eagle scouts

[John H Swanson]

In light of the comments on another thread, I was wondering how many Eagle Scouts are out there?

If you are an Eagle Scout (or Gold Award recipient) how do you think your rank achievement in scouting contributes to your current outdoor qualifications?

As with many experiences, what you learn depends largely on how much effort you put into it and who is there teaching you. When I left the Scouts, there were many skills that I learned that contributed greatly to my outdoor expertise, and there were also some gaps. At first I held a high opinion for Eagle scouts... that was until I met some Eagles that couldn't pass the requirements for eagle if tested. That is when I realized that the badge was not a sure qualifier of knowledge and skill level.

I read that you need 10,000 hours to become an expert at something....
I'm not sure if I agree. I think that you could get pretty good at doing something with about 1000 hours of practice. In general rarely would a scout get that much experience. Of course it is a great starting point....

 

[Stash]

I read that you need 10,000 hours to become an expert at something....
I'm not sure if I agree. I think that you could get pretty good at doing something with about 1000 hours of practice. In general rarely would a scout get that much experience. Of course it is a great starting point....

I'm curious where you read this and how anyone could come up with a true, finite definition of expert. I heard an "expert" testify at a trial I attended as a juror and I certainly didn't consider the statements he made as overly "expert" in nature.

 

[Grumpy]

The 10,000 hours qualification comes from a recent book titled Outliers, by Malcom Gladwell, which examines why and how some spectacularly successful people become spectacularly successful. Interesting reading.

G.

 

[John H Swanson]

I'm curious where you read this and how anyone could come up with a true, finite definition of expert. I heard an "expert" testify at a trial I attended as a juror and I certainly didn't consider the statements he made as overly "expert" in nature.

The book was titled Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Perhaps the author footnotes his source.

 

[cbcbd]

My first experience with the scouts I was when I joined as a cub scout.
When we went on my first "camping" trip the cub scouts slept on the floor of this building at camp - the boy scouts slept outside camped out in the tree houses and shelters they built. They also got to make ropes courses and all this other cool stuff. Man, I was envious.
It took me some time to earn my uniform and then I saw one of the older kids get inducted into the boy scouts - he was heavily patched up. I had enough, I didn't have the patience to go through all this stuff to just be allowed in the woods so I left.

Of course YMMV, every troop is different and I'm sure it didn't help that the one I was in was at the heart of one of the top 5 most populated cities in the world.

As for other scouts I know of: I have two current climbing partners who are Eagle Scouts - one has taught me a lot, the other I have taught a lot.

 

[DSettahr]

I was a cub scout, but never a boy scout. I wish I had stuck with it though... although I feel I've been able to get a lot of the same experiences out of other opportunities.

 

[Tim Seaver]

I was a Cub Scout, but never took it any further.

All the "Weblow" jokes were just too much.

 

[--M.]

I was a Cub Scout, a "Webelo" (sp? we didn't wobble) and a Boy Scout, where I made it to "Wanker, Second Class" before bailing.

My impression of Scouting is that it is highly variable, depending on the local leadership, and have heard both enviable and repugnant stories. "Eagle," however, always gets at least attention, if not respect per se.

We had some actual outdoor stuff, but I learned WAY more with my dad and on my own.

Too bad the rank doesn't come with a $25000 bond.

Edit: I should say I did get a lot out of reading the Scout handbook, both enjoying the hokey moralistic content and the cool, 50's-era technique (had an old one). I especially remember the tip about not stepping on sharp stones every time I avoid one, and how we had to be able to rattle off, at "warp speed," the Scout Law (hokey-ness embodied):

A Scout is: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, Reverent.

I still measure my behavior by these twelve nagging fingers from time to time. I think a Scout should both know these and have a good dose of Zappa to go with them. I didn't know what "impurity" was until I read it in a Scouting handbook.

 

[Puma concolor]

I quit during Webelos to play basketball instead. In nearly 4 years in the Scouts (or was it 3?), I don't think we ever set foot outdoors once. In my last year, I got in trouble for not participating in a game of Twister. Seriously.

My daughter is currently in Girls Scouts and is having a much better experience.

 

[DSettahr]

My impression of Scouting is that it is highly variable, depending on the local leadership, and have heard both enviable and repugnant stories.

This has been my independent observation as well- the quality of the experience that many children get out of scouting is very dependent on the quality of the leadership within the troop.

 

[Grumpy]

The book was titled Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Perhaps the author footnotes his source.

