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I agree with everything John said. My Eagle rank has opened more doors than I care to count, including helping to get me in the door of my new career. When the co-owner of the company who is interviewing you happens to have a son of his own in Scouting and sees 'Eagle Scout' listed on your resume, you're guaranteed definite consideration for the job. It'll be up to your son's own determination to complete all of the requirements, but if he can accomplish that, he'll find later projects and deadlines in college and in his professional life far easier to manage.
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Hate to brag (who am I kidding, I am so proud) that our son successfully completed his Order of the Arrow Ordeal this weekend! He collapsed due to exhaustion all afternoon as soon as he got home, but he was very excited for the couple of minutes he was awake. The size of the Arrow on the sash will be sure to be noticed by his Pi Phi sister when she returns home for the summer!
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My guy did Arrow of the Light as a CS several years ago and still has his Arrow hanging in his room. Now that he's been a BSA member for 2 years and met all the reqs; he was elected to OA. Arrow of Light is a great opp! Your kiddo is well on his way to a succesful, productive Scouting Career!
Scouting was wonderful for my daughter and so far, it has been great for my son. From what she tolde me, all of her college interviewers referenced her Gold Award Project and asked her to elaborate. |
My daughter is working on her Silver now... trying to decide on a project.
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My D's Silver Project involved guiding a local Cub Scout den in the earning of the World Conservation Badge. Lots of work to keep squirmy boys' attention! |
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Meanwhile, my son moves to Webelos in a few weeks. |
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That's a great idea for a silver project. Since I just finished being a leader of the Cub Scout den for the last 5 years, I'm sure she could get in touch with one of those leaders if she's interested. I think she's leaning toward a book donation drive for the local library. I'm just so relieved that my kids are into healthy activities. |
On a similar track, and being a former Civil Air Patrol cadet (now senior member), the pinnacle of the CAP cadet program is earning the General Carl A. Spaatz (pronounced 'spots') Award. Since the award was introduced in 1964, only slightly over 1600 cadets (less than 1/2 of 1% of all cadets)earned this prestigious award, which bestows the three-diamond grade of cadet colonel.
There are 16 achievements to pass and three 'milestone' awards before one can sit for the Spaatz exam. The Wright Brothers Award completes Phase I and bestows the grade of cadet staff sergeant. The Billy Mitchell Award completes Phase II and bestows the grade of cadet second lieutenant. The Amelia Earhart Award completes Phase III and bestows the grade of cadet captain. The Ira Eaker (pronounced 'acre') Award is awarded for completion of Phase IV (all 16 achievements of the cadet program) and bestows the grade of cadet lieutenant colonel. Cadets test for the Spaatz by taking a comprehensive leadership and aerospace education test, along with an essay question and passing a physical fitness test. One can only attempt to pass the Spaatz exam three times; fail it three times and no award. I earned the Mitchell and Earhart awards as a cadet, but topped out shy of completing the cadet program (there was no Eaker award then). |
It seems like so long since I started this thread but I'm happy to say that our son is 4-5 months from Eagle! All he has left is related to his project. His brothers are right behind him in the ranks of Star, Scout, and Wolf.
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Over the past year, my son earned Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class. He's been working hard and loving it. For summer camp this year, he chose all merit badges that are Eagle required and he's been to 4 Eagle Court of Honors in the past month so he is feeling very motivated to go far.
My daughter is finishing up the last requirement for her Silver Award in two weeks. Her troop of 7 girls is remodeling a room in the local Ronald McDonald house. Although it's a group project, they each took a section of it and had to raise the money, make the plans, etc. for their piece. Her piece is flooring so she tried to get donations for carpet. She couldn't get a donation so she ended up fund raising to pay for the carpet and did find someone who would donate the installation. They will be putting the room together the 14-16th. It's been quite an undertaking for a bunch of 14 year olds. They've grown a lot while doing it. They've also been cooking a meal at the RMcD house a couple times a semester, planning the meal, buying the groceries, preparing the meal. |
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Congrats to Carnation and her son! My OA/Brotherhood Life Scout finished the actual ES project 2 days before his 14th birthday. A month and a half later, he has STILL not scheduled his Eagle BOR. :( He really needs to get cracking on this so he can can finish it before 8th grade is over in a couple of weeks.
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A Scout chose my job (an HIV/AIDS nonprofit) for his Eagle Scout project. I was honored.
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One of the students at one of the schools I taught at created some awesome, handcrafted, wooden benches! It made it a great place to move the class outside to teach and learn!
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My son is working on First Class right now, and we'll see where he stands after summer camp this year. I don't think he's even thinking about his ES project yet, but I have a feeling over the next year that topic will come up on a regular basis.
Senusret, can you tell us anything about his ES project? I think that's wonderful. |
^^ Sure!
From what I recall, he will be doing some cosmetic work on our grounds, including cleaning our siding, fixing up our small front yard, making a "Please Don't Litter" sign for it, painting our back porch, and staining and finishing our wooden wheelchair ramp. I didn't want him to have to do all that grunt work, but he had to choose activities that the organization didn't already have the capacity to do on our own. |
I am so glad that this thread was bumped. Congrats to all the Scouts (and their parents) on their achievements. Our friends’ son received his Eagle Award earlier this year and his project was creating fitness zones along a walking trail. Also, an Eagle Scout from our church’s Troop received an appointment to Annapolis.
