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Minimum time to achieve Eagle Scout rank


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I agree completley with Bob- that is all I ment when I replied. However, you cannot say a 16 year old Eagle is worth 2 or 3 13 year old eagle. That is a huge stereo type. I know 13 year olds that are more mature than 18 year olds- sad but true fact.

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I'm not saying that there are no good 13 year old Eagles. I'm just saying, from my experience that those Eagles tend to have things handed to them on a silver platter, or don't really earn what they do. This is true of most of the young Eagles I've met, not all. 17 year old Eagles? That's why I said 16 years old, not procrastinating but late enough to mature and lead in Scouting.

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Bob White

Sorry to get off track, But I think the input from all sides in the end was worth the side tracking. I am always interested in seeing other points of view on subjects like this. I hope nighthawk found what he was looking for after all that was said.

YIS

 

jethehiker

 

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  • 15 years later...

So people,,,, with the girls coming, it is a race. Some girls will be trying to be first in their town/county/state. Other girls may be less than 18 months until they are 18. These timelines are probably one of the reasons the girls portion of the Boy Scout program will not be a soft start like it was for the cubs. This is a real question and thanks everyone for outlining.

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On 5/2/2018 at 12:01 PM, casiodave355 said:

So people,,,, with the girls coming, it is a race. Some girls will be trying to be first in their town/county/state. Other girls may be less than 18 months until they are 18. These timelines are probably one of the reasons the girls portion of the Boy Scout program will not be a soft start like it was for the cubs. This is a real question and thanks everyone for outlining.

The only race I have heard of in our Troop is of the boys who want to finish their Eagles and get out before the girls arrive.  However, I think this is short sighted and the girls won't be in their Troop, so what do they care?  But, it is out there. 

ETA:  This could really hurt our troop if the 16 year olds start bailing out early, it is nice to have older boys to lead the way for the younger ones.  

Edited by WisconsinMomma
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13 minutes ago, WisconsinMomma said:

The only race I have heard of in our Troop is of the boys who want to finish their Eagles and get out before the girls arrive.  However, I think this is short sighted and the girls won't be in their Troop, so what do they care?  But, it is out there. 

I can't help but wonder how much of that kind of attitude really originates with the boys and how much of it is generated by parents and leaders.

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15 minutes ago, NJCubScouter said:

I can't help but wonder how much of that kind of attitude really originates with the boys and how much of it is generated by parents and leaders.

Yes, of course, I heard this from a parent.   Perhaps we need to introduce some super-cool high adventure to keep these boys engaged in the next couple years. 

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In our Troop the leaders have touted the official line. Any negative responses has been from boys and parents. They tell us, don't ask. I asked a few who stopped showing up and I heard from three parents (who did not want to say so publicly) they just didn't like the direction Boy Scouts was going or that it is not what they thought they were getting into. I was surprised I could not predict by apparent 'politics'. 

I think the uncertainty from National after the announcement did not help with the older boys who had an issue with how it would affect THEIR Troop now. So it acted as a stimulant for some guys to hurry up. 

I would say the majority of the boys are not thrilled but don't care that much. 'Scouts BSA' hurt us leaders since we read statements that "Boy Scouts of America" was to stay the name. They do not buy the name gymnastics out of Irving.

However we just got a new crop of 15 newbies and another set of 10 coming in so I guess those folks don't care. I am not sure who will be the leaders as most other adults are moving on.

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I just want to point out that before last Weds., the last post in this thread was almost 16 years ago.  Nothing wrong with that, but just don't expect most of the previous posters to respond to anything, because the majority (if not all) of them have not participated in the forum in years.

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As information - Eagle Scouts are getting older

In 1949, the average age of Eagle Scouts was 14.6 years.

In 2016, that number was 17.35 years old. (That’s 17 years, 127.75 days.)

That average Eagle Scout age has been pretty consistent in recent years. Indeed, the change from 2015 to 2016 was just 0.01 years — or 3.65 days.

2009 17 years, 116.8 days
2010 17 years, 87.6 days
2011 17 years, 116.8 days
2012 17 years, 84.0 days
2013 17 years, 87.6 days
2014 17 years, 113.2 days
2015 17 years, 124.1 days
2016

17 years, 127.8 days

https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2017/03/03/what-was-the-average-age-of-2016-eagle-scouts/

 

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On 5/7/2018 at 11:58 AM, NJCubScouter said:

I can't help but wonder how much of that kind of attitude really originates with the boys and how much of it is generated by parents and leaders.

I heard it at our last Commissioner's meeting and I about blew a gasket - for all of the reasons stated earlier.

Any Council with any sense will try do what the service academies did when they graduated the first females in 1980:  They'll bundle all of those with eligibility (based on a range of birthdays) into a "class".  There won't be any "first" individuals, just the first class.

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Looking at the arithmetic mean in a vacuum often ignores the bigger picture.  Looking at quartiles instead would be a start. Even better would be to investigate further into the realities. Such as the number of Eagles who were "inactive" for a time period before finishing on their 18th b-day and for how long.

Just taking the mean answers the question of the average, but if one desires to make a valid conclusion beyond the mere age, much more information is necessary.

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On 6/18/2002 at 2:14 PM, slontwovvy said:

I personally am disturbed by the "race" to get Eagle so young. The point of Scouting is learning, something I do not feel is accomplished by young Eagles. A 16-year-old Eagle is worth a dozen 12- or 13- year old Eagles in my book.

Since the average age of Eagle is 17, I don't think there are many 12 or 13 year old Eagles. 

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I was a 13 year-old Eagle! Of course, that was all the way back in 1998, so it may not be viewed as relevant today, but I admit I mildly resent all the remarks about a 16 year old Eagle being "worth more" or "better prepared" than we who were a few years younger when we completed the requirements. And mind you, of all the boys who earned their Eagles in my Troop the same year as I, ALL of the rest were 16 or 17, yet I am the only one who went on to attend a good University, the only one with a clear career direction, and the only one still actively involved in Scouting. So be careful when you put down the little Eaglets! We may look small in the moment, but we take the things we've learned and treasure them deeply the rest of our lives. You can never judge an Eagle's worth by age alone!

Funny side note: I was still in high school when this thread was started! Good grief this website is older than I realized, lol. 😄

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