Merit Badge University ... or Day ... or Whatever

[Papadaddy]

A key aspect of the MB program that is being lost is "initiative" and "adult association". I have been on this soapbox before. The SM gives the scout a name and phone number. It is then the SCOUT's responsibility to call the adult, introduce himself, request a meeting, and follow through. With a MBU, or teaching MB at troop meetings, the scout is shortchanged on this learning experience.

[SSScout]

So no one near was a Farming Mechanics MBC. Scoutson wishes it. Phone calls gibt nichts. So I become a FMMBC. Put a notice in the District Newsletter, I get lots of calls, some from Scouters ("I have some Scouts in my Troop that want to take your class"), some from Scouts. I tell the Scouters to tell the interested Scouts to call me. About half of those are never heard from again. Of the Scouts that called, all continued.

I pick two Saturdays in the future with no District or Council conflicts, and contact every Scout. We meet, and proceed.

The significant thing in this , I think, is the fact that the Scouters' Scouts mostly did not continue, but the Scouts that called, did.

 

[Basementdweller]

I believe if troops stopped the merit badge classes during meetings then we would see the eagle numbers drop and the Rank would return to what it once was.

 

 

Met a 14 year old eagle last weekend that could not pitch his tent. This was after step dad was bragging him up about his skills and the best scout he had ever seen. hmmmmmmm. My second class scout set up his own tent.

 

 

[hicountry]

In the 2 years I was ASM and 5 years as SM of a troop that had between 25 and 32 scouts in it, I think only 3 times did a scout come to me or any adult wanting to start a merit badge on thier own. @ times came from the same scout. The concept of independantly doing this is lost today. I tried to promote the traditional means of the merit badge process on numerous occasions but it was like talking to the wall. The parents see the badges a checkoff although I was able to educate them somewhat as to what we are trying to accomplish with many aspects of the scout program and the did see the value in hooding boys responsible and teaching them the lessons and values scouting is ther to deliver. Despite that I never could get rid of much of the checkoff mentality.

I did have scouts transfer to our troop from a neighboring troop that told me the SM there forbade MB Universities and was strict about summer camp badges etc. We didn't provide an easy path for boys, we did require they make an effort, learn something and nothing would come to them automatically BUT...the way people, family and society function today the old method of the Merit badge Process doesn't work for most people.The other troop demanded folks change the way they wanted to do things, I offered what people wanted. Again, I remind you we didn't hand out the advancements and badges freely or make things too easy, we tailoered to what the customer wanted.

I too have seen the trend of really...reall...realy bad summer camp merit badge counselors experience and the MBC's I have gone to have done a decent job from my observations. Yes the adult interaction and scout intiative part is gone with the MBC but that is the world we live in today.

 

I wish we still had the heart and soul of what the MB program is about but the world has changed and I was not going to change it back.

 

I would guess that about 30% of our troop over time has taken advantage of the MB colleges around our district, those were all boys who did the hard work and were wanting to advance, I feel every one of them did the work, made the effort adn made higher rank (Some Eagle) due to theri own desire.

 

Our unit is also a little handicapped as we are in a remote rural area and are limited in population/merit badge counselors vs population dense/ urban and suburban troops.

[Basementdweller]

Oh you could change it back.....but lack the will or ....... to do it.

 

It is an ego thing on the scoutmasters behalf. I want my scouts to advance......

 

So again, who will be the better Eagle scout?????? The boy in a traditional merit badge program or the kid who showed up to the Pack meetings and attended that weeks class.

 

Sure they are both eagles.......but one is far superior to the other.

[raisinemright]

In principle, I agree. But, just last weekend, our council had a merit badge day devoted to STEM MB's (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. APG is the US Army's testing base. I helped as a shuttle driver. The metalworking MB was held in a newly built high tech metal shop by three MBC's who really knew their stuff. My son's took Aviation MB that was taught at the airfield. Since you can technically earn Aviation without ever even taking a serious look at an airplane, having the opportunity to earn the badge at a decent size airfield is a good benefit. No pre-req's, no badge. Most of the metalwork guys, who I shuttled did not do there pre-req's so they got a partial.

 

My guys take MB's seriously and do as much beforehand as possible. It's all about how seriously you take th eopportunity.

[Jay K]

I have thought about this more.

Are you saying that the Counselors at the Merit Badge event aren't adults? Are you saying that per-se they are not qualified? The 14-year old Scout with 55 Merit Badges- Hooray! I hope he gets 100. I bet that Scout isn't "hiding in the back."

