Klondike Derby Sled plans
J. Hugh Sullivan (sull@MINDSPRING.COM)
Sun, 4 Jan 1998 12:36:13 -0600
Jim Peterson <jpeterson@TZNET.COM> wrote
Subject: Eagle Projects
>I don't see Scouts, or earning the Eagle Rank as being similar to running a
>race, but if you must, then look at it as more of a marathon than a sprint.
>To finish is an accomplishment, whether you are first or 500th. By making
>accomodations, you aren't shortening the length of the course, you are
>merely allowing the participants to complete the race at their own rate and
>by their own means.
I don't quite agree but I agree with your right to believe it. I thnk one
should strive to be the best. Back when I was involved with a troop one
young Scout, now an MD, decided to get
49 merit badges because I had 48. I value outstanding comparative
performance - the rest is acceptable. I also understand that exceptions
usually make the rule.
>But you have to discuss it, because it is a fact of life and a fact of
>Scouting.
I don't because it usually results in someone getting his feelings hurt when
everyone knows that is not the objective. Some people even find the term
"handicapped" objectionable.
>IMO,
>the measure of an Eagle project should be: "Did it stretch the boundaries of
>that individual Scout's abilities?", not "How did it compare to another
>Scout's project or some 'standard' level of difficulty?".
I don't disagree except I will remember the outstanding projects and the
Scouts who completed them. One of my sons did an outstanding project and the
other did a project - in 1943 I didn't have to do a project. My oldest
grandson hopes his project will be superior to his father's - wonder where
he got that idea? 8-)
>I'm not advocating acceptance of poor performance, I'm just saying that we
>aren't all placed on the Earth to be CEO's. Some of us have to be the
>"sanitation engineers" and there ought to be a place in Scouting for them too.
I'm sure you understand that none of my statements reject the Scout who did
an average project - in 26 years as member/chair of our District Eagle BoR,
only 1 candidate has failed. But we all recognize the valedictorian, the Phi
Beta Kappa, football team superiority, the CEO, the heavyweight champion,
the military hero - and, of course, our own kids even when none of the
aforementioned.
To me it boils down to 2 schools of thought - "make 'em feel good" and "tell
it like it is". Society currently seems to go with the first but I often
disagree with society - don't we all?
Hugh
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
