Eagle Scout

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>So, the EC thread got me thinking. I see a lot of people (and admissions officers) rank becoming an Eagle Scout extremely highly - in fact one poster here equated it with starting your own bussiness and earning thousands of dollars, and other similarly mind-blowing ECs. The fact of the matter is, I haven't met very many Eagle Scouts who impress me: their service projects are mediocre at best, and as people and leaders, they leave much to be desired.</p>

<p>Whoa. OK, I know that's going to make a lot of people angry. Yes, many people take Boy Scouts very, very seriously, and are very dedicated and involved. Many Eagle Scouts put a lot of thought into their service project and have been actively involved in their troop for 10+ years. </p>

<p>Then, there are the other ones. </p>

<p>My brother has been involved in Boy Scouts since he was a kid, and frankly I'm not really impressed with it! Earning many merit badges are a joke - for instance, make a basket from a kit in ten minutes, earn a basket-weaving merit badge. At meetings, they mostly goof off. And sure, camp outs are fun, but skills like starting a fire or cooking dinner? They'd rather buy donuts (ok, ok, yes, to be fair, /some/ of them cooked). And this is not just his troop, unfortunately. Kids earn Eagle Scout at 13, and for their service project, do crap like build a fence or make a bench! Please! (And yes, I know how hard it is to organize and fund a service project...I did one myself through a leadership group, and also didn't have little scout minions to do the manual labor...haha). </p>

<p>Sure, sometimes earning Eagle Scout is an indication of something. But I'm finding these days more often than not its just an indication you were able to hold onto your scout membership since you were 8 and were eventually able to scrape something together...</p>

2

<p>I think it is like anything else -- it depends where you are. Here in Ohio, at least in our local area, the scout program is very rigorous. They are very strict about merit badges and advancements. Our son is finishing his Eagle Project over the next few weeks, once he returns from hiking at Philmont, and it has been a very arduous process. His project involved rebuilding a concession stand at the high school. The approval of the project alone required signoff by the high school band booster organization, the high school, the Board of Education, the Scoutmaster, the Troop Committee and the Boy Scout council. Unlike a lot of troops, our Scoutmaster will not even allow someone to attain Life Scout before the age of 16, and until they have completed some extra leadership work. </p>

<p>Obviously, other places are far more lax in how they apply the rules. The same can be said of lots of EC activities. Our local HS has rather strict eligibility requirements for National Honor Society, and a fairly involved project for selection. My niece's school in Californial, by contrast, basically admits anyone who has a 3.3 GPA or above. </p>

<p>I think that Eagle is given so much weight because, on average, those who receive it prove to be able, hard working individuals who have a drive to succeed. Are there exceptions? Sure. On whole, though, it is probably a better indicator of personal character than a lot of ECs that are given similar weight.</p>

3

<p>I agree with OhioGolfer, on the average the rank of eagle scout shows an individual with a drive to succeed and is able to get things done well and efficiently. I personally have never met an eagle scout who just coasted through scouts and recieved his award by just "waiting it out", they are very rare and probably shouldn't have even recieved their eagle rank in the first place. Also the projects that you're mentioning like "building a bench or some crap like that" should never have been approved, especially since there are minimum cummulative hour requirementes for the projects and they would have a hard time explaining why this was important to their community. I also don't understand why you insist on obsessing over the project, even though it is the final requirement, it's still only one requirement out of many. And the easy merit badges that you talk about are nearly meaningless at an eagle board of review, infact they can actually hurt your chances because they are so easy as you said. The tough part is earning the required badges, some of which take months to finish. I also know that at meetings, at least for the troop in my town, they do not just goof off, I always see some older scouts getting the younger guys through their rank advancement or teaching them valuable skills in leadership and teamwork during the meetings. I hate it when people try to minimize the value of an achievment such as eagle scout, I know that you said that it's just the group of underachievers that you are against, but in attacking them you are attacking everyone who has trully earned the rank even if you don't realize it. Also you look at the award on too small a scale, yes some merit badges are easy, yes some projects look a little bit small, although they usually aren't, but the important thing is the overall experience that builds an eagle scout from being a new scout all the way to being an eagle scout. That experience is what turns a scout into an eagle scout, not the small individual pieces. You need to open your eyes and look more carefully, there's a lot more going on than what you realize.</p>

4

<p>i think its nothing that great....its just as good as anythng else</p>

5

<p>To the above poster (goodcolleges):</p>

<p>Shows how much you know.</p>

<p>To OP:</p>

<p>As an Eagle Scout myself, I know the dedication and hard work it takes to attain the rank. It's a shame that the scouts in your town don't exemplify the statutes of the Scout Law and Oath. I also just wanted to say that only 4% of all boy scouts become Eagle Scouts. I suppose the scout troop in your town is simpy an anomaly to that figure.</p>

