Life to Eagle info

[Fat Old Guy 11]

It all needs to start at the Tenderfoot level. Instead of getting the guys together and saying, "Here's how to tie a bowline . . .now you do it" we need to say, "read the handbook, we'll have a help session for knots next week."

 

Rather than the "instant" merit badge sessions led by a parent, we need to expect our Scouts to actually do some work.

 

Maybe if we do that, the Scouts will be willing to take on more when they go for Eagle.

 

Way back in the stone ages, I was applying to universities. I did the research, got the catalogs from the school libraries, sent for the applications and then completed the applications on my own. That was the norm for my friends as well. Today, all I hear are parents grumbling about how they have to fill out the college application because the kids won't. Why do today's parents let their kids off so easy?

[LovetoCamp 9]

LOL, I've never heard of parents filling out college applications. That's just too funny. There ought to be a section in there that guarantees the parents who fill out applications will have a book smart sluggo with zero personal initiative living with them well into their thirties. Jeeesh.

[VentureScoutNY 10]

 

I agree FOG, we have to start early on the scouts path.

 

And yes, many kids I graduated with had thier parents filling out applications for them. Maybe this generation that I am apart of is a bit more lazy than past generations?

 

 

[NeilLup 13]

Hello Scoutldr,

 

Concerning how Eagle Scout percentages have changed, in 1973, there were about 47,000 boys who earned the Eagle Scout award. There were also about 2.1 million Boy Scouts. That works out to a bit more than 2% earning Eagle in any given year.

 

Last year, there were about 49000 boys who earned the Eagle Award but Boy Scout membership was about 1 million. That works out to close to 5% of the boys earning Eagle.

 

The change in the fraction is not in the numerator but in the denominator. About the same number of boys decide that they will become "lifers" as Boy Scouts and earn the Eagle. What has changed is the total number of boys who have some contact with Boy Scouting.

 

At the same, I understand that the average tenure of a Boy Scout has substantially increased. Again, those boys who are serious stay serious. What has changed is the number of boys who join and quickly fall by the wayside.

[NeilLup 13]

Hello TP and VentureScout,

 

I suggest that the problem is not with the youth. Search the NYTimes archives or Google for "hyperparenting." Many parents now are involved in incredible depth with their children and their education.

 

The scariest one was a recent article on "Getting into College Summer Camp" where one goes to learn how to write a superb college application. Their philosophy was "People don't get into college. Applications get into college."

 

This creates a situation like that in some college classes which are graded on the curve. When everybody works ten times as hard, the grades aren't any better; just the curve is raised.

 

MIT has address this with their latest application. They ask questions like "What do you do that is fun?" The MIT Director of Admissions, Marilee Jones, is a leader in trying to address hyperparenting and the feeling that high school years should be one long continuous work project.