Found this today. Very Interesting EAGLE SCOUTS - MYTHS
Upon involvement in scouting people are constantly bombarded
with statistics. For example, we constantly hear some version
of "only three percent of all scouts will ever receive their
Eagle award," or "the scouts in this area show a higher average
receipt of Eagle awards than any other area of the country."
Statistics are dangerous. Used properly statistics can build,
motivate and serve as guidelines; however, if not used carefully,
they will destroy confidence, make tasks seem impossible or
improbable, and even serve as a crutch for justifying failure.
Generally speaking, young men know no bounds. Restrictions and
decreased motivation are most often an environmental phenomenon
created by leaders. While only three percent of scouts may
achieve their Eagle rank, this is nothing more than a statistic.
It should only be used as praise for a young man who has soared.
The statistic is not meant as a limiting factor - do not use it
as one. Do not let the young men reason that the troop has
already awarded its 3% quota of Eagles so they may now cease
work. Every scoutmaster, scouting coordinator, committee
chairman, committee member, and chartered organization leader
should have as their goal a troop of 100% Eagle Scouts.
To say that it cannot or should not be done is the first
great myth.
THE TRUTH BEHIND THE MYTH
Most people who subscribe to the myth that only a few boys
should be Eagles base their belief on the qualifications and
expectations that are attached to a young man who wears the
Eagle badge. To wear the Eagle badge, a young man must be
mature, highly motivated, goal oriented, have developed
leadership skills and woodsman skills, exhibit a high degree
of citizenship, demonstrate a loyalty to his God, and exhibit
a positive self image. That's a formidable task, yes, a task
not achieved by many young men. However, with the right
leadership it is a task within the reach of every young man,
and it is upon this premise that I base my analysis of
effective programs. The first leadership truth is that every
young man within the reach of an effective scoutmaster can
and should be an Eagle Scout.
Having been involved in scouting leadership for years, the
response to that statement is anticipated. Immediately after
declaring my first leadership truth I am usually criticized
about my opinion of scouting and blasted with a number of
applied limitations. An applied limitation is a limitation
that only exists because someone in authority has applied
the limitation to a person. For example, if a young man is
constantly told he is not mature enough he will attach that
limitation and point to it as the reason why he does not
succeed. Over and over again I have seen young scouts
enter the scouting program at eleven years of age with
the motivation of a freight train traveling at full speed,
only to have some leader figuratively grab hold of the boy's
coat tails and tell him to slow down. "slow down or you will
burn out." "Twelve-year-old boys are not mature enough to
be Star Scouts." "You cannot work on that merit badge,
you aren't old enough." Or, in the case of older scouts,
"you don't have the ability to catch up with the scouts
your age; just come on the camps with us." These, and all
other applied limitations form the misconceptions that
stand in the way or "limit" a troop from being a 100%
Eagle Troop. The simple truth is that 100% of the troop
can be Eagle Scouts, and leaders should not be embarrassed
at a high level of advancement. Eagle Scouts are in fact
the ultimate goal (but not the final or only goal) of the
system, because the Eagle award embodies the skills and
moral characteristics inherent in the program.
The text above was reprinted from a book titled:
"On Tender Feet and Eagles' Wings" by Kevin R. Murray
If you are interested, here's links to two places that
sell this book:
http://www.scouter.com/catalog/store/te ... eneric.asp?
pf_id=3049&dept_id=
http://www.scoutingbooks.com/miva/merchant.mvc?
MeritBadge.Net
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