Eagle Requirement Question...add nor delete?

[eagleSM]

Bob White,

 

while Star & Life scout candidates can perform "a Scoutmaster-assinged leadership project to help the Troop", (in lieu of POR) such a requirement does not exist for the Eagle candidate.

 

and Eagle Scout candidate (that my word) must hold a POR . Den chiefs are included in that list.

 

eSM

[EagleInKY]

eagleSM -

 

I sat on an Eagle BOR a while back. It's a large troop, and there isn't the option for every scout to be an SPL or other major leadership position. The Eagle candidate had served in some of the traditional support positions (Scribe, QM, etc.) for Star and Life. For Eagle, his POR listed was Webmaster. We asked him what he did for that position. He did not just set up the troop website. He had to find a hosting company for the website. He also set up a network of computers for the troop to use. And, on their High Adventure trip, he posted pictures and a diary on the website at every opportunity, so the families back home could keep up with hos things were going.

 

We were very impressed with what all this young man had done. He did not like to be the "leader in the spotlight". He preferred to be a "servant leader" instead. He probably did more as the "troop webmaster" than the some of the boys in traditional positions (librarian, historian, chap aide).

 

So, before you dismiss an area of responsibility and say "stick with the program", consider what the candidate did. If the Scoutmaster has approved it as a POR, we should at least give it fair consideration.

[EagleInKY]

eagleSM -

 

I must admit, I thought you were incorrect in your statement. But I did go check the Eagle Application, and you were right in that there is a specific list, and the SM assigned POR is not listed as an option. If that is a strict BSA rule, I would be surprised that several Eagle applications have been approved. I know they are closely scrutinized. I wonder if this is one of those gray areas that they allow, but don't promote. hmmmm?????

[eagleSM]

"I sat on an Eagle BOR a while back. It's a large troop, and there isn't the option for every scout to be an SPL or other major leadership position."

 

i/we have a large Troop as well. yep, there can only be one SPL. but a Troop can have many a Troop Guide or Troop Instructor, to fulfill POR.

 

"The Eagle candidate had served in some of the traditional support positions (Scribe, QM, etc.) for Star and Life. For Eagle, his POR listed was Webmaster. We asked him what he did for that position. He did not just set up the troop website. He had to find a hosting company for the website. He also set up a network of computers for the troop to use. And, on their High Adventure trip, he posted pictures and a diary on the website at every opportunity, so the families back home could keep up with hos things were going."

 

 

i have sat on many an Eagle BOR as well. if a candidate came to me, as member of an Eagle BOR, with his POR as "Webmaster" , sorry, but i would vote against him. nowhere in any Scouting literature would one find the POR of Webmaster, regardless of his efforts. it just isnt there.

 

 

"We were very impressed with what all this young man had done. He did not like to be the "leader in the spotlight". He preferred to be a "servant leader" instead. He probably did more as the "troop webmaster" than the some of the boys in traditional positions (librarian, historian, chap aide). "

 

sounds to me like the lad should have been appointed "Troop Historian" (there is a patch/POR for that, for Eagle Requirment #4), as this is the job he performed.

 

"If the Scoutmaster has approved it as a POR, we should at least give it fair consideration."

 

if the Scoutmaster approved "Webmaster" as a POR, he is wrong.

 

i would agree from your description that this lad performed good/outstanding service to his Troop. i do not discount his service.

 

but it is not a POR, under BSA's guidelines.

 

eSM

 

[eagleSM]

EagleInKY:

 

i apologize if my comment "stick to the program" offended you. there was no intent

 

in my District, Eagle Scout BOR's/Eagle Chairs follow very closely to Chapter & Verse before approving Eagle Applications being sent to National. as SM, i've been beat over the head many a time about this.

 

this is so that no Lad has to face being rejected by National because of his paperwork.

 

this may create a whole new thread as to the proper sumbitting of Eagle Scout Applications.

 

 

eSM

[Hunt]

It's time for some close reading of the Handbook's Eagle requirements. On page 446, it seems simple. It says:

 

While a Life Scout, serve actively for a period of 6 months in one or more of the following positions of responsibility:

 

Then it lists the positions,including den chief, but NOT including the leadership project assigned by the Scoutmaster or Bugler.

 

On page 180, it says something a little different:

 

While a Life Scout, serve actively for a period of 6 months in one or more of the following positions of responsibility: (Pages 169, 172)

 

The list is the same--no leadership project, no bugler. BUT on page 172, entitled "Serve in a position of responsibility," we see the Bugler patch, and a statement that "your Scoutmaster might offer you leadership positions for special projects or events."

 

What does this mean? I suppose it offers a slender reed for those who want to allow a Scoutmaster-defined leadership project (like Webmaster)(or Bugler) to count for the Eagle POR--because the requirement refers to p. 172. But it's a pretty darn slender reed. Both the Star and Life requirements explicitly state that the SM can assign a project, and the Eagle projects don't say this (same with Bugler, if anybody cares).

 

(But it also seems to me that "instructor" is vague enough that it could encompass a lot of things that might be leadership projects.)

[Bob White]

Sorry my mistake, I was in Star and Life mode.

[OAEagleDude]

While I was working toward my Eagle, I served time as Patrol Leader and Webmaster--time overlapped. With the webmaster position, my official POR was Instructor. I reinvented the troop website (it had been dead for two years), maintained it with news from each meeting and event, and when the time came thoroughly trained my sucessor.

 

On another note, as one the few older guys left in my troop I'm sure I intructed enough.

[KoreaScouter]

As a SM, I try to "steer" Life Scouts with Eagle as a goal toward PORs that befit that goal and will give them a breadth of leadership experience. That said, I don't try to impose some hard rule about what patch they'll wear when they meet their BOR -- impossible. I have one lad who just met his Eagle BOR; a Patrol Leader...right now. He has held other positions as a Life Scout. Another getting his application together; Troop OA Rep...right now. He has also held other positions as a Life Scout. And a third; Den Chief, right now. Has also held other positions, including SPL.

 

Remember, minimum's 6 months. Most are Life Scouts a lot longer -- they'll have had two or more PORs. And, they can't rig elections, either.

 

One of the great things about Scouting is that the trail to Eagle can take many paths...

 

KS