Eagle Scout, how early ?

[christine in al]

How early can a kid attain Eagle?

 

This is so funny, 'cause we aren't even IN Scouting right now ( crummy cub experience, so we are waiting until Boy Scouts)

 

What age do kids usually start Boy Scouts ? How long does Eagle take if you hussle?

 

Thanks

~Christine

[Mama Lynx]

How early can a kid attain Eagle?

 

This is so funny, 'cause we aren't even IN Scouting right now ( crummy cub experience, so we are waiting until Boy Scouts)

 

What age do kids usually start Boy Scouts ? How long does Eagle take if you hussle?

 

Thanks

~Christine

 

 

I have seen a 14 year old make Eagle. However ... earlier is not necessarily better.

 

Kids usually start Boy Scouts at 11.

[christine in al]

He MAY, MAY go to a Math and Sciecne bording school. ( he's in 4th, they dont' take them until 10th, We're still working on multiplication and basic division, so he's not a genius, I'm just trying to get my ducks in a row. ) To now he CAN do both is good.

 

thanks.

[In The Great White North]

:iagree: I've heard of a 14 year old making Eagle but around here they are all 16 or 17.

 

14 year old Eagles tend to raise questions of how much "hand-holding" the adults in his life did and whether he could have done the project without them. (ie. He could spend the rest of his life trying to convince people he really earned it.) And kids tend to drop out of Scouting if they make Eagle too early.

 

On the plus side, it would have been nice to not be finishing his Eagle project and writing college application essays at the same time.

[In The Great White North]

Does the school have a BS troop? He could do both.

[cougarmom4]

Our ds started boy scouts at 11...and is on track to get his Eagle at or around 14.

 

My dh says there isn't necessarily a required age, but you do have to be in the other ranks for a certain amount of time in addition to meeting requirements...have to have 1st Class for four months + complete requirements to earn Star; need to have Star for 6 months + complete requirements to earn Life; need to have Life for 6 months + complete requirements to earn Eagle.

 

The Tenderfoot, 2nd & 1st class ranks can all be worked on simultaneously and you don't have to be at each rank for any specified amount of time.

 

So...ds12 started scouts at 11, completed Tenderfoot, 2nd & 1st ranks shortly after he turned 12. He is about to earn his Star...and in the next 6 months, he'll complete requirements for his Life (which will happen around his 13th birthday). Then he'll have that year to work on his Eagle requirements & project...so if all goes according to plan, he'll get that around his 14th birthday.

 

Scouts is part of our church program for youth...so that is one reason for our sticking to this time table/plan. According to dh (who has worked in scouts for years through our church), it seems that often the older the boys get, the less interested they are in scouts and/or sticking with it until the Eagle. The younger boys are more into it...and it makes sense to push forward while the interest is there. As they get older, there is just more they get into (working part-time, dating, friends are more involved, etc). At the age of 14, the church program goes more into Varsity scouts...so they do continue on in Scouting.

 

Just our experience with it...I'm sure you'll get other perspectives on it. But that's the track we're on...and the reasons we're doing it.

 

We love the scouting programs!

[christine in al]

I know what you mean about too Early means a life of explaining that he really DID do it. I've seen a whole lot of Daddies racing their pine wood derby cars.

 

Dh is an Eagle and he didn't finish his until he SQUEAKED under the wire just barely by 18. ( His brother got his at 16, I thought THAT was early).

 

 

We do want this to be ds's goal to get Eagle, It will be his business if he wants to do it. I just didn't want to get him all fired up for Scouting and working toward Eagle and then say... " oh, by the way, you can go off to school now and abandon this half-finished Eagle Scout thing you've been working on. (He doens't even know we are thinking about the boarding school, I just want to have him qualified to be accepted in case he wants to go.)

 

Thanks again fo rall your input.

~c.

[TechWife]

Why is it that you see Eagle as a goal for your son? Is this a goal that he has set for himself? Is the Eagle the goal, or is it all of other things that come with scouting?

 

I think that if you want your son to get the most out of the scouting experience you will let him progress at his own pace. There are kids who speed through and get their Eagles in a little over two years. Typically, the kids who Eagle young were pushed/pulled by their parents and lost out on many of the advantages and opportunities a solid scouting program has. Most kids in our troop Eagle between the ages of 15-17. The kids in our troop who Eagle have put their time in, so to speak. They have had many different leadership roles in the troop, have completed leadership training, been CIT's at BSA camps and have done as many high adventure camps as they were able/had interest in. It is those types of experiences that help build men, not an Eagle patch on a shirt.

 

Additionally, the longer the scouts are involved, the longer their parents are involved as well. This long term involvement in our troop has paid off as the troop committee has been able to make decisions not only based upon their experiences with the management aspects, but their experiences working with so many different boys over time. They have also had time to complete a lot of BSA adult leadership training and are very invested in having the troop succeed long after they are gone - our troop has made it for 61 years so far!

Edited January 18, 2010 by TechWife

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Does the school have a BS troop? He could do both.