Last year was our first as Tigers and we had a blast. I felt like I was herding cats on many occasions but it was all worth it. They enjoyed the Renaissance Festival but I think that they enjoyed playing with the TV cameras more. My son placed first in his division for Raingutter Regatta and second overall. He also placed first in his division for Pinewood Derby and first place overall. To say that his dad was proud would be an understatement. ;) I was so busy helping with the other divisions’ heats that I didn’t even realize that he had done so well. We had a combined Blue and Gold/Crossover Banquet a few weeks ago. It came as a great surprise that my den received the National Den Award (including a ribbon for our den flag) and that I received the Tiger Cub Den Leader Award (including a TCDLA Knot). (It was a surprise because I had not heard from the District office if our applications had been approved or not. They also usually only award these at District Banquets.) My boys also received their Religious Knot for completing our Archdiocese’s Guardian Angel Award. They had already received their medals at a special Scout Mass from the Auxiliary Bishop. Two sisters and a brother earned Cub Scout Buddy certificates. Lots of fun and great memories. We are looking forward to our Wolf year. I was very touched when the boys asked me to be their leader again. |
I had never seen an Arrow of Light ceremony until our 3rd son's this year. It was a lot like various honor society initiations I've been through...it was at sunset, and adults dressed as Native Americans came through the woods shaking instruments, then they told an NA story and gave "words of admonition" (I don't know how else to describe them) to the boys. (Unfortunately, one of the "Indians" was the French boy's dad so he was easily identifiable and also hard to understand, lol. We told him later that he must be an Algonquin or some other French-speaking Indian!)
Then the boys had to cross a bridge that had a log in it--the log symbolized obstacles that the boys would have to deal with and conquer someday. At the end of the bridge were older boys who put the new insignia on them. I warned our older sons not to mess with our younger one at this point...i.e., you're in big trouble if you toss him off the bridge or pants him. But then you look at several aspects of Scouting and they're very similar to Greek life. |
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Yes, a scout has to choose a service project that fills a need the benefiting organization can't fill. It also has to be performed locally and can't benefit BSA or his troop's chartering organization. I also think there has to be at least 100 service hours to qualify. If it involves building something or painting something, etc, the Scout also has to come up with the funds and/or donations himself and not just pay for his supplies out of his (or his parents') pocket. |
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I'll ask my husband what he remembers about Order of the Arrow--our oldest was inducted into it at camp several years ago. He got this huge arrow sash.This was 3 5th graders being inducted into the Arrow of Light and they got arrow plaques!
(Big cheer here for all the arrows that the Boy Scouts use! Haha! :D) |
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Order of the Arrow is very ceremonial, and very secretive from what I understand. I don't know if that's even open to non-members, I'm thinking not but I'm not sure. The Arrow of Light ceremony is open to the entire pack and parents and the one insignia that a boy can wear on his Boy Scout uniform from Cub Scouts. Our son's den was the first to earn Arrows of Light in their pack, we actually started the pack and they came in as Wolves! I'll never forget the 40 or so Tigers, Wolves, Bears, Webelos I's and siblings watching the Order of the Arrow *in silent awe* as they performed the Arrow of Light ceremony for the four boys who earned it. More trivia: A boy can only earn Arrow of Light as a Cub, he can't go back and get it later. |
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Arrow of Light is one of only three awards earned as a Cub or Boy Scout that an adult Scouter can wear (in the form of a knot) on his uniform. The three are: Arrow of Light: http://members.aol.com/gregbowen/bsa...Light_Knot.jpg Eagle: http://members.aol.com/gregbowen/bsa/Eagle_Knot.gif and a Religious Award (such as God and Country): http://members.aol.com/gregbowen/bsa...gious_Knot.jpg Don't know why the religious knot shows up smaller. (And yes, I have all three on my uniforms.) |
Well, that Arrow of Light ceremony is definitely not like the one that our Pack uses. My son does have his Arrow of Light and his Religious knot. We also started doing an additional award for our high achieving Webelos called the Iron Man. A Webelo who got the Iron Man had accomplished all 20 of the Webelo Achievements even though only 7 are required for the Arrow of Light. My son did that too.
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MysticCat, I love your trivia. When I presented my den with their Religious Award Knots, I forgot to mention that the knot carried over to BS and AS uniforms. The Cubmaster picked up on that and told the audience. It was funny because everyone went either "Oooo" or "Ahhh".
Our recent Arrow of Light ceremony was very nice. After the boys crossed the bridge, the Cubmaster did a candle ceremony where each colored candle represented an attribute. He then painted a stripe on the boys' faces in the color cooridinating with the candle. |
I earned the religious award as a Girl Scout, and when I became a Cub Scout leader, I was allowed to wear the purple/silver knot on my Boy Scout uniform. I have that, plus the leader knots for Tiger, Wolf, Bear and Webelos, as well as the District Award of Merit.
