Eagle Project Nightmare

[Eagle92]

YES!!!! your son has taken intiative and I like it! THAT IS LEADERSHIP! I hope this matetr gets resolved ASAP!

 

It may be that yes he is taking it out on your son for "bypassing" the 'adviser" but as already mentioned, ther eis no such thing as and eagle adviser and once your son has the organizational signature, SM (or ASM in your case) signature and the CC's signature, then it automatically goes to the DAC.

 

As to the committee situation, I heartily occur that some revisions need to occur on the troop committee. I don't know how other units do it, but when I went through the process, I actually presented it to the SM and CC at the same time. A few minor revisions needed to be made, but approval was given the same nite. The I tracked down the DAC for his approval. Lucky for me I was going canoeing with his unit the next day.

[Nike]

This situation with your son's Eagle Project is just one more toxic event in a toxic troop. A unit commissioner needs to review the troop's functioning with the IH and the COR and the CC to get them on the same page as the rest of BSA. Hopefully, this is not representative of your district, or if it is, you are close enough to another district to participate in one of its troops.

 

Best of luck to your son and congratulate yourself on having a boy who will take the bull by the horns and not put up with utter BS.

 

BTW: A good op order can be written entirely on an unfolded MRE box, so I assume a good Eagle Project can be as well.

[momof7scouts]

BTW: A good op order can be written entirely on an unfolded MRE box, so I assume a good Eagle Project can be as well.

 

AMEN

 

I think his first plan was the best because it was stream-lined and easy to follow. Now that the plan, just the plan part, is over seven pages long. The project is really not that darned complicated.

[scoutldr]

I am the "eagle advisor" and CC for my troop. I tell my scouts that the plan should have sufficient detail such that if they get hit by a truck tomorrow, someone who doesn't know them can pick up the plan and execute the project. 9 times out of 10, we get what we need on the first or second pass. It's not rocket science.

[John-in-KC]

You must be somewhere near Stewart or Benning.

 

Of course, an opord on an MRE box implies a map with a decent tactical sketch somewhere.

 

Which leads me to a picture is worth 10,000 words, especially when we're discussing Commander's Intent!

 

Today's questions:

 

- What is the project?

 

- How did he doing going to the District Advancement folk?

 

My comment:

 

Last thing your DH should do as SM is tell the "Eagle Adviser": Leave. Thank you for your service. Leave.

 

We had a great guy who did L--->E support. He worked with the young men to teach them a process ... from a one sentence "What will this project do?" to an outline, to a ready for District project. Asked them pointed questions, then sent them on their way to find answers. Even with a Scout who had the seed of an idea in his brain and nothing on paper, I never saw the process take more than 8 weeks, and that usually included someone being out of the loop for whatever reason.

[momof7scouts]

Well, things are not going so well for son two. It seems in this district the project can not go to district unless it is signed off by the eagle adviser. I guess the lesson here is not to plan on doing a time sensitive project. I feel bad for my son. He has been working on this since September. He has put over 40 hours into planning, rewriting it over and over, with little guidance as to what he is doing wrong, and now he is about ready to give up. He really wanted his project to benefit the homeless. I guess if he can't get it done here, he can wait until we switch troops and try again.

[Eagle92]

What do you mean by this, did the DAC say something and if so what? I would strongly suggest that your son contact the CAC and SE, as well as your COR about this problem as they are now violating advancement policy. Again sometimes adults don't take scouts seriously, but when a COR gets involved, things start moving.(This message has been edited by eagle92)

[FireKat]

 "It seems in this district the project can not go to district unless it is signed off by the eagle adviser."

Where in the Eagle project workbook is this stated???

It looks like your DAC is adding reqiurements to the process. I have been told that an Eagle Advisor is there to help remove any stumbling blocks not to add more. This type of adding things makes my blood boil! Like the others have said; talk to the council advancement people and ask them where this EA is to sign on the paperwork. I have learned that each council does have some leaway in how the reqirements are handled but this smacks of adding to the requirements.

