1 month/ 3 eagle required MBs

[Lisabob]

My son asked me about this last night. He's got one month to do 3 more Eagle-required MBs or go past the point of no return for earning Eagle. (He needs to do his Life board within that same time frame.) And...he's still waffling.

 

Now I am at ease with whatever he ends up doing. His question is, is it even still possible to complete 3 more Eagle-requireds within that time. He already has the following:

 

Cit in Nation

Cit in World

Swimming

First Aid

 

He has partials on the following:

E-prep

Camping

Communications

 

There are no camp outs or COHs coming up within his leftover time and he hasn't done the master of ceremonies requirement (8, I think?) for communication so we figure that's a no-go for Life in his allotted time.

 

Whadda ya think? Still even possible?

[shortridge]

Absolutely, it's possible. He may have to spend all his weekends working on them, but he can get them done.

 

Whatever he does, I would suggest starting on Personal Management No. 2 now, given the 13-week timeframe. Family Life and Personal Management often work well together.

 

Communications No. 8 includes a court of honor and interfaith worship service. Could he work with the PLC to do one of those this month?

 

He may want to not pick Citizenship in the Community to do at this point. Depending on the timing and which type of meeting he wants to attend, it may not be possible, with many town/city councils going on hiatus over the next few weeks.

[trainerlady]

Lisabob,

 

Depending on what he has to finish in E-Prep and camping he may be able to get them finished off in a weekend of hard work. I glanced at camping and there are a lot of plan/write sections. While it would be desirable to put his duty roster into action the requirement says create a duty roster for those attending the camp, doesn't say he has to enact it to fulfill the requirement. Same thing goes for E-Prep, I remember my son doing lots of planning, but very little acting.

 

Cit in Community is his only other option. So he'll need to act quickly. In my area boys often attend a meeting for city councils that are on a night good for them not necessarily the one in their community. I live near a large city down state from you and you can go through 15 different communities in 30 -45 minutes of driving. My community for example has a city council meeting that lasts 5-15 minutes (maybe that's why we have an emergency financial manager). So my son will get nothing accomplished at that meeting. We will attend a meeting in the city where we go to troop (4 communities south of ours). Maybe he could attend a meeting in a neighboring community if yours has its December meeting.

 

Also for communications, a COH doesn't have to be a huge all evening affair. Perhaps the troop would see its way clear to have a brief 15-20 minute to present MBs and ranks earned since the last one. (He could sell it as adding one more COH for the JTE awards, might boost from a bronze to a silver) Use the last 15-20 minutes of a troop meeting. Remember the immediate recognition thing. Or they could have a Scout's Own - they don't have to be on Sundays and only at camp. We did one in Cubs for November 11 one year.

 

Good luck.

[Eagle92]

First Aid and Nation is very doable within a month.

 

Again depending upon what partials are, he may be bale to finish those.

 

One thing as mentioned with the holidays coming, some organizations have rearranged their meeting schedules.

[AlFansome]

 

What about Environmental Science? Totally doable in a short period of time without much more than studying up on the topic for most requirements (with proper choosing of elective portions).

 

Seems to me that Env Sci plus Communications/e-Prep plus Citizenship in the Community would be the way to go.

 

 

[Beavah]

Also, if JuniorBob is an active fellow, Hiking MB is quite doable in that time period, as is Lifesaving. Remember, for Life yeh can count multiple badges in the Swimming / Hiking / Cycling or Lifesaving / Emergency Preparedness groups.

 

I'd pose it as a fun challenge to the lad. Can he figure out a way to make it work "for real" and still have fun doin' it. Bet him that he can't. .(This message has been edited by Beavah)

[desertrat77]

Lisabob, all good advice from the previous posts.....

 

Sure, some hard work ahead for the next 30 days but definitely achieveable.

[ScoutNut]

Requirement #8 for Communication states -

 

"Plan a troop court of honor, campfire program, OR an interfaith worship service."

 

An interfaith worship service can be held at any time, any place. This holiday season seems like the perfect time for this.

 

Your son can talk to his SPL about doing one for the next weekly Troop meeting.