Oh - and Woodbadge. NE-I-233. I used to be an owl, and a good old owl, too... ;) |
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---- If these were 5th graders, they are probably Webelo IIs earning their Arrows of Light. One cannot earn Order of the Arrow without having a certain number of overnight campouts, having achieved a certain rank, etc. Usually the earliest a Scout can be elected is in 7th grade although there are a couple of movers and shakers who are eligible in 6th. The OA Ordeal is a bit secretive but BSA has to be somewhat open in light of the scandals that occurred in the past. The OA Candidate gets subsistence-only food for 24 hours and works on a service project with others however there is no talking. The candidate sleeps in a sleeping bag under the stars. My S is going to be an Elongomat this weekend for a neighboring district's ordeal. Elongomats are guides who are assigned to the candidates throughout the Ordeal. There are 3 ranks within OA. An arrowman can try out for brotherhood after 10 months of active Ordeal time. Vigil takes at least 2 years from the date an arrowman makes brotherhood rank. |
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And you're right that, if they're 5th graders, it would be Arrow of Light, not OA. Often, Arrow of Light is awarded at the same ceremony where boys bridge up to Boy Scouts, since a few of the requirements are likely to happen in the months leading up to bridging. Lots of packs look for ways to "liven" it up -- our Cubmaster is looking into having some OA members come next year for our boys. It sounds like carnation's pack went for an OA-inspired Arrow of Light ceremony. |
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Most OA chapters have a Ceremonies Team. My son's chapter's team did many, many Arrow of Light ceremonies for Web2s in the spring. One Pack had the ceremony during a Blue and Gold Banquet so even the little Tigers could see the ceremony. What was nice about this particular event is that 2 of the OA teammembers were older hsers who were very tall and of course had deep voices and then there was one member who the Cubs could identify with a but as he still looks and sounds like a kid. |
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And that's cool about the younger Arrow "man". |
BSA fabric! :)
Boy Scouts of America in conjunction with Robert Kaufman Fabrics (a good quality fabric manufacturer) is releasing a new line of quilting cottons this week. As seen by the link below, the motifs are all Scout-themed. The line is officially licensed through BSA so I would assume that BSA gets some money back on each purchase. http://www.robertkaufman.com/fabrics...ts_of_america/
I'll be curious to see if the official Scout Shops carry some of this or if it will only be sold in quilt stores. This is my favorite. http://www.robertkaufman.com/assets/...jpg?1070849573 |
Ooo! Another reason to learn to quilt!
3rd son just got back from Scout camp and he did the Spike Buck Program, meaning he went up a couple of ranks. Our Cub is so jealous... |
Congrats to your boy! What is Son3's new rank? I haven't heard about Spike Buck.
My S's troop has their end of the year COH tomorrow night. My kiddo is going to be passing off the SPL baton. He will be getting a couple of MBs bringing his grand total to 52, almost halfway there... He is a nut! :) He asked for bugle lessons this summer so he can be proficient enough to serve as Troop Bugler in the fall. He has never played a band instrument ever. Other than the musical clef, there is not a lot of commonality between the violin and bugle. He also wants to earn the Farm Mechanics badge, not an easy one to do in the middle of suburbia. Carnation, you should definitely learn to quilt. It is so relaxing! |
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My daughter's GS troop completed their Silver Award project yesterday. They spent all day Friday and Saturday completely remodeling a room at the Ronald McDonald house. Their leader sent us before and after pictures and I am going to put them up on a website. When I do, I'll post the link. It's quite impressive that 9 fourteen year olds planned the room, raised the money, shopped for the furniture, carpet and decorative items and put it all together, including painting furniture and walls, in two days. A real "Trading Spaces" kind of project. Their leader sent us an email when she got home last night and said the room turned out much better than she ever dreamed, that the girls worked very hard all weekend and she was on the verge of tears when they finished and it was so beautiful. I'm very proud of them. http://photobucket.com/RonaldMcDonaldhouse ETA: I hope every one of these girls goes to a college with an Alpha Gam chapter so I can write them glowing recommendations! They would all make great sorority women! |
My dad was an Eagle scout, so yay! He always tells me that if I have a boy, I should consider putting him in boy scouts. Ok Daddy, I'm only 20 and not even engaged yet. Babies are a long ways away.
On another note, I started working at a summer camp that's on a nature preserve in a city (Los Altos). On the tour, I was shown a tool shed that was built by an Eagle scout. It had a little plaque on it, and I know the guy! So, thanks buddy! |
Deaths of Four Scouts in Iowa
I didn't really want to start a new thread on this, but this past Saturday, Scott Simon of NPR's Weekend Edition did a very moving tribute to the four Scouts killed in Iowa last week as well as to those Scouts who survived. I thought it was very, very well done and worth passing along.
Remembering the Boy Scouts |
As son 3 was at camp when that happened (alum, he went from Boy Scout to Second Class), I was devastated when I heard about that. They had a memorial service at their camp as well.
You always think your child is safe at camp and then.... |
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