[Frank17]

Time to send your Troop's Eagle advisors to some extra training or to some roundtables to get educated on Eagle project review criteria. There is no excuse for so many edits / revisions. AT MOST, when I do reviews, the scout has to do 2 edits: one that will address all my comments and one to correct any my comments he missed the first time. If your advisor keeps adding new comments to the mix or not giving direction, then they do not have a clue about what is going on. Their job is to advise and teach, not grade the project as pass / fail. They need to do more than that.

[evmori]

The EA was irritated that son two had all the signatures before he reviewed it and said they were not valid since he was making him rewrite parts of it.

 

Hogwash! This guy is bad news! The signatures are valid!

 

Well, things are not going so well for son two. It seems in this district the project can not go to district unless it is signed off by the eagle adviser.

 

There is no place for an Eagle Adviser to sign! This is nothing but adults putting up roadblocks! It's time to head down to the Council Advancement Chair & get this resolved! You son is actually learning something here! How NOT to do something!

[momof7scouts]

I just reread Eagle son one's project book. I have a feeling his plan would not have been approved by anyone today. His "detailed" plan is three paragraphs, hand written. He does not address safety issues (there really weren't any since it was a collection project), he did not have estimated man hours, he did not even have a time schedule other than to say he wanted it completed in eight weeks. The one group he projected would help him, did not. Somehow he was able to talk it up at the committee and to the DAC and not only get it approved but the DAC handed him $100 to start him off.

With this lame plan, he and those who did help him logged over 300 man hours, collecting, sorting, and shipping almost $6000 worth of shampoo, candy, cookies, magazines, books, hand held games, batteries, socks, underwear, t-shirts, stationery, pre-paid phone cards, etc., almost half a ton, to local Marine Corp units deployed in Iraq.

He managed to overcome the scouts who backed out of helping and find others, deal with military regulations on what could be shipped, how it could be shipped, change the addresses as soldiers rotated back, and even get the final signature from the Marine Corp though his initial contact had been reassigned. Adapt and overcome!

My point is that sometimes it is not the details of the plan but the leadership skills of the scout that shines.

[evmori]

My point is that sometimes it is not the details of the plan but the leadership skills of the scout that shines.

 

Excellent point! But in the case of son #2, he is being bullied into something that is not his.

[NeilLup]

Hello momof7scouts:

 

From what I am reading, this has moved beyond being an Eagle Project approval and has become an ego challenge. Not being on-site, it is difficult to give guidance on how things are best handled. If it is possible to find a fair witness/negotiator like a good Commissioner to work your way through the morass, it might help.

 

I will comment that the Eagle process is now specifically designed to prohibit one person with a hair up their tail from blocking the Scout from being considered for Eagle Scout. I still think allowing this unit "Eagle Adviser" to block the project from consideration is inappropriate. However, I am wondering if this Eagle Adviser has something against your son, you, your family, whatever that is causing him to be so obstinant.

 

I still continue to think that the friendly conversation with the SE which I earlier recommended will bear fruit. Some of the other suggestions that the listmembers have made are possibly fruitful. But you clearly have proved who killed Cock Robin, your case is well made. Now the question is how to get beyond the roadblock.

[Nike]

Well, nothing says perseverance like a Scout in full uniform showing up at the Council office with a binder of rejected paperwork and e-mail for his appointment with the Council AC or the SE. Take the day off from school if you have to.

 

And while I would never, ever suggest jumping a functional chain of command, yours ain't.

 

 

(1 year at Benning, 3 at Stewart)

[fleetfootedfox]

The boy has to have an approval signature, but it doesn't have to be an "eagle adviser". It can be the scoutmaster. The form says "Scoutmaster/Coach/Adviser". So, your husband should be able to sign the form and take it to the district eagle board himself, bypassing this other guy completely. The reason your son got turned down by district is because he has to have a signature, not because it has to be the adviser's signature.

 

Another option might be for your husband to appoint another ASM to be another eagle adviser, and have him sign the form. The boys can then choose who to go to. If the boys have more than just this guy to go to, before long nobody will be going to him.