How challenging to be eagle scout?
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Anonymous
There are specific, standardized things you have to learn/do for each merit badge. A badge-specific merit badge counselor teaches/oversees your work, usually in a class, but you can work on them independently (provided YPT is followed). So if your kid is a junior EMT, he probably already knows most of what is taught in MB class, but he still has to attend the class and demonstrate the skills. |
Anonymous
The work itself is not hard in the way that being a standout athlete or musician or getting really high test scores are hard. Really, anyone of average intellect/ability could do the work. But making Eagle (or even most of the ranks in BSA) requires some dedication, commitment, delayed gratification, and executive functioning skills—things that adolescent boys don’t usually have a lot of. That’s what’s “hard” about it. |
Anonymous
Anyone can learn to play an instrument, play a sport and at least get passing grades. But like you said very few have what it takes to make it to Eagle, the dedication, commitment, delayed gratification , and executive functioning skills. Being an Eagle Scout stands out to college admissions and job opportunities. There are so few teens who achieve it and they understand what it takes to get there and traits and skills necessary. |
Anonymous
| My son has been in scouts since the 1st grade and is currently working on Eagle as a 16yo. I would first say that earning Eagle Scout shouldn't be the be-all-end-all goal. Scouts is about learning skills, having fun, and learning how to be leaders. Not all of our scouts will earn Eagle, and that's OK - they'll still have what they've learned. Our troop welcomes kids who are ADHD and ASD, and if Eagle is something they want, they'll get there. It's work, and a process, but if the troop is a good fit they'll have fun doing it, and they will get the support to do it. |
Anonymous
| Challenging compared to what? I have two boys, one in college. One achieved Eagle Scout, the other had a leadership position on robotics team. I would say that the leadership position on robotics team seemed a lot more consuming and took up a lot more time, but Eagle Scout did require sustained effort and persistence. |
Anonymous
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OP: Your Scout is going to be given the opportunity to attend open house for Troops in your area, he should attend as many of those as he can. Troops all have different feels to them; many have different areas of interests emphasized. While he is engaged with the kids in the Troop, you should be able to talk to the adult volunteers and ask them how their Troop runs.
Take the time to look at the rank requirements and Eagle requirements so that you can ask questions about the program. You can read all of them online, it seems like a lot but a well-run Scout program makes it easy for active Scouts to complete the activity/skills based rank requirements. The last three ranks involve leadership and MBs which falls much more on the Scouts shoulders. One thing I hear at Scout events for adults is that the goal is not to get all Scout sto Eagle but to get all Scouts to First Class. The first four ranks are earned by being active in the Troop and learning skills, like cooking at a camp out, setting up a tent, tying knots, and the like. The last three ranks are based on MB's, leadership, and service. A good Troop can get interested Scouts to First Class without too many issues. Then it supports Scouts and can help them earn Eagle but the drive to serve in leadership positions, complete the MBs, and complete the Eagle project is on the Scout. Here are somethings you should ask: How does the Troop handle adult and Scout leadership training? Some Troops require all of the adult volunteers complete all the SM/ASM or Committee training while others are more lax. Some Troops hold the Troop level leadership training for Senior Patrol Leaders, Patrol Leaders and other positions regualrly, some don't. You really want a Troop that encourges and activelt promotes participating in training for adults and kids. Ask about summer camp. Do they change camps or do they go to the same camp regularly? Do new Scouts particiapte in the new Scout program or do they encourage them to participate in regular merit badge classes? Our Troop encourages new Scouts to participate in merit badge classes because most will have reached Scout rank and will be close to Tenderfoot by the time they hit summer camp, the new Scout program is not needed. Some Troops rely on that program to hit the first few ranks. Ask about support for kids with different needs. Do they have other Scouts with different needs? How do they work with kids with ADHD or Autism? Ask if the Troop has someone whose role is to support Scouts to Eagle. Our Troop has a Life to Eagle advisor that contacts and works with Life Scouts interested in earning Eagle. He helps them through the various steps and paperwork and is a resource that the Scouts can use. Not every Troop has this but it is enormously helpful for Scouts interested in earning Eagle. Ask about how the program is run. Do the Scouts plan the meetings and campouts with guidance or are the adults planning things. Troops that are Scout led tend to be provide programs that are more interesting to the Scouts and give the Scouts more growth opportunities. They can also be a bit more chaotic and have a higher chance of meetings not being great or some failures, safe failures, at camp outs but that helps the Scouts learn. It could also be that is a harder environment for some kids to function in. Ask how frequently they camp. The camping MB, required for Eagle, requires 20 nights of camping with the troop to include a summer camp. I am amazed at the number of parents posting on FB groups that are looking for Troops who might be able to host their kid on camp outs because their Troop doesn't camp enough to get to the 20 nights for the MB. You can only count one Summer Camp in that 20 nights, so Troops have to camp on the weekends. This is a regular issue I see posted on. |
Anonymous
I think that time might look different given the timeline of the activities. Robotics club has a compact schedule to complete their goals while Eagle can be done over the course of 7 years. My Scout is just earning Life, he is 13. He has helped to plan a high adventure backpacking trip. He did the research on the trip, sent out emails, put together a presentation, and brought together 7 Scouts for a 5 day backpacking trip. He helped plan the gear meeting while the other kids planned practice hikes and weekend backpacking trips to learn skills. That took a good amount of time but it was spread out over a year. We are doing it all over again to go to Philmont this summer. DS ended up with 9 additional nights camping and 80 or so miles of hiking last year. That is a good amount of time in terms of planning, preparing, and actual backpacking. They had a blast. I would say that DS spends a good 70 hours a month with Scouts, that includes meetings, leadership meetings, camping, and service. I expect that his Eagle project will go well over 100 hours in terms of preperation, coordination, and actual completion of the project. While some eagle projects are building a bench or a little library, most are more complicated than that. All of them require reaching out to an organization, talking to that organization, developing plans, getting the plans approved by the organization and Scouting American Council member, recruiting volunteers, organizing the completion of the project, and executing the project. Add up those hours. Yes, there are clubs at school that will have more compressed timelines and feel higher pressure, but I suspect that the actual number of hours and over all experiences gained there is more going into earning Eagle. |
Anonymous
| Does cub scout in ES earn any badges towards eagle scout? Just MS & HS years count only? |
Anonymous
You cross over at the end of 5th grade. So everything earned after crossover counts. |
Anonymous
| Eagle is imo more diversified than robotics team. Different attributes showcased. |
Anonymous
| Eagle Scout is a joke |