As I recall, Gladwell based his 10,000 hours figure on observation of the personal histories of exceptionally successful people. It goes well beyond becoming an "expert" at something. It reaches into the realm of truly exceptional mastery of one's "craft."

Gladwell essentially notes (as I recall), that those who achieve truly exceptional success are prepared to seize their big opportunity when it comes by having previously labored productively at least 10,000 hours in perfecting their skills and abilities.

G.

 

[Chip]

Indian Guides, Cub Scouts, Webelos...no camping there that I remember. Boy Scouts; we camped every month, year round. I lasted 2 years. At that time (early '70's) we used army surplus canvas, floorless tents, cotton long johns, rubber "snow mobile" boots, cooked on open fires...it wasn't pretty. I was the only member of my troop with a down sleeping bag, which wasn't "winter" by today's standards. I'm surprised nobody died. Fortunately, after I quit scouts, I got involved with a few teachers in junior high and high school who knew what they were doing. Actually learned to winter camp so it didn't feel like punishment.

I guess the fact that nobody died in our troop indicates we were doing something right and that the leaders did the best they could with the gear we had, but it was primitive.

 

[TCD]

I was only in for a year or so, over 40 years ago. I agree that the experience depends mostly on local leadership. We did mostly indoor junk. But I did make it to Camp Read in Brant Lake for two weeks one summer. I think I may have learned a little. On an overnight hike to one of the nearby Brothers, the leaders got lost and we hiked several extra miles in cold rain to get back to the camp...

Most of my useful woods knowledge has been more recently acquired, from guidebooks, fellow hikers or self taught.

TCD

 

[Billy]

My older brother was in boy scouts, and a few times walking home from the meeting hall he got held up at knife-point. I'm guessing that's why my parents stopped the scouting thing in our family. Given different circumstances, I think I would've liked it. Always a little jealous when I hear friends' stories about their hiking/camping trips in the scouts.

 

[BlackBuffalo]

I was a Cub Scout a couple years, then I quit before I got to Webelows (sp?) cause I was at that age when coolness was always being evaluated.

 

[Tobit]

I was in the Boy Scouts up until I moved to Manchester. My original troop, based in Goffstown, NH, was awesome and had a very strong leadership with some very experienced outdoors men. The troop in Manchester, sadly, was the exact opposite.

 

[Puck]

I fell short of Eagle.

I did learn some good stuff and there was lot of stuff I needed to update.

I did not encourage my son to get involved in scouting. But I did get him out as many times as possible.

To be fair this thread should have options that cover Girl Scouts.

 

[deanmacg]

No Eagle for me though I managed to get Wood Badge as an adult leader.

 

[Grumpy]

I was in Boy Scouts through high school, but never aspired to the highest rank. What interested me was the opportunity to do outdoorsy things. I picked up some useful skills and experiences along the way, but Scouting certainly did not constitute my entire outdoor education. Call it more like a decent introduction, a starting point for deeper and more meaningful exploration.

One thing of Scouting that I retain to this day is the motto, “Be Prepared.” It is a very open-ended statement, and concept. I learned early that being “prepared” was not just a matter of what goods you carry in your pocket or pack, but also (and perhaps far more) a matter of what you carry in your kit of skills, and in your head and heart.

G.

 

[Little Rickie]

I was a cub Scout, a professional Scouter for three years, a Boy Scout volunteer now for 15 years, the farther of an Eagle Scout and still very active in Scouts.

We don't train boys to be outdoors experts. We use the outdoor classroom to teach the boys: self-reliance, teambuilding, problem solving and leadership.

Being an Eagle Scout does not mean he is an expert in anything. It does mean he has had significant experiences and challanges over the years it takes to be an Eagle. Experiences and challanges many adults never have or will not have for decades into adulthood.

What each boy gets from Scouting will be different as the boys are different. The commitment of the adult volunteer leaders to Scouting's values makes all the difference in the world as to how Eagle Scouts turns out. Some Scouts relish the outdoor program and some don't. The important thing is for the boys to have experiences they wouldn't have normally and to grow from them.

I don't know if my son would have survived on that mountain. He has been trained in survival skills as that is a merit badge. He has climbed mountains and slept in a snow coffins/igloos in subfreezing temperatures. He certainly can start a fire with hand sanitizer. I do know he would not have done a solo hike up a mountain in the winter. Perhaps by being an Eagle Scout he knows his limits?

My sons confidence level increased as he grew through Scouts. There was a noticable changes in him from the start to the finish of his Eagle project. Learning took place, he's a better person because he stayed in Scouting, worked on and achieved his Eagle.

He still can't tie a bowline.