6

<p>I think it shows a lot of courage and perseverance to stay in scouts from 8? until 18- that is 10 years in a program which includes meetings every week and campouts once a month (for my troop), plus you have to face the typical uninformed responses from ur classmates- ur a "cub" scout? i quit that in 5th grade! The one thing that I do not like about the program is how most of the kids are forced to go by their parents, and most (not all) of the scouts who got eagle at 14 had their parents holding their hand all along the way...Being 17, and working (albeit hurriedly) to get my eagle before my birthday has made me wish that I had someone pushing me along, but knowing that I did this all through my own willpower will be a great feeling if/when I get my eagle</p>

7

<p>OMG. Eagle scout means this people:</p>

<p>ABILITY TO FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED.</p>

8

<p>Misssuperfantastic - I don't think colleges are bowled over by an Eagle Scout in and of itself, as they are well aware that the standards differ depending on the area and the rigor of the program. As one EC in a list of others, however, it can provide a more complete picture of the student. I think for it to really make a difference, an applicant's recommendations, the leadership he took on in other areas of his life, and the particular meaning that Scouts had for him and his abilty to express that in his application all play a part in whether the adcoms are impressed or not.<br>
Kids who earn Eagle at 13, discontinue Scout participation and have nothing to say about the importance of Souting in their lives won't find it much of a plus in their application process. Boys who have really contributed to Scouting throughout their high school lives almost by definition have learned tremendous leadership skills, since so many of the older boys' experiences revolve around teaching the younger ones. These boys almost always have carried their leadership into other areas of their life, and they stand out in a crowd because of their tremendous confidence. I am so sorry that your brother is in a troop that is cheating it's members out of this kind of growth experience by making it one more ticket to be punched and put on a resume.</p>

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<p>And good luck to you, bja!</p>

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<p>thanks lol right now im working on Family Life, Citizenship in Community, Citizenship in Nation, and trying to come up with a project- birthday comes in December, so im tryin to finish this summer to avoid school (5APs...yay...) and cross country</p>

11

<p>Citizenship in the Community was killin me...I finally got it three weeks before I turned 18. Now I'm under review :)</p>

<p>Anyways...there are different troops where I live. Mine in particular makes it pretty hard to obtain eagle, they reject alot of service plans because they dont benefit the community. I know of another troops that basically hands out Eagle Scout awards, kids can do so little as to raise money to buy chairs as their project...****es me off</p>

12

<p>Family Life is annoying...I always forgot to write down the dates for those stupid chores. Ah, brings back fond memories...</p>

13

<p>Citizenship in the Community
(heres some of the requirements so that you guys can get an idea:</p>

<h1>Do the following:</h1>

<ol>
<li>Attend a city or town council or school board meeting, or a municipal; county, or state court session.</li>
<li>Choose one of the issues discussed at the meeting where a difference of opinions was expressed, and explain to your counselor why you agree with one opinion more than you do another one.</li>
</ol>

<h1>Choose an issue that is important to the citizens of your community; then do the following:</h1>

<ol>
<li>Find out which branch of local government is responsible for this issue.</li>
<li>With your counselor's and a parent's approval, interview one person from the branch of government you identified in requirement 4a. Ask what is being done about this issue and how young people can help.</li>
<li><p>Share what you have learned with your counselor.
Do the following:</p></li>
<li><p>Choose a charitable organization outside of Scouting that interests you and brings people in your community together to work for the good of your community.</p></li>
<li><p>Using a variety of resources (including newspapers, fliers and other literature, the Internet, volunteers, and employees of the organization), find out more about this organization.</p></li>
<li><p>With your counselor's and your parent's approval, contact the organization and find out what young people can do to help. While working on this merit badge, volunteer at least eight hours of your time for the organization. After your volunteer experience is over, discuss what you have learned with your counselor.</p></li>
</ol>

<h1>Develop a public presentation (such as a video, slide show, speech, digital presentation, or photo exhibit) about important and unique aspects of your community. Include information about the history, cultures, and ethnic groups of your community; its best features and popular places where people gather; and the challenges it faces. Stage your presentation in front of your merit badge counselor or a group, such as your patrol or a class at school.</h1>

<p>Translation: not all badges require you to simply weave a basket</p>

14

<p>yea...the Cit in the Comm requirements changed on me. I had a partial for a while, then I had to retake the whole thing</p>

<p>Those three months were crap, haha...id forget for like three days and try to fill in what i remembered on the weekends. Personal fitness was like that too I think</p>