I've seen lots of Scouts, all sizes and shapes, have trouble setting a tent up, especially when a parent gives him a new tent for reaching a rank miestone. I had a canoe camping event where a troop brought their new tents to use them for the first time. They had trouble putting them up.

I wonder about the motivation of anyone who sets out to impede the advancement of a Scout. Yes, I am a Proud Scoutmaster. Why shouldn't I be Proud of my Scouts? If one of my bright-eyed Scouts came to me and said

"I want to go to Merit Badge conveyer belt day and take X, Y b, and C Merit badges," I'd say, "Sit down and let's write up the cards. "

Yup, I'm passionate about this.

[MomToEli]

I hadn't considered if they were all adults, frankly. College students could, theoretically, be under 21. Since I didn't attend, however, I can't say.

 

I agree that it is difficult to get the boys to take the initiative. We are in the process of changing the way things work in our own troop. The first thing I had to do was explain what a blue card is. They were using the merit badge workbooks you can get online for both the blue cards AND the merit badge handbooks. So, it is a process, but we will make the change one step at a time.

 

I can see the value in some of the MBU events presented when they are in settings like some of you have described. That doesn't address the issue of large groups of boys with one counselor. Under those circumstances how does that counselor get feedback from EACH boy to be sure he understands and/or has fulfilled the requirement. Discuss in the requirements doesn't equal listen to some guy talk about it. It involves two way dialogue. When they walk away with partials who do the boys follow up with to complete the badge? That seems to be another downfall of that particular system. It is left to the Scoutmaster - or, as I know it one case one of the mothers, who was to finish off Nuclear Science with the boys and she had NO clue - just let the book be the expert. Now you have unqualified and unregistered MBC actually signing off on Merit Badges. And that is okay because ...?

[Papadaddy]

Jay - not disagreeing about stifling enthusiasm. Just expecting merit badge counselors to follow the program as intended. It was never intended to be a group spoonfeeding, without even checking to see if each scout swallowed before signing the blue card. Yes, most summer camps are guilty as well. But it's what the parents expect.

[qwazse]

I do like the concept of a merit badge "pow-wow" implying an introduction to the topic and a counselor with the possibility of completing the badge later like some of you described vs. "university" implying a knock-it-out-in-a-weekend mentality with the probability of you completing a badge or two.

 

Fact is, unless you have a hand in the planning, you'll never know which it's gonna be. So, I would suggest you get together with a couple of SM's in your district, decide which four or five specialties you might present (maybe on a job site) and offer, say, "An introduction to ____".

 

Now, if you are in one of those districts that happens to have two dozen counselors all free on the same weekend, you could have a massive "pow-wow", but I think it would be better for the boys if different badge learning opportunities (with the subsequent possibility - not probability - of badge earning) were highlighted by a district every month.

[cdroberts94]

are things they must do at home, well...it's not sitting well with me at all.>> can see the value in some of the MBU events presented when they are in settings like some of you have described. That doesn't address the issue of large groups of boys with one counselor. Under those circumstances how does that counselor get feedback from EACH boy to be sure he understands and/or has fulfilled the requirement. Discuss in the requirements doesn't equal listen to some guy talk about it. It involves two way dialogue.

[SeattlePioneer]

>

 

 

That's true. But the process of watering down such standards began many decades ago at Scout Camps, where Merit Badge Universities were no doubt invented.

 

You want high standards? Don't do Merit Badge universities or Boy Scout camps where such things are the usual custom.

 

The fact is, there is considerable diversity in the Scouting program, including the Merit Badge program.

 

A SM can enforce high standards in his own unit if desired, but not on other units.

[Basementdweller]

Got a laugh here........We have a step dad that insists on being a Merit Badge councilor. But only for his scout. The COR and SM refused to sign his app so he turned it directly into council. Can't wait till his scout starts showing up with merit badge cards signed by Step dad.

[OldGreyEagle]

Just so we are all clear, getting merit badges is not the only requirement for Eagle. There are Positions of Responsibility that also have to be done sucessfully and it is the Scoutmaster who gets to determine that.

 

Just because you have 21 merit badges does not mean you are an Eagle Scout, the merit badge program is only one of the requirments.

 

 

[OldGreyEagle]

Follow-up thought

 

Why would the COR or Scoutmaster have to sign a merit badge counselor application?

 

Merit badge Counselor is a District/Council position. Many merit badge counselors are not members of a troop, why would a troop have to approve a merit badge councilor? That is a function of District or Council.