mbscoutmom 10 Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 There is a boy who has moved in with his scoutmaster and wife without his parents' permission. He was 17, so they couldn't make him come home, and he refused to obey them. This boy had been in Scouts since he was a Wolf Cub, and both of his parents have been adult leaders during all those years. He was almost 18, and he decided he wanted to get his eagle without letting his parents know anything about it. The scoutmaster and his wife helped him through the whole process in less than 6 months, and he got his eagle a couple of days before his 18th birthday. Then, at the Red and Green, in the presence of his parents and two younger brothers, he showed up with an Eagle patch on his shirt. His mother left the room in tears. The scoutmaster and his wife say they went along with this because it was the only way he would get his eagle. My question: did he deserve an eagle when he was breaking several points of the scout law while getting it? Link to post Share on other sites
moosetracker 132 Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Seems like alot may be left out of this story. It would have made sense if his parents were totally unsupportive of his being in the Boy Scout program. But, if they both were adult leaders and he was in scouting since wolf, then the parents must have been supportive. I did know of a SM & wife who raised a boy who was from a family of all drug dealers and other criminals. The boy wanted a different way of life, and the family wanted him in crime. So he moved in and was raised by the SM & wife (and did get his Eagle). I am unsure in your case or the one I pointed out, why the parents just couldn't get the law to bring the child back home. I would imagine in the criminal family, social services involvement possible got the SM to be a foster family.. If your scout had a decent family, this wouldn't be the case. Anyway, all the missing pieces may hold the info for me to make MY opinion. But, my opinion will still be different then others opinions. And even if my opinion is he broke some scout laws to get there, well there are other Eagles out there, my opinion would have been he is not qualified.. In the end, if all the boxes are checked, you get your Eagle, and if you made some wrong moves to get there, they are really overlooked. Sounds like the boy was driven, and there was something that made him think his family would hinder his dreams. Something that the SM must have agreed with. He followed his dreams. He definately followed "brave". The "kind" and "Curtesy" and "Trustworthy" are wrapped up in a story of what caused the family split in the first place. Link to post Share on other sites
Basementdweller 608 Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 More hypothetical 2% information to offer advise. All scouts do not deserve an Eagle. This case we have no idea because of the lack of information. Kid could be a punk, mom and dad could be abusers we just don't know from the information provided. Link to post Share on other sites
desertrat77 1144 Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Indeed, there are many chapters missing to this story.... Does every boy deserve Eagle? No. Did the boy in this case deserve it? Hard to say, we'll need the rest of the data. Link to post Share on other sites
skeptic 997 Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Does it even matter if the board was done and he was awarded the rank? We probably all know Eagles that are borderline at best, and some we probably would not personally have passed with the knowledge of them we have. But it is apparently a done deal. Better to just take a deep breath and try to make others scouts who have doubts understand that each person needs to do what is right within themselves; and begrudging someone something is not a good way to be, even if you have good reason. Just my opinion of course. Link to post Share on other sites
Oak Tree 15 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 All Scouts break various points of the Scout Law along the way. I doubt anyone has ever been denied Eagle because he just was never friendly. The question seems to be whether the violations are serious enough to jeopardize the "Scout Spirit" requirement, and that is something that's really hard to judge from afar. The only point of the Scout Law that seems to be listed as being broken is "obedient", but there is a time and a place for everything. Whether this was the time and place to run away from home, it's really hard to say. It's the very odd runaway who leaves home in order to secretly earn Eagle, though. I'm with the others - there certainly has to be a lot of background to the story, but just based on the OP, there's not enough here to grant a summary judgment against the Scout. Link to post Share on other sites
Lisabob 13 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 What is your relationship to this boy? And what is a "red and green?" Link to post Share on other sites
Basementdweller 608 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 guessing it is an adult led troop and the red and green is like a cub scout blue and gold banquet. Link to post Share on other sites
Twocubdad 665 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Are you kidding? Is the kid rank in Boy Scouts really the issue here? Link to post Share on other sites
Basementdweller 608 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 guessing this is Mom check out this post from the op http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=339599 Seems her membership was revoked at some point for something..... The plot thickens. and another post mbscoutmom Forum Member Registered: 1/31/2005 Location: Texas Posts: 118 RE: Girls In Cub Scouts Posted: Friday, 3/3/2006: 11:57:38 AM I have 2 daughters and 3 sons.(This message has been edited by Basementdweller) Link to post Share on other sites
Gunny2862 11 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Can't address this specific case without specifics, duh. but in general all boys deserve the opportunity to earn an Eagle Award. Now whether or not they can capitalize on that or not, well, that's up to them... Link to post Share on other sites
shortridge 184 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Agree with Twocubdad. His rank is not the most important issue, and to frame it as such suggests a complete and utter lack of perspective. His well-being and his family situation is. Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle92 110 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 HMM, Interesting. Need a lot more info. Now I had something similar happen to one of my scouts. When dad found out he was planning to enlist in the USAF in the delayed entry program, he kicked him out. The scout ended up living at first the SM's house until he left for boot camp, then an ASM's house until he completed HS and went active duty. He had to get national to approve the Eagle since a BOR could not have been arranged prior to basic, and when he came back, it was after the grace period. Also what the heck is a Red and Green? Never heard of that before. Link to post Share on other sites
mbscoutmom 10 Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 I didn't post all the specifics because I want an answer to my question without getting off-track with all the other issues. I will tell you that he is my son. Just for now, suppose my husband and I love our son and would never do anything to harm him. (We didn't, but since you don't know me, some of you will undoubtedly suspect that I am lying.) Suppose, for now, that he had no good reason for leaving home and SM's wife had her own reasons for letting him live with her. Here are a few of the points of the scout law that he has broken and continues to break: Trustworthy--he told many lies to us while he still lived with us. He told lies about us to other people, resulting in my BSA membership being revoked, even though no one says they believe what he claimed, and he has changed his story since first making the accusations. Loyal--far from being loyal to his adoptive family, he has deliberately hurt us. Kind--see above. Obedient--he does not obey authority unless he wants to. This resulted in a two-month stay in juvenile detention, followed by probation until his 18th birthday. Reverent--he has broken commandments such as "honor your father and mother" and "you shall not bear false witness". You can decide later what you want to believe, but if you want more details of the story, you will have to first tell me whether or not, based on the above suppositions, you think SM and his wife, and the CC, and the others who supported him in getting his eagle behind our backs, were doing the right thing. Link to post Share on other sites
shortridge 184 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 If he's now over 18, there's nothing that you can legally do now. He's a grown adult, and can make his own choices. Some friendly advice: It strikes me that you're worrying more about your BSA membership being revoked and on the actions of the SM and CC than about your son's stint in the juvenile justice system. Refocus. Link to post Share on other sites
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