[packsaddle]

So....were you privately and quietly hoping, just a little, that the answer would be 'no'?

How about son?

[Lisabob]

Oh pack, I think my son is privately hoping that the answer is "no." I'm at a point where I'm kind of neutral. I wish he'd do it but it isn't worth arguing about or pushing further. And he has always been the sort who does exactly the opposite of whatever I might push for. So it has got to come from him, not me.

 

In the same car ride home where this conversation occurred, he also said "Wow mom, I just realized, scouting has made me who I am! Look at all I've learned..." and started listing off stuff (much of it intangible). So even if he decides not to earn Eagle, I know and he knows how influential scouting has been for him. I'm content with that.

 

 

So right now he is thinking he can finish up camping and e-prep (told me he has most of them done, anyway) and maybe do cit in community. He's a political junkie and tied in to local politics so that shouldn't actually be too hard. But it remains to be seen if he'll really do them. Not going to be my project, you know?

 

 

[packsaddle]

Political junkie, huh? Wonder where he gets that, lol?! Sounds like you have it figured about right. Maybe he just wants to REALLY make sure he's doing it on his own with no push from you. I wish him luck. You too!

[SeattlePioneer]

Hello Lisabob,

 

 

I wasn't going to comment, because a discouraging word didn't seem appropriate. But I think you are correct in making your son take responsibility.

 

Too many Scouts are carried into the Eagle's Nest because of the drive and determination of a parent, in my opinion. It's something Scouts should decide for themselves and achieve for themselves, in my opinion.

 

To me the most important rank in Scouting is 1st Class.

[Eamonn]

Lisabob

As you know my son wasn't sure if he wanted to complete his Eagle or not.

I was fine with whatever it was he wanted to do.

HWMBO wasn't.

She had already bought all the napkins, place cards and that sort of thing and wanted them used to make room for whatever it was that was next on her agenda.

There in lies the problem.

It was his Eagle V Her agenda.

OJ tends to over think things and can be very mule headed (Gets that from HWMBO! Not me!!).

He got the idea that Eagle Scout rank didn't mean anything, based on kids he went to school with who had received Eagle rank and who he thought didn't earn or deserve it.

I was of course very proud when he did get it, but I tend to be very proud of him a lot of the time. (The rest of the time? Maybe not so much!!)

Teenagers are known for being a right royal pain in the you know where! But they also seem to find ways of doing and getting done things that they set their mind on.

My guess is that your son already knows and has worked out what it is that he wants to do and will end up doing it.

 

My son is now 23.

When I look back at him being a Scout and what I think he got out of it all?

I'm extremely grateful that he got to know and hang out with a really nice and super group of kids that are still his friends.

Sure he learned a lot and did a lot, but for me just knowing that this group while sometimes guilty of being dumb and mischievous were never going to cause any real trouble and end up in over their heads was important.

 

While HWMBO was busy pushing him.

I did my best to just play it very cool, telling him that what he did or didn't do was his choice.

When he did decide that he wanted to go for it and wanted to complete his project (That was all he needed.) I tried to be as supportive as possible. Even if on the weekend he did the physical work I was busy being the CD at WB.

Ea.

[John-in-KC]

Lisa,

 

Challenge him, but at the end of the day, if he wants to age out without Eagle, he's going to age out without Eagle.

 

I will simply say this: When college campus touring his HS junior year, two different professors in two different programs got more attentive instantly when my son said, "I am an Eagle Scout."

[Beavah]

Yah, Lisabob, yeh can't push. Glad yeh recognize it. Pushing teenagers is like pushin' string. All yeh end up with is a snarl.

 

Now, if there's an adult or youth in the troop that he really respects, sometimes that person can "pull" just a bit. At some point Eagle isn't "for" the scout, it's for the younger boys. As Eamonn describes, if the good, adventurous kids that the younger fellows (and their parents) look up to don't get Eagle and only the lunkheads do, then it hurts da program and those younger boys. Eagle and all of advancement only works for them if da rank corresponds to the young men that they want to be like some day.

 

So it's his gift to da troop, not vice versa.

 

Beavah