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We have a boy who only attended 25% of the meetings and none of the outings this past year. He recently came back all set to do his Eagle project (he turns 18 in November)

 

What should we do?

 

The boy was active in the past but he has a job at the local supermarket and other commitments.

 

On the hand we have a young troop and we want to instill in the boys a sense that partciption is necessary so letting him do the project will send the wrong message.

 

 

 

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How long has he been a Life Scout?

 

What other requirements does he still need to complete besides the project?

 

Just because he has had limited activity for the past 12 months does mean much on its own. There are other factors involved.

 

Finally, as a Scouter, it's not our role to put up arbitrary road blocks toward advancement. If he can complete the requirements before his 18th birthday, he should earn the rank.(This message has been edited by nolesrule)

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The boy told the scoutmaster he wouldn't attend a lot of meetings due to his work schedule. When he does attend he is helpful.

 

He has been working on personal management for the past month.

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It sounds like the boy is in earnest. Why try and stop/slow him down. Yes it is important that he be an example to the younger scouts but just because he doesn't meet someone's , other than the BSA's, arbitrary standard does not mean he is not Eagle scout material.

 

Help him all you can. Be sure to get with the council and get him an eagle mentor.

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"The boy told the scoutmaster he wouldn't attend a lot of meetings due to his work schedule. When he does attend he is helpful. "

 

He was attending meetings, albeit infrequently. He told the scoutmaster he had a job, and would have to miss meetings due to the schedule. He brought it up ahead of time, he didn't just disappear for a year.

 

If that was going to be an issue in his advancement, it should have been addressed when he first brought it up to the scoutmaster, so that way he'd know in advance how to proceed toward Eagle on your terms.

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These situations are always interesting.

 

Has this Scout completed his POR for rank?

What MB's does he have to complete?

Are there other requirements he will have to complete?

Has he started researching his Eagle project?

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What to do? Well welcome him back with open arms and help him earn, not give him, his Eagle. Unlike Sea Scouts where attendance percentages still apply to advancement, national states all he needs to do to be active is pay his registration fee, not be kicked out, and keep in touch. And he's down that. As long as the other requirements: POR, MBS, etc are met, he's good to go once the project is completed.

 

Little story about an eagle i know in a similar situation. the scout could have gotten Eagle by the time he was 14 if only he had completed his MBs. Yep this guy had his 6 months POR in, and even did the Service Project within 4 months of earning Life, just needed some MBs. He had fun and was active for two years, but couldn't make the trips b/c of HS activities. Then starting at 16, he came on and off to meetings b/c of a job he took to support himself as his mom was a single parent, and also HS activities. He got his last MB done 5 days before 18th birthday, and did earn Eagle.

 

That Eagle stayed in his hometown to go to college, and with the flexibility he now had with his PT jobs and school(he was a workaholic: 2 PT jobs totaling 40-45 hours a week and a FT load at college), he remained with the troop as an ASM and his attendance increased drastically. he was the type of inspiration you want a young leader to be for the scouts in the troop, and when it came time for him to move on, the youth organized a going away party for him. So maybe, just maybe you got another eagle like me on your hands. Once I was able to, I remained very active not only with that troop, but also with the OA and summer cmap.

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Letting him do his Eagle Project will send the right message, namely, that his troop supports him even though he took/had to take a part-time job and has other commitments at the expense of attending troop meetings and activities. As long as he satisfies all BSA requirements, support this potential Eagle Scout. A scout troop is loyal, helpful, kind...

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I have seen this happen in every scout in my troop (a small troop of 15) who makes it to age 16 and has not yet dropped out. Often it is the job, needed to support the car, but sometimes it is the girl. The relationship of these older teenagers to the troop changes. Sometimes the only reason they sign up for the year is to finish the Eagle project and rank.

 

I have come to see that this is a natural consequense of the scouts age. If he joined when he was 11 or 12, he has been the program at least 4 years, is probably a life scout, has been on 30 camping trips, gone to summer camp 4 times, probably has been SPL or ASLP, and wonders where all the little kids in the troop have come from. He is looking forward to joining the adult world and working, driving, and dating are a part of that.

 

I am just glad I can get them back for the project, and I enthusiastically preside over the ECOH when he earns it. Some who are attracted to the rigorous outdoor program our troop cannot provide, I will send to a venture crew. For others, I will give them a call every now and again and ask if they can come to a meeting and teach a skill they know well (but give them a heads up a month in advance). The ones I cant get to come back at all, either for special events or to do the project, are the sad ones.

 

 

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I have come to see that this is a natural consequense of the scouts age.

 

Nah, doesn't have to be.

 

I know a lot of troops settle for this, eh? I always push 'em not to settle. I know troops in every district in every income range that have their over-16 guys fully active and participatin'. Lads with jobs and extracurriculars and girlfriends. It is not a "natural" thing that they withdraw from scoutin'. It's a program weakness that we can do better on.

 

If yeh find you're not able to do that, I think yeh need to look at your program. What can you do to expand youth leadership to appropriately challenge older boys? It doesn't have to be high adventure... most older lads care as much about personal challenge as physical challenge like that. If they're comin' back to do projects, give 'em some in-troop leadership projects! Projects have the advantage of bein' able to be scheduled around their other activities.

