Adding requirements/driving/Eagle
Wendie Howland (WAHowland@AOL.COM)
Tue, 23 Jun 1998 13:16:06 EDT
A Scouter replies to the below:
>>begin quote
>My kid? A fifteen year old Life with all his MB's but two, wants to put off
>working on his Eagle project for a year or so while he gets his academics a
>little more in order. Will he get a learner's permit before he's welcomed
into
>the company of Eagles? Nope. Does he agree? Yup.
Was this his idea or yours? If it was yours, then I still don't think it is
a good idea, even if he does agree with it.
<<end quote
Not a problem. This is a kid has made a strong committment to completing his
Eagle already. This is a kid who went to camp at 11 and decided that one day
he wanted to be waterfront staff, and proceeded to take all the waterfront
badges and do BSA Lifeguard over the next several years. Result: he's on
waterfront staff this summer <G>.
He goes to a nifty private school he loves, but was on the point of not
returning due to a failing grade in French (despite A's in 'most all other
subjects). I said, OK, your choice: you do the work and pass the course, or
it's public school for ya in the fall, no summer school or tutors or make up
exams. Guess what? He made an 84 on the final exam, coming up with a C for the
year. Asked him, "What did you learn from this? Besides French?" and he told
me he learned that if he worked hard at something that he didn't like or do
easily, he could succeed. Good lesson. Right now he's beginning to prepare for
Philmont in '99.
He's not doing Eagle for me. Believe me, altho I'm the SA, I'm mom first, and
adoloescent boys do not often do something because their moms want them to.
However, to answer the question of holding Eagle over his head as a condition
for driving, if he were to come to me and say he wanted to stay in Scouts but
not push thru Eagle, I would say that we'd have a long talk about his reasons
(whatever they were at the time) and mine (evidence of maturity, driving is a
privilege to be earned, not a right) and see what came of it.
Parents should not be leaning on a SM to "make" their sons Eagles. Their boys
have to make themselves into Eagles. I'm not gonna make my kid an Eagle
either, he has to do that, and he has to want to. I can only reinforce the
inner strength he's shown eveidence of from time to time. After that it's his
call. It's my hope that his experioences in Scouting will lead him to do the
right thing.
Good thread.
YiS
Auntie Beans
ASM T44 Pocasset MA
Cape Cod & Islands Council
Abake MiSaNaKi Lodge #393
NSJ 1997 Nat'l Health & Safety
I useta be an Eagle...
' We used to be a Beaver and a good old Bobwhite too,
But now we've finished Foxing and we don't know what to do,
We're growing Owl and Eagle, and we can Bear no more,
So we're getting out of Gilwell while we can!'
NEI-188
Scouting is a way of life....oooommmmmmmmm...repeat as needed*
*Thanks, Larry Faust...
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City |
