When I received an email from the council last month to inform me that Boy Scout Troop 68 has new Eagle Scout, it did not take me long to pick up the phone and call Mike to congratulate him. He is the seventeenth Scout of Troop 68 to attain the rank of Eagle Scout since I have taken over as scoutmaster. He is the eighteenth Scout to earn it in Troop 68’s history. (By the way, that is not Mike in the picture.)
During the last 25 years, the troop’s percentage of Scouts who attain the rank of Eagle is a little higher then the national average, about seven or eight percent. These boys earned the Eagle Rank because they wanted to earn it, not because they were told they had to earn it. I do encourage the boys to set Eagle as a goal, but when it comes down to it it is really their decision and no one else’s.
I have seen a lot more Scouts earn the Life Rank then I have seen earn the Eagle Rank. Sometimes the Scout waits too long to finish his Eagle Scout requirements and suddenly their eighteenth birthday has arrived. (Oops, too late!) Sometimes the Scout gets too busy with a part time job, or sports, or activities, or even (gasp) a girlfriend. All these things take time out of a young man’s schedule. And sometimes the Scout simply does not have the desire to earn the Eagle Rank.
I know of two times during the last two decades in which parents offered their son a car if they earned the Eagle Rank. For these boys it was like hitting the kill switch. They quit earning advancement and soon quit Scouting. It seems to prove my point when I say that a Boy Scout has to want to attain the award himself, or it will not be earned. Parents and troop leaders should encourage their Scouts and assist them when needed, but do not bribe them. I think a bribe cheapens the award and takes away some of the meaning of earning it.
Of the seventeen Boy Scouts of Troop 68 who have attained the Eagle Rank, I think only two were “strongly pushed” by their parents. The parents of the other fifteen were there to support their son but they left the decision, and the work, up to the Scout, which is the way it should be. After all, it is an award for the Scout to attain, not the parent.
I have heard of some troops who are considered “Eagle factories”. I am sure many of these troop’s have an excellent program that helps the boys to attain this rank. I also know there are some troops who kind of “push” the Scouts along to make as many Eagle as possible. I decided a long time ago that my troop would not be an Eagle factory. While I think it is great when any Scout becomes an Eagle, I do not think it is the troop’s responsibility to make it easy every step of the way.
For example, a Scout needs to reach out on his own to earn some of the merit badges. He needs to plan out, pick up the phone, and make his own appointment with councilors. By doing this he learns important communication and planning skills. He learns how to be resourseful and do things on his own. Now, I am not saying that our troop never brings in any merit badge councilors to our troop meetings. We do sometimes. But we do not go out of our way to bring in every councilor needed to earn the merit badges required for the ranks. Besides, we have other things we like to do besides working on advancement every meeting.
I guess what I have been trying to say is that a Boy Scout who wishes to earn the rank of Eagle Scout must be committed to the goal. He needs to demonstrate that he is resourceful, that he will not shy away from work, and that he is ready to prove himself worthy of wearing Scouting’s highest award on his uniform. No one else can, or should, do that for him.
Congratulations Mike
Gary Young
Scoutmaster Troop 483
Cypress, Texas