Shawn Goldsmith Does Hard Things
by Candice Watters on 12/30/2008 at 1:19 PM
As I continue to think and pray about my goals for 2009, I'm buoyed by a story about Boy Scout Shawn Goldsmith who did the unheard of: he earned all 121 merit badges in time for his 18th birthday (the deadline). Tuesday's Boston.com reports:
It's an accomplishment the local arm of the organization calls "an almost unheard-of feat." Oceanside resident Shawn Goldsmith earned his final badge -- for bugling ... He far surpassed the 21 badges required to achieve the elite rank of Eagle Scout.
He said he took about five years to earn his first 62 badges and then nearly doubled that number in a matter of months. He did it with the encouragement of his grandmother, who died shortly before he reached his goal.
Speaking of buoys, here's another young man who is showing the rest of us what it looks like to do hard things. What hard things are you planning to do in the new year?
1. Amelia said the following at 7:43 PM on Dec 30:
I was curious, so I looked up the merit badges, and was surprised to see such a diverse range of fields. I bet Goldsmith is a very interesting person - he must have broad knowledge base and a diverse skill set! I'm suitably impressed.
2. Caroline said the following at 8:22 AM on Dec 31:
As the daughter of a Eagle Scout/Scoutmaster and the sister of an Eagle Scout, I love reading these kinds of stories. Earning merit badges isn't an easy task, much less ALL the merit badges. Well done Shawn!
3. Read said the following at 5:02 PM on Dec 31:
As an Eagle Scout I would like to say that I am very suspicious of the fact that he earned so many in such a short time period. Granted, Merit Badges are not as hard as they used to be, but still I would hope that someone at the district and counsel level reviewed those blue cards (the merit badge application) thoroughly. I remember meeting a kid at summer camp one year who was 12 yrs old and almost completed his Eagle Scout. That would mean he went from no rank to Life rank in a year. We tipped off their District Executive and they pulled the kid aside and had him go through the motions. He couldn't repeat any relevant information from the handbook. His Scoutmaster got in trouble and his application for his Eagle project got denied. Thankfully they have an age requirement now. I think you have to be 13 before they let you apply to perform a project.
4. Liln said the following at 6:37 PM on Jan 1:
I have to agree with Read on this. My brothers are both immensely involved in Boy Scouts; the elder one is 17 and is currently working on his Eagle project. He has 20-30 merit badges currently and worked very hard for them. Going from his experiences with scouts who have earned "lots" of badges, most of them have done - shall we say - selective reasoning for the requirements. I'm not blaming the boys entirely; scoutmasters and parents are usually at fault for this. I know a boy who got his Eagle at 13 or 14, and he was not truly at the level a Eagle should be at. My brothers know of several troops who rush the boys through, wanting them to accomplish the feat of being an Eagle, and, in the process, they miss the experience of being a Scout - those boy things they learn that transform them into men.
Sorry, that's a touch off the main reason you posted this.
Anyways, regardless of my opinions of the article, I do realize the need to do hard things. I'm still stuck, though. As a young college student, stuck amongst the languid shallowness of my campus, it's very hard to connect with like-minded students and recharge when the stress gets to you. I can only pray I am given the strength to get through this time, stronger and wiser, more fit for His service.
5. Tamara said the following at 11:11 AM on Jan 3:
It is such a shame that we sometimes don't allow ourselves to take things at face value, instead we say they couldn't have done that because I can't or I have never seen anyone do it. Let's do the hard thing and say congratulations to that young man.
6. Ed Darrell said the following at 9:13 PM on Jan 4:
Congrats!
You can read about other members of the 121 Merit Badge Club at my blog. I'd urge you to consider that this kid got his Eagle in 2004 -- and required badges there include all of those that take a long time to earn, like Personal Management. For a committed Eagle Scout, earning more merit badges can require just an afternoon of dedicated work. Shawn was working for the benefit of his ill grandmother, and had great motivation.
I used to worry about young Eagles, too. 12 is the absolute youngest a kid could do it -- and then I met Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. He was one of those 12-year-old Eagles. The rest of his life rather indicates it was well-earned.
Sometime in February, we'll pass the two million mark in Eagle badges awarded. Do you think some are pikers? I invite you, then, to read about Carter Coleman, a Scout from Amarillo Texas who Eagled rather early, and then got the rest of the 121 merit badges. This is the usual sort of kid we're talking about:
http://timpanogos.wordpress.com/2009/01/02/amarillo-scout-121-merit-badges-and-more/
7. Liln said the following at 9:18 PM on Jan 4:
Tamara, I wasn't saying that he didn't do it, nor was I trying to take away from the accomplishment. I was simply trying to inform others that this isn't always able to be taken at face value. Personally, I think he probably did, because, most boys who stick around past age 14 or 15 are committed to Scouts. I just wanted to be sure I didn't come across the wrong way.
8. Navy Vet said the following at 9:39 PM on Jan 4:
I also wish to congratulate Shawn, if he indeed did honestly and appropriately accomplish this great achievement. I say this because I saw the interview he did on CNN, and when asked how long it took him to earn all 121 badges, he said 6 months. While not impossible, this feat would be herculean to say the least. Having been a Boy Scout, I know it was quite difficult to earn even one or two merit badges in a month, for some of them, so to earn all 121 in six months? That would mean that he would have had to earn one merit badge each day, replete with signature from his Scoutmaster. And, if his Scoutmaster was his father, then I'd have to call honesty and integrity into question. Now, if he misunderstood the question and it took him much longer to achieve this feat, then great! I'll retract my statement and accept this feat as the genuine article. Until there is clarification, though, I will have to stand by my suspicion that there is something that doesn't ring true in attaining 121 merit badges in 120 days.
PS - Tamara, it has nothing to do with accepting things at face value and everything to do with upholding the core beliefs of Boy Scouts everywhere. If you research all that is involved in obtaining some of these merit badges, you can readily see my point. It would take a lot, and I mean A LOT of effort to obtain all 121 badges in 120 days.
9. IMO said the following at 9:39 PM on Jan 4:
#5 I think I get what you're saying...But the more I thought about it the more I realize that it's actually easier to take things at face value. It's not a shame to question things sometimes. If I took all news at face value, well, that would be a problem.
This reminds me of that recent Holocaust surviver that made up an incredible story about meeting his wife. When I first read the story, I was about to take it at face value, and email it out to friends. But I changed my mind after thinking about it. Turns out, he fabricated the whole story.
10. BDB said the following at 11:38 AM on Jan 5:
Is he homeschooled? As an Eagle Scout, I only finished the required 21. However, I also did lots of other stuff along the way that had nothing to do with scouting.
The only time I've seen someone do, say, five merit badges in a week was to go to summer camp, where all the counselors were lined up and certain badges (like Lifesaving and Canoeing) were structured into the day.
11. BDB said the following at 11:39 AM on Jan 5:
Re-reading the article, it looks like he finished 62 merit badges over five years. That is a reasonable pace. So, he was 16 before he started the push. Since merit badges can be earned by 11-year-olds, a 16-year-old would have a significant cognitive advantage - finishing 59 badges in 180 days allows for 3 days per badge. If you were systematic about it, and if you had the summer months free, it would be possible. I'd say 60 merit badges in 6 months would be equivalent to a 20-unit semester load in college. Doable, but no time for anything else in life.