Enjoying the journey

[Eagle309]

I have a boy in our troop (my son) who has set himself on the fast track towards advancement. He just finished 1st class after a year as a Boy Scout (nothing to remarkable here yet). He has earned some MBs at camp and is 2 Eagle required from Star. His goal is to be Star before summer camp. While I will not hold him back, I am not giving him any special help either. I gave hime the counselors names/numbers for the MBs he asked to work on and the signed blue cards. He has contacted the councelors and is well on his way to getting this work done. He is in the gifted program in our school district and is very self motivated. His goal is Eagle.

 

While I would do nothing to put impediments in his way I wonder if he is moving a bit too fast and should be encouraged to stop and smell the roses along the way. Any advise on what I should do as a SM/parent? Should I just let him go or should I try to get him involved in aspects other than advancement and if so what and how? He is elegable for OA election (not sure if this is a good idea for a 2nd year camper or not either) and if he is elected, this may give him another outlet but I am not certian of that either.

[Lisabob]

Eagle309, that's a tough one. Although my son has not taken the fast track toward rank advancement in scouting, he too tests as gifted and I've seen him fit that "gifted super-achiever" profile in other areas of his life. (Of course he alternates between that and the "gifted slacker" profile - I would love for him to find the middle ground here!) What typically happens for him in these other areas is that if he gets going much too fast, he burns out within about a year, and/or he ends up in situations where he's by far the youngest in the group and his struggle to navigate the social aspect of that situation causes him to lose interest in whatever he was pursuing at breakneck speed. Sometimes he returns to those interests later on but generally he doesn't.

 

Now that might not describe your child. But if it does, then as a parent (not as the SM) yes, I think it would be appropriate to extoll the virtues of a slower approach.

 

By the way - the leadership requirements of Star/Life/Eagle ranks might slow your son down a bit too. I know with my guy when he gets into turbo mode he just flies through specific requirements or directions. But when he reaches more open ended tasks where he has to define the parameters himself he tends to get a little stuck. I think this is another one of those places where intellectual development and social/emotional maturity occasionally collide.

 

I'll be interested to hear what others have to say on this one!

 

Lisa'bob

[SemperParatus]

It sounds like you are supporting your son in scouting and he has made the choice to focus on advancement. He is probably enjoying himself now, working on goals and being recognized for his efforts. I suspect this is not a myopic focus and that he is also enjoying some of the other aspects of scouting - camping, service work, and having lots of fun.

 

I would let him proceed at the pace he wants to follow. He sounds to be a bright, motivated and hard working young man - just the type many parents dream about. Encourage (but don't push) his efforts, don't invent distractions for him - these will naturally come as he gets a little older. Mention the other cool things in Scouting (OA is great) to make sure that he understands the tremendous opportunities that are available to him for fun and adventure.

 

I would guess that Star may be reached around his 15-18th month in the troop - this is not entirely unusual for a scout, especially those with leadership opportunities available for younger scouts.

 

(This message has been edited by SemperParatus)

[Eagledad]

Its fine; scouting is a program for individual growth, so there is nothing wrong with self-motivated fast tracking. My experience is these guys usually slow down a little as they get more involved with the other cool stuff the program offers like leadership, troop business, OA, and so on. Watch to make sure they dont burn themselves out to where they hate the thought of advancement. On the other side, also insure they are learning the values that come from advancement as well like patience, follow-through, good planning techniques, communication, documents management and other life skills not coming to mind at this moment.

 

Barry

 

[funscout]

That's great that your son is so self-motivated! Since no one is pushing him, I think he should be allowed to advance at his desired pace. If you notice at some point that he's rushing along, but not having fun, then you could remind him that's it's not a race, and it's okay to take time to just enjoy other aspects of scouts. If he's the kind of kid who would think, "okay, I started out advancing quickly, so now everyone will expect me to keep up this pace," then he might need assurance that no one will look down on him for slowing his pace.

 

The older boys in my son's troop always tell the new boys that they would be smart to get the Eagle merit badges done while they are young. Many boys think they'll have plenty of time, but then they turn 16, start driving, get a job, have a girlfriend, etc. and it's harder for them to motivate themselves to work on merit badges.

 

I'm glad to hear your son is having such a great time in scouts!

[eagle90]

Let him go at his own pace! As funscout said, the natural aging process will slow him down eventually - high school, sports, band, girls, cars, etc. I have seen it both ways - Had a scout earn his eagle at just over 13 years old. A real go getter. Was even the keynote speaker at our council's Eagle banquet at age 14. Stayed on till he was 18. His brother got his eagle at 15, and we never saw him again after that. You never know what's going to happen. Just roll with it!

[OldGreyEagle]

we talk alot about advancement on this forum and how its really the scout's responsibility. The troop needs to have activities scheduled so the boy can make first class in a year, but then its up to the boy to show up, show his stuff and get it recorded. I am not sure what the exact issue is. He needs to meet the requirements, if they are met, he moves on. We adults are so contradictory, we try to figure out how to motivate "lunkhead" 17 year olds to finish Eagle and then the next day try to figure out how to slow down a freight train, what is it we want anyhow? For advancement to meet our expectations or the boys?

[Venividi]

Eagle309

 

You state: While I would do nothing to put impediments in his way I wonder if he is moving a bit too fast and should be encouraged to stop and smell the roses along the way. Any advise on what I should do as a SM/parent? Should I just let him go or should I try to get him involved in aspects other than advancement and if so what and how?

 

My advice: Watch how he approaches advancement, and then give him guidance so that you are instilling the aims of character & citizenship in him. As SM, I had several very young scouts motivated by receiving advancement awards. Very task oriented. Completed a requirement, got signed off, then on to the next. Looking for the path with the least effort to get there. Where they had trouble was recognizing their duty in their POR and scout spirit requirements. Because they were so focused on their own advancement, they needed frequent reminders of their other responsibilities to the troop: i.e. that they also needed to be helpful to other scouts and to fulfill their POR responsibilities without constantly being prompted (or nagged). This may not be the case for your son, but I found it not to be unususal.

[FScouter]

"I wonder if he is moving a bit too fast and should be encouraged to stop and smell the roses along the way."

 

Rank requirements, merit badges, service projects, leadership positions, campouts, money-earning events; they are all "roses". What other roses is he missing?