by cyn » Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:32 pm
So you want to know about Dallin's motivation...
First, Dallin went to public school K-8th grade, so he has great social skills and tons of friends. He decided during the first quarter of 9th grade that he wanted his grandmother to homeschool him. The public school system he was in was lacking, to say the least, and he and I and his grandmother discussed it at length and then removed him from that environment to be homeschooled. A month prior to 9th grade beginning, he was asked to be the Senior Patrol leader in a troop that had been sagging with dismal adult leadership and minimal boy involvement. A dynamic, life-time scouter (who is now a Silver Beaver) was called to be the SM and took a chance on Dallin to be his SPL. This fired him up about scouting and he began learning all he could and working in overdrive to be the best SPL he could be. He felt strongly about setting a good example and began working on MB's, though he didn't have the MB goal at that point.
In late October of that year, he and my mom (his homeschool teacher) were talking about scouting. He said, "I wonder if I could earn all the merit badges?" Neither one of them can recall if he was serious or just joking around. She said, "If you did, it would be a huge accomplishment, and you'd probably get to shake the hand of the President or the Governor...it would be a really big thing." She recalls that he lit up and was surprised that anyone would even notice or recognize him. In subsequent months he remarked to me that if he wasn't going to get a high school diploma (a G.E.D. instead) he WAS going to have something amazing to show for himself, namely earning all the badges. As time went on my mom and I both tried to talk him out of this, explaining that some of them were tremendously difficult and outside of his areas of interest, costly, etc. He remained determined and began to insist that we not continue to deter him, but support him and not try to talk him out of it any longer. HE said, "Is there something wrong with me learning as much as I can about a variety of subjects, even if I don't like them?" To which we stated that there was not anything wrong with this, we just didn't want him to have the pressure of thinking that he was not succeeding if he didn't complete that goal.
Dallin is a determined young man. He is stubborn and driven. He earned the respect of many leaders in our neighborhood, not to mention completely rejuvenating the scouting program in our troop. If our SM told him he wanted all the boys in a certain place at a certain time, Dallin was on it, personally visiting the homes of each boy and talking to their parents as well as the boy to be sure the message was understood clearly. He'd make the rounds and pick up all the guys and get them where they needed to be on time. Our SM has said dozens and dozens of times that, "Dallin is the best scout committee I ever had." Did I mention there was a language barrier? Most of the scouts in our troop were fresh off the boat from Korea, and while they spoke English, their parents didn't. He learned enough Korean to be able to communicate with their parents about scouting. He learned their customs, ate their food, and created bonds of respect with the parents. Most of the Korean boys have now or will soon have their Eagles. I will give the credit to Dallin for this. He has loved those boys and their parents and nurtured them along to get fired up about scouting, make friends, learn skills and be far more than they would have been without the program.
A few days ago Dallin left for his 50 mile backpack hike. This is the last requirement on the last badge. I heard him tell our SM that should he break his leg, he was going to CRAWL to the finish with his backpack on rather than be denied the realization of this goal. He will make it. He will make it or die trying, and this is his wish, his dream, his desire. He'll turn 18 in two weeks, and he'll be able to say that he knows how to set big goals, then break them down and accomplish them, thanks to a fantastic TEAM of people, including his family, his SM, the scout committee who nearly killed themselves finding counselors for all these badges, the scout shops and council who have all been involved in ordering MB books for us, helping us find summer camps and programs where various badges were offered by experts so he could make best use of the resources available. He has honestly earned each badge. No one did any of the requirement work for him.
Lastly, let me say that as most of you know, some badges are beasties and others are a walk in the park. Our council sponsors summer camps where boys can go and earn multiple badges in a week's time. Summer of 2004 Dallin went on 5 seperate week long summer camps. Some of those badges weren't tremendously difficult to earn (though some were). The badges at MB Midway at Jamboree weren't that hard either. These badges are presented by SCOUTERS. If they weren't hard, then it isn't Dallin's fault. Sometimes these camps and Jamboree practically spoon-feed these badges to the boys. Again, not all camps and the MB Midway are like this, but many are.
I haven't been offended. I haven't meant to offend. I appreciate all the time and interest that have been given to this subject and no matter what anyone says or thinks in this forum or anywhere else, we know, and Dallin knows that he earned each and every badge honestly and he can hold his head high knowing that he truly has paid the price for this achievement. Dallin is an honest, God-fearing, religious young man who is simply one of those rare young men who really earned this.
Cyn
Cyn
Avid Scout Mom
Merit Badge Counselor
