Eagle Scout Service Project Approvals Set Precedent?

[RememberSchiff 3671]

I hope the striked (by me) sentence has finally disappeared!

 

The Eagle Scout service project provides the opportunity for the Eagle Scout candidate to demonstrate the leadership skills he has learned in Scouting. He does the project outside the sphere of Scouting.

Edited April 1, 2016 by RememberSchiff

[Eagle94-A1 2687]

@@Krampus,

 

I hear ya about the leaders needing to keep up to date on stuff. And I wholeheartedly agree that BSA needs to make a cliff notes version of changes. IMHO the BSA is changing stuff TOO rapidly. Anyone remember the change in health forms issue? national came out with 2 different versions of the health form within an 18 month period.

 

An aside. Unfortunately the troop I'm in has just restarted andwe do not have anyone close to Eagle Projects yet. Highest ranking Scout is Star.

[qwazse 4344]

@@Krampus...

An aside. Unfortunately the troop I'm in has just restarted andwe do not have anyone close to Eagle Projects yet. Highest ranking Scout is Star.

So, in the next ten months?

[qwazse 4344]

I hope the striked (by me) sentence has finally disappeared! The Eagle Scout service project provides the opportunity for the Eagle Scout candidate to demonstrate the leadership skills he has learned in Scouting. He does the project outside the sphere of Scouting.

So, what if the project is framed as

a) an independent patrol activity?

b) a religious activity (e.g.restoring a shrine) where the unit leaders' presence might be a desecration?

Thoughts?

[Stosh 3452]

My attendance at an Eagle project is as a worker only.  I do not supervise one bit.  I do not look over the candidate's shoulder to make sure ever iota of safety is accounted for.  It's not my job to mentor, guide, direct, suggest or even inspire, that's the job of the candidate.  If he's not ready to do that, he's not ready to be an Eagle.  I do not involve my self in any boy's project unless asked directly for advice or support in some form or another specifically stated by the candidate which has never happened.  There is no Eagle advisor getting in there and muddling around either.

 

It's pretty much standard that by the time the candidate is ready to do his project he is well versed in doing service projects.  As far as I'm concerned the only difference between one of our troop/patrol service projects and an Eagle project is the fact the boy has to document it for the Council.

 

I also know that there are boys in my troops over the years that have taken on enough of the troop/patrol service projects that they carry that over into other areas of their lives, taking the lead on projects at school and worship community.    I even have my church youth group leaders taking the lead, just like my scouts with doing service projects.  Right now my church youth group is gearing up to do spring cleanup at the scatter garden at the local cemetery.  Because it's an annual effort, the person taking lead is fairly new at it.  Lots of cleanup and acquisition of flowers, etc. is a pretty big task for a newbie, but they do quite well.  I've seen Eagle projects get written up for a lot less than that.  I lean on a shovel on those projects too. 

[RememberSchiff 3671]

So, what if the project is framed as

a) an independent patrol activity?

b) a religious activity (e.g.restoring a shrine) where the unit leaders' presence might be a desecration?

Thoughts?

I don't see a problem with either. I found no specification as who the adults have to be.

 

Now, there have been issues with high school graduation service projects being framed as Eagle projects. Locally the powers that be follow the old "nod and a wink and don't make a stink".

 

Like Stosh, I mostly lean on a shovel but I watch like a hawk for safety concerns and I occasionally run interference on some adults.

[qwazse 4344]

I love helping at projects, so I don't mind being the adult on record if needed.

 

But, the projects we dealt with growing up were loosely supervised at best. For example SM introduced me to the COR who gave me the catalogue to order specialty parts from. I gave him he order with my address as the recipient. Then it was up to me and my buddies to get the work done. Which we did without any adult having to be pulled away from their businesses (or whatever the retired guys were doing to occupy their time). It was basically a patrol activity. I didn't pick that up from strangers. The other projects I worked on had the same limited supervision, unless the beneficiary requested otherwise.

[Krampus 696]

@@Krampus,

 

I hear ya about the leaders needing to keep up to date on stuff. And I wholeheartedly agree that BSA needs to make a cliff notes version of changes. IMHO the BSA is changing stuff TOO rapidly. Anyone remember the change in health forms issue? national came out with 2 different versions of the health form within an 18 month period.

 

 

...and it had two B parts. That was a mess.

[fred johnson 936]

BSA's program really doesn't change that fast.  It's more that we remember our experiences over the decades.  It's all relative.

 

Krampus identified a key thing that I am not sure how to resolve.  BSA says ... for risk management ... it's part of the unit program and that the scout plans the project without any requirement for further approvals or inputs.  As such, how is the troop leadership supposed to be ... key term ... responsible ... for ensuring two-deep leadership and all other safety expectations.  You can't assign responsibility without providing structures within which those responsible can be successful.  Only signatures are at proposal time that is before the planning has happened.  The process isn't in place.  

 

That's not assigning responsibility.  That's dressing a scapegoat.

Edited April 4, 2016 by fred johnson

[DadScouts 41]

What I look for in an Eagle project is simple; is the project the Scout's idea or just something a parent or someone else told him "you can do ______ as a project"?  A local state park has projects galore ready to go.  I call them "off shelf / ready made" projects.  Those proposals are a mess and typically weak.  We try to help Scouts early on think of a cause they believe in, find an organization that supports that cause, and then just stand back and watch a self-motivated Scout get to work with just some mentoring and questions being answered on the process.  For a motivated Scout scope and suitability are rarely a concern.  Work is secondary to planning and they learn "life skills" like permits, migrating through silly GTSS requirements (only Scouts a certain age can use a paint roller with a pole attached), and make sure they plan some more.  Construction day the only tools they should use are a clipboard and a pencil and he's in charge and not the adults.  Usually works well.