 

As for the inactive boy who returns lookin' to do a project and Eagle out...

 

Me, I'm always caught on da notion of a boy coming back to get something for himself. I think a real Eagle Scout comes back to da troop to give something to others in the troop.

 

ASM206, I think you and the rest of the scouters in your program just need to decide on what your vision is for your program. I think it's fine to have a friendly acknowledgment that he's not an active member anymore but is a good friend and alumnus, and to expect that only your active members are participatin' in the advancement program. I think it's fine, too, if yeh decide that he's givin' yeh what he can and is active in your eyes and on the roster, and you'll continue to support him with your time and energy toward advancement. One choice is not better than the other, eh? It just depends on what you want to teach.

 

Either way, all da adults in your program want to be on the same page with what you're telling all the boys, young and old. Decide what you want your unit to be, support da values your CO wants you to teach, and then be friendly, kind, and consistent.

 

Beavah

 

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Beavah says: "ASM206, I think you and the rest of the scouters in your program just need to decide on what your vision is for your program. I think it's fine to have a friendly acknowledgment that he's not an active member anymore but is a good friend and alumnus, and to expect that only your active members are participatin' in the advancement program."

 

That might be fine indeed, as long as you are not continuing to carry him on your roster and he's aware of it. But if he is still a registered, dues-paying member of the troop then he has every reason to believe he's more than just an alumn and friend of the troop - he is a member.

 

Because he is a member of the troop in good standing, I don't think you'll find a lot of support in the BSA material for telling him he hasn't been active enough lately, especially since he has apparently been plenty active in the past and also had the courtesy to let your SM know why he is less available these days.

 

In similar threads at various times, people have summed up all the things a scout needs to do in order to make it to Eagle - there's a great deal of "activity" involved. The question is merely whether it is compacted into a shorter time frame,or stretched out over a longer one. Either way though, by definition, a boy who is on the doorstep of being an Eagle scout has been pretty active in his troop over the years, or he wouldn't have made it that far. I kind of like to think about it this way, I guess.

 

I do think it would be reasonable for the SM to have a friendly chat with him, where the SM might ask the boy to make a little time to serve as an active role model for the younger fellows in the troop. Maybe he can't make every event, but maybe together, he and the SM can pick out a few times where the SM would especially appreciate having him there. Maybe he can serve as a Junior Asst. Scoutmaster and do some mentoring of a patrol leader or SPL who is struggling with his position. Something like that, which doesn't necessarily require the boy to be in attendance all the time but still offers him ways to stay connected. You can't require these, but you can certainly ask him to help identify what he's able to do for/with the troop.

 

But even if he can't do any of that stuff, "giving back" doesn't necessarily have to be an immediate thing. Hopefully he'll have many years ahead of him to give back to scouting as an adult.

 

 

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I don't recall the requirements for Personal Fitness merit badge nor the Eagle Scout Service Project requiring anyone to be active in the troop or patrol. That's a separate requirement, which I will assume was already completed since it was not included in the answer to my question about what requirements the scout has left to complete.

 

Beavah writes, "Me, I'm always caught on da notion of a boy coming back to get something for himself. I think a real Eagle Scout comes back to da troop to give something to others in the troop. "

 

A real Eagle Scout is someone who completes all the requirements. Nothing more. Advancement is a method used for growth, and it's a personal method. A scout can work at his own pace, on anything at any time within the requirements, so long as he is registered.

 

As an Eagle Scout, I don't recall giving back to the troop being one of the requirements. It's a nice idea, but let's not make the rank out to be more than what it is.

 

Scouting is supposed to be a part of a scout's life, but it shouldn't BE his life.

 

 

 

I find it ironic that Personal Management is the last merit badge he has left. He's probably in a better position to understand the requirements now that he's held down a job for the last year than most scouts who earn the merit badge.

 

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But if he is still a registered, dues-paying member of the troop then he has every reason to believe he's more than just an alumn and friend of the troop - he is a member.

 

Maybe, maybe not, eh? My guess is that ASM206 is tryin' to tell us that they don't feel he's a member in good standing, but I may be misreadin'. Either way, I think it's fine for a troop to have an inactive or associate member status. That's still on da books with the BSA too, though from what I hear it didn't get programmed into ScoutNet well. Somethin' that allows a lad to stay affiliated, maybe come on an occasional event.

 

Or ASM206's troop can simply drop the lad from the roster at any point they feel he's inactive. That is what every other youth activity, from da swim team to the chess club would do, eh? And then have a conference with him if he decides to return, and lay out expectations for him bein' a fully active member and a good example to younger fellas before thinkin' about advancement.

 

Everybody likes to advocate that the way they do it is the way everybody else should, eh? Fact is, I know fine troops that view this each way. Perhaps a bit depends on whether yeh view Eagle Scout as an individual thing a boy gets, or a community thing a boy is recognized for. Is it just a matter of checkin' off requirements, as nolesrule suggests, or is it a recognition of skill and character and bein' an example to others, as the Eagle Charge and almost every Eagle COH celebrates? Both ways can be managed well, or poorly.

 

ASM206 and his fellow scouters just need to figure out what their vision for it is, eh?

 

Beavah

 

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