One of the more common emails I receive concerns the frustrations of Scoutmaster’s who are faced with a boy they just don’t consider has done enough, cares enough or is good enough to become an Eagle Scout. They want to know what to do. There’s a big difference between my idealized Eagle Scout and what’s required to earn…continue reading
Eagle Scout Buck Knife
July 24, 2012 by ·
Scouts who have earned Eagle during my tenure as Scoutmaster receive a custom engraved Buck knife. I take the knife to an engraver in our mall called “Things Remembered”. I buy the Buck 110 lock-back because the bolsters are flat brass (not curved like others) and this makes them suitable for engraving.. When I first started doing this the Buck knife…continue reading
Eagle Scoutmaster Conference
July 6, 2012 by ·
Google the title of this post and you’ll find some pretty elaborate plans and opinions for the Eagle Scoutmaster conference. Some of them leave me thinking I should don a wizard’s robes and start boiling up some eye of newt because I am about to do something magical and mysterious. There’s nothing magical or mysterious about it –…continue reading
Fledge Eagle Scout
January 31, 2012 by ·
In ornithology ‘fledge’ generally means independence of the chick from parents; a young bird whose feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. Fledge is also a term that describes raising a young bird. Ornithologists apply the term differently to individual species because individual species develop differently. Our Scouts develop individually too. Each one is a bit different…continue reading
What Makes an Eagle Scout?
November 23, 2011 by ·
Here’s what makes an Eagle Scout; A Scout completes the requirements as issued by the B.S.A. and is approved by a duly constituted board of review. That’s it. So what about those oft discussed and argued qualities like maturity and leadership ability and active service? All of these things are embodied in the requirements – they are not requirements…continue reading
Changes to the Eagle Scout Process
October 30, 2011 by ·
My son passed his Eagle board of review in late September and I was invited to join the district advancement committee to review Eagle projects in mid-October. A few days later, the new advancement book was released, so I’ve been reviewing it in detail. These changes are now in force. The BSA Advancement Resources page…continue reading
Why Life to Eagle Guides?
February 10, 2010 by ·
Why would anyone need a "Life to Eagle Guide"? We already have a Scout Handbook and an Eagle Project Workbook – any Scout can understand and work their way through the trail to Eagle with these resources alone. Yet every Council and District seems to have 'resources' that are often confusing and often contain information…continue reading
Another Eagle Imbroglio
December 1, 2009 by ·
This is an email message I sent to a Scout who's parents have been corresponding with me over the all-to-common problem of a Scoutmaster who is making an Eagle Candidate's life miserable for no good reason. I'm not going to go into all the particulars here. It's really all too familiar. A Scoutmaster with a…continue reading
Avoiding Eagle Scout Problems – Part 4 -The Eagle Project
November 6, 2009 by ·
Open the Eagle Scout Project Workbook (opens PDF file) and you will find about 2 1/2 half pages of instructions about conducting the project written in less than 1000 words (966 to be exact). Google the words “Eagle Scout Project” and you’ll get about 1.4 million references. Avoid Eagle Scout problems by reading only the 966…continue reading
Last Minute Eagles
November 5, 2009 by ·
CA Scouter comments: It would be interesting to hear your reflections on Scouts putting off Eagle til they're 17.5 years old and then trying to get their project and missing merit badges done in the small amount of time left. … in a perfect world, the SM has been counseling boys not to let it…continue reading
Avoiding Eagle Scout Problems – Part 3
November 4, 2009 by ·
So far we have determined that needless Eagle Scout problems can be caused when a Scoutmaster seeks to impose his ideal vision of an Eagle Scout on the advancement process. In addition we have discovered Baden Powell founded Scouting on the idea that it would offer Scouts a way to challenge themselves towards achievement on an individual…continue reading
Avoiding Eagle Scout Problems – Part 2
November 3, 2009 by ·
Scoutmasters need to understand what makes Scouting different from everything else – why young men and women have been Scouts all over the world for the past century. If they take the time to do this they’ll avoid most Eagle Scout problems. Scouting’s founder Baden-Powell envisioned a movement that would give everyone the opportunity to…continue reading
Avoiding Eagle Scout Problems – Part 1
November 2, 2009 by ·
During my tenure as Scoutmaster I have worked with 50 Scouts who have earned the rank of Eagle. Becoming an Eagle Scout is supposed to be challenging. Unfortunately these normal difficulties are often compounded by totally unnecessary Eagle Scout Problems. All too often this drama is caused by the Scoutmaster. Somehow there are a number…continue reading
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