15

<p>For anyone who knows what it actually takes to be an Eagle Scout or obtain the Gold Award, it is one of the most valuable achievements someone can add to their selective college resume. Many a person says that the ultimate trifecta of achievement in early life is the phi beta kappa key, combined with an athletic letter from a Division 1 school , and the Eagle Scout award. To my knowledge, only a handful of truly great men have achieved this. Robert McNamara comes to mind.</p>

<p>Back to the Eagle award. Essentially, it takes three years full time of your life to complete the requirements. By the time you are done you will have:</p>

<p>1) Become trained as Certified LifeGuard by the Red Cross.</p>

<p>2) Completed a major service project directling others.</p>

<p>3) Served in a significant leadership position directing between 10 and 30 others in essentially a quasi-military setting known as a troop.</p>

<p>4) Become an expert on Conservation and Nature completing major projects-and I mean planting acres of packasandra and building small bridges and reclaiming land for use.</p>

<p>5) Become an expert in morse code, semaphore signalling and other communications.</p>

<p>6) Know how to use a rifle , bow and arrow and skeet shoot.</p>

<p>7) Become an expert in such activites as lashing and building shelters from the ground without external supplies.</p>

<p>8) Become an expert in orienteering and compass work</p>

<p>9) Completed specialized training in about a dozen distinct areas of your choice like aviation, amatuer radio, electronics, entrenprenuership, rapelling, bicycling, hiking, canoeing, rowing, personal finance, public speaking, public health, safety, firemanship, fingerprinting, policing -the list goes on and on but you must demonstrate proficiency via examination in about 12 to 15 disinct areas.</p>

<p>10) Become an expert in the operations of local, state and national government through the citizenship requirements.</p>

<p>11) Obtained eight letters of recommendation from teachers, clergy, coaches etc and pass a lengthy board of review.</p>

<p>12) Become an expert in survival skills in the wilderness such as stalking, poisonus plant identifiacation, edible plants, cooking , etc.</p>

<p>13) Become an expert on your chosen religion as evidenced by examination.</p>

<p>Only about 2 to 3% of all the boys who start scouting ever achieve this rank.</p>

<p>It shows tremendous skill, perseverance and genuine renaissance man type ability to complete.</p>

<p>I interview for one of the top colleges which happens to be my alma mater and if I see Eagle Scout along with all the requisite academic and athletic achievement, I mark that person much higher.</p>

16

<p>If you are ever in a plane crash and 80 people need to survive in the wilderness for an extended period of time, the one eagle scout on that plane will be the person who will keep everyone else alive and get the group out of danger. The skills last a lifetime.</p>

17

<p>Nice first post pizza, I hope you interview me...</p>

18

<p>Basically....yeah.</p>

19

<p>To the OP, I live in California, Bay Area and I personally know several boy scouts and eagle scouts. </p>

<p>None of them possess any skills that are worth learning or leadership ability. </p>

<p>Recently, I went with one of them (eagle scout) on a barbaque and asked him to start a fire. He seems to have never used matches before so I suggested he make a fire by rubbing some wood together or something. He said in boy scouts, they use lighters. </p>

<p>The hiking they do is very relaxing and easy and most of the time, they just have barbaques at the local park with the scoutmaster and their parents grilling food. </p>

<p>Another of these "young leaders" (eagle scout) is a child of a friend of my parents. He is around 14 years old and is very short and immature, constantly doing "purple nurples" and "wet willies" whenever he sees anyone, especially his fellow eagle scout buddies. I have yet to see one meaningful eagle scout project. </p>

<p>One of my friends built a "cabinet". He just nailed a few pieces of plywood together, and nailed (not screwed) on some hinges. The total time required was approximately 1 hour to buy the wood and drive to his house, and around 10 minutes to assemble the "cabinet". Did not even bother to lacquer the "cabinet" or use a router to clean of the edges. </p>

<p>Frankly, from what I have seen, being an eagle scout shows that you have a lower level of maturity and leadership ability than the average high schooler.</p>

<p>I seriously doubt an eagle scout would have any skills that would help in the wilderness. Can they identify which wild roots are edible? Do they even know how to start a fire without a lighter? Do they know how to mark a trail properly without using spray paint? Thanks to all those eagle scouts ignorant to play with poison ivy, I doubt it.</p>

20

<p>^^ Once again, you're only speaking from the experience that you've had with Scouts you know. Every scout I know possesses the skills that you mentioned. It's a shame that some of these scouts give the honor of Eagle scout such a bad reputation.</p>

<p>And for the record, it's barbecue, not barbaque.</p>