions for the last 4.5 years - finally serving as SPL during his senior year in HS. The growth he has gone through in the process is nothing short of amazing and it is already opening doors. The next adventure begins in a few weeks when he departs to start Basic Cadet Training at the Air Force Academy.

 

He certainly could have pinned on Eagle years ago, but would have run the risk of deciding he'd reached his goal and quitting. His more recent experiences leading high adventure crews and revamping the troop's leadership program are what really contributed to his growth and eventually made his application essays sizzle. Every scout is different, but for my son the long and challenging trail has prepared him for the challenges ahead.

 

Sorry - please forgive me - I just had to take this opportunity to brag a bit.

 

Proud dad

(-mike)

 

[N0VPR]

Having held the position of SM for 13 years in a 50 boy troop (I'm now retired) I'll add my two cents worth. I believe that too may scouts and adults focus on the basic requirements thus earning the Eagle rank rather than becoming an Eagle Scout. Ours is a leadership program and the Eagle scouts should exemplify leadership. It is a rare scout that is a leader at age 12. You can often see the potential at that age but the there needs to be some tempering. As Scoutmaster, I used the availibity of leadership positions to time some of the advancement. Most of my Eagles were 15 & 1/2 to 17 & 1/2. It is amazing how many of the Eagles return to visit meetings when they are home from college. Every couple of years we have an outher when the Eagle alum are invited to return and staff the event stations.

[Eamonn]

I don't think that there is such an animal as the ideal kid or ideal Scout.

At times when I sit on Eagle Scout BOR's I try to find out what motivated a Lad to want to become an Eagle Scout. This is mostly for my own curiosity.

I have talked with Lads who seem to have made plans of what they are going to do with their entire life. Some of these Lads see Eagle Scout as just another step toward getting to where they want to go. I used to think that these Lads were being pushed by their parents, some of course are, but there are Lads who at a very early age know what they want and know how to get there.

I have talked with Lads who were just too busy doing other stuff and left everything too till the very last minute. It's kind of easy to think of them as being lazy little toads. But I talked with a Lad at the last BOR that I sat in on, his goal in life is to be a radio sports announcer or commentator. He could talk about baseball and basketball, the players and the stats till the cows came home. I look at my Lad and see that the other stuff does include soccer and track, but it also includes the OA and the time he spent trying to be a good SPL. I have seen little fellows who are so darn intelligent that they are way beyond their years and older Lads that I swear have a big R and a big L on their socks and still haven't worked out that you can wear a sock on either foot.

I think we need to stop thinking about the ideal Lad or the ideal age. Each and every Scout is different, his motivation is his. The goal of becoming an Eagle Scout should be his. Our role in this should be that we help and support him. Help and support is a long way from push and bully him and hopefully is even further from slowing him down or making it tough or harder than it is.

There is a active thread about First Class Scout, I think that helping a Scout to become a First Class Scout should be a Troop goal. After that the Lad should be able to set his own goals and age doesn't come in to it.

Eamonn.