Leaderboard

A side note on the importance of earning Eagle. When we went to Sea Base this year, 2 of our Eagles who just aged out went with us as adults. In the airport, someone noticed that one was wearing his Eagle badge and because of it, bought the crew a dozen donuts. So Eagle is all that and a box of donuts.

My breaking point is when the fun leaves. Currently the fun has left for me.

Good post. I believe "reasonable" is a good base for judging performance. The struggle for many of us is the individuality of each scout in their effort to perform. I'm not one who cares one way of the other about "adding requirements" because I respect the challenge of judging a scouts performance. But, I do like to caution scouters that as soon as a fixed rule is set in stone, it will be challenged with an unexpected situation. It's great to add a hard expectation to draw lines between success and failure. But at the same time, these rule often restrict creativity of unusual situations.

That is an exact description of what my son did, except that he does not have a learning disability. He just procrastinated in spectacular fashion. Literally, if it had rained on the last non-school-day before his birthday, his project would not have been completed in time, and the issue would have been whether it was "complete enough," which would not have been a good place to be. But he made it by the skin of his teeth. Has he improved in the past eight years? Well, he graduated from a 4-year engineering program in 4 years, and now he has had a job with the same company for almost 4 ye

Encouraging scouts to plan and experience more adventure will help develop not just outdoor ethics, but also outdoor safety. The more we encourage scouts to push to the next level the better. We do a disservice if we hold them back and only allow plop camping and disallow exploration and adventure. While boys are naturally curious and adventuresome, they also have innate fears which help them take small steps instead of too big, but only if it is they who do the planning and execution. IMO, the worst thing bsa has done in the last 20 years is not gays or girls it is the requirement of adults o

Boy, if this requirement is challenging, .......... The struggle with legalism is that it distracts away from the true intention of the requirement. Remember, scouting is about growth of character and integrity. Don't concern yourself with the details so much that you can't see the benefits of the responsibilities. Learn from the scout how he served. When the SM ask the questions in the right manner, the scout feels encouraged to brag about their experience. Along with a quick call from the Den leader, you will have more than enough for a productive SM Conference. By the way, the way

I have to quibble a little bit. The Pack the Den Chief serves does not have to be in any way connected to the Pack (or vice versa). A Den Chief could chose to serve a pack that ends up sending all of their scouts to a different troop. In our area, Packs and troops are not so connected. It is not uncommon for scouts in the same den to choose different troops.

At least the Scout is handling this with honor and maturity. "I knew from the beginning that I might not get to be an Eagle Scout because of the timing," the 18-year-old said Wednesday, after the Boy Scouts of America's (BSA) National Council reaffirmed its decision not to promote Channagiri. "I wanted to build a bridge, and I decided to do it anyway. That was my choice. I did it for me, not just because it might help me become an Eagle." Bravo to his attitude. See https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/greenburgh/2018/08/15/boy-scouts-no-eagle-rank-greenburghs-hari-

He wasn't just a few hours or days short of the requirement...he was TWO MONTHS short. He and everyone else knew this at his Life BOR and it should have been a topic of major discussion at that time. Sorry...the requirements were not met.

When unread “technicality” I immediately thought something like a Merit Badge was completed but not recorded properly, or paperwork was turned in but a signature was in the wrong place, or maybe he had an extended illness that delayed him. Those are technicalities beyond the Scouts control. There are remedies for those situations. But the time in rank is a well known and well documented requirement. That requirement nearly caught up with me more than 3 decades ago, it has nearly caught up with several Eagles I have mentored. It did trip up one I mentored. It is not a technicality, it is a

If there is one thing I'm a stickler for, it's standards and requirements. " I did all the things you're supposed to do to become an Eagle." No you didn't. Plain and simple. Perhaps someone should ask this scout which other requirements he feels are optional, or how comfortable he would feel if someone else was awarded the rank having not completed a requirement that he did. Eagle project? Number of merit badges?

This Life scout did not receive the rank of Eagle Scout due to a Technicality. He did not achieve the rank of Eagle Scout because he did not meet all the requirements to earn the rank of Eagle.

When I was a bumbling, unmotivated Tenderfoot, I witnessed a scout receiving his medal at the end of a regularly scheduled troop court of honor. All of the merit badges earned at summer camp were presented (but none for me--I went but didn't earn any that year). Then the ranks...Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class. Fair amount of scouts went up and collected their new patch. Star...Life...only a couple of those. Then the new Eagle was called forward. The lights were dimmed. SM had some meaningful words. Medal pinned on scout. Mom's pin presented. New Eagle said a few words.

The message I got from that article is that soccer numbers are dropping because parents are taking the fun out of it. Select soccer at 6? At 6 my kids met at the park and the coach was no more than the screw ball in chief. It's kind of like watching parents with kids skiing. Good ski instructors realize 6 year olds are as interested in hot chocolate and playing in the snow as actually skiing but the parents want their kids skiing the whole time. Message to scouters would be keep it fun. I just came back from talking to scouts, parents and staff at summer camp and the idea that summer camp

Can we please restrict this thread to the subject of preparing for female Scout BSA troops in six months? If you want to discuss water guns for the 100th time, there is no fee for starting another thread.

Sure. I've decided that's perfectly fine for them to have thoguhtful, organized, dissent. I'd much rather have some people breaking BSA rules in a safe, organized way. What I'm suggesting is really not different from groups all over the country who organize protests and directly lobby people in positions of authority. Let's be realistic too. This troop publicly pushing the edge is way more likely to result in some sort of change than a strongly worded letter to you SE or national. It's great to say - "you should make your case through official channels." But remember, the squeaky