 

In addition to checking out scout options at the school, there is also the option of being a Lone Scout. A lone scout joins BSA directly through his district, along with an adult who agrees to be his counselor. It is possible to earn Eagle through lone scouting.

 

It is also possibly to complete the higher rank requirements (Star, Life and Eagle) as a member of a Venturing Crew, as long as the scout had completed the ranks through 1st Class while he was a Boy Scout in a troop (or as lone scout).

 

So there are a couple of paths to follow. I would say that one of the big things that my sons are getting out of scouting is the experience with leading other people. So the best answer (IMHO) is to try to find out if there is a troop option at the school or in the area of the school.

[Mary in MN]

While I agree with the spirit of the preceding posts, our son is a 14 yo Life Scout, and encouraged him to move through the ranks as quickly as he could (by going to Scout camp, each summer, for example). This is because we knew (and we were right!) that his life would get really busy with sports and band and ec's once he got into high school--he's only in 8th grade and had to miss a merit badge extravaganza this month because he had speech meets all three Saturdays. He still makes it to Scout meetings and most service projects, but fitting in time for merit badge classes is becoming increasingly difficult.

 

YMMV

[mommyrooch]

There is a boy in my son's troop that got his Eagle at 13! :ohmy: He is the only one in our area to ever make Eagle that young. The average age is usually 16-17.

 

Most boys are 11 when starting Boy Scouts. They either come in new around that age or they cross over from Weebalos.

[m0mmaBuck]

It is technically possible to do it by 12.5! If the boy is 10.5 and finished with 5th grade or 10.5 and has his AoL and he NEVER misses a date to get a BoR, etc. he could do it. However, I think he'd go nuts... :D I had a 13yo Eagle (he could have Eagled one month past 2 years of his crossover date). However, he'd worked hard and I suggested he take a month off. Then, my dd's fiance' was killed and our lives stopped for a very long time. He ended up Eagling a few months before his 14th birthday. And no, I didn't do his work for him! He has 72 mbs right now and will get his second Palm in April. Yes, he did his own project, supervising a crew of 15 for several days. Boys that come in having done the AoL work completely can get Scout the next week. And Tenderfoot right after that, etc. It requires a very active troop that does a LOT of camping! Fortunately, we're blessed with just such a troop. It's not that hard to get to First Class within a year--not that that is the goal, but if the troop has a lot going on, the First Class will naturally happen.

 

But, Eagle is not the goal--learning and teamwork are the goals. My ds has continued on with OA, going up for Brotherhood in a month. He's been ASPL, SPL, a Den Chief for 2 years, currently the Bugler, etc. We use badge work as schoolwork. He currently is working on drafting and his religious emblem and will be working on a friend's Eagle project this afternoon--they worked on it until 9:30 last night. It also requires a committee chair that is committed to finding mb counselors. I happen to be that person. My goal is to never have to tell a boy, "I have no idea who could work with you on that." I never have yet. Anyone know sempaphore? I need a mb counselor for Signaling!

 

My DSS joined the Boy Scouts in Late Winter/Early Spring of 2008 and is on track to make his Eagle by his 18th birthday (the official deadline) this year. He will have progressed through all the ranks, held the appropriate time in rank, earned all his merit badges, participated in numerous service projects and trainings, held the needed leadership positions, and completed his Eagle project in about 2 years. It hasn't been pleasant but it is doable. Personally I wouldn't recommend it unless you have extenuating circumstances that limit your total time available.

[ciyates]

We have been blessed to start in a big troop (which gave my DS some amazing opportunities) and within 7 months switch to a brand new troop that a friend started. Because the troop is small he was able to hold positions of authority, earn unique awards like the Paul Bunyan, and fly through. If he stays on track he should make Eagle right before his 15th Birthday. That being said he has or will have gone through 2 summer camps, White Stag Leadership training, tapped out to be OA, hiked 50 miles on the App Trail and completed one high adventure camp.

 

My goal in the beginning was for DS to have a nice resume builder. What it has turned into is completely different. He has been put in difficult situations where he had to keep his cool and learned to deal with challenging people, he has learned to run a meeting and to plan for events.

 

If you find a great troop you will be less concerned about Eagle and more about the wonderful opportunities this presents. In the beginning I thought it was nothing more than camping, a little community service and some knots. I have since learned that it is so much more than that. A good Scout program is invaluable. That being said it is likely that there are several troops around you. Check them out before you settle on one. See where you DS fits. It is worth the investment in the time.

 

I hope it works out well.

[Susan in KY]

It is technically possible to do it by 12.5! If the boy is 10.5 and finished with 5th grade or 10.5 and has his AoL and he NEVER misses a date to get a BoR, etc. he could do it.

 

Yup, a friend of ours turns 13 in July and hopes to have his Eagle while he's still 12.... but the project is taking longer than anticipated, so he's likely to be 13 by the time the paperwork goes through. His hope is to go to the 100th anniversary of scouting Jamboree in DC as an Eagle, with his dad (who is also an Eagle). He's working pretty hard to do it, though—and it's the only extra-curricular thing he does, I think.