Summer Camps and Merit Badges

[Adrianvs]

Regarding summer camp merit badge programs in another thread, I find it unfortunate that the "default" program of most camps is the merit badge program. In other words, every scout is intended to spend the entire day with a merit badge counselor with a few exceptions. There may be some optional "older scout" programs that last a fraction of the week.

 

The problem isn't that quality merit badge programs can't serve as a camp program; the problem is that there aren't enough experts and/or effective counselors to deliver this program. If every scout is expected to enroll in any and all badges for nearly the entire week, then most staffers are expected to be "merit badge counselors." I know that area directors are (supposedly) sent to national camp school, but in most situations, they are expected to take a band of sixteen-year-olds with merit badge booklets and turn them into instructors. There is no training for this.

 

Yes, there are a few experts out there, but they can't be expected to fill out every camp staff. Given this, it's no wonder that older scouts often find the camp program an overgrown merit badge conclave. Something like Wilderness Survival could be turned into an older scout program that encompasses the merit badge, but includes a more diverse range of skills. In most cases, it's limited to the default merit badge program that allots a certain amount of time and keeps the activities to the level of any first year camper who wanders in.

 

At our camp, we have had some luck with having experts in various fields come and serve as merit badge counselors. Archaeology, astronomy, geology, bird study, and chemistry are some examples. Some of them have scouting history and some don't.

 

Also, I think it may be wise in some situations to set age guidelines for certain badges. I remember trying to counsel a batches of first-year scouts in Reptile and Amphibian or Mammal study. At age 11, most kids are still in the Concrete Operational stage of mental development, and it's really difficult to convey concepts like taxonomy to them. If you have a mixed group, you are generally screwed because anything that doesn't confuse the younger scouts bores the older ones. In other words, the badges have to be "dumbed down" to the lowest denominator and everyone suffers because these badges actually require a fair amount of knowledge and understanding. The skill-based badges don't have this difficulty (to the same degree).

 

I've spent a considerable amount of time (as a staffer) teaching to younger scouts without actually fulfilling requirements. I don't consider this a waste of time. And, yes, I realize that the age-ability correlation has many exceptions. I generally look for feedback to see what is understood. In Environmental Science, for example, the scouts can't really fulfill the requirement on acid rain if they don't understand the pH scale. Some scouts will know it, some will not but can understand if taught, and some really cannot understand the concept effectively yet. They all appear in the typical group of scouts who sign up for Envi Sci.

 

I realize that my experience is centered in ecology, but I think that these issues relate to other areas as well. And it doesn't have to be a reformation of the merit badge program at all. Regarding the Wilderness Survival program above, I think that many older scouts would love to spend a whole week learning skills like flintnapping, friction fire, primative trapping and hunting skills, shelter-building, tanning, basketry, and edible foodstuffs location and preparation. They could really learn a lot in a weeks time, and likely wouldn't feel they had missed out on anything.

 

I wonder what everyone else thinks on these issues.(This message has been edited by Adrianvs)

[evmori]

I guess it all depends on where you go to summer camp! The one I attend has quite a few on & off camp activities other than merit badges. A Scout can actually go to camp for a week & never attend a merit badge class.

 

I don't think the counselors at summer camps need to be experts. They need to be good teachers. They need to have positive attitudes.

 

Ed Mori

[OutdoorThinker]

I will admit I was no expert on outdoor skills upon being hired to be the Scoutcraft Director at my camp, but I spent a week at the Northeast Regions camping school and I was an expert in not only outdoor skills, but also on managing and teaching 16 year olds how to become expert Scoutcrafters also. I feel that my staff was exceptionally well prepared to teach the merit badges in my area and I feel very strongly that the boys that earned the merit badges in my area this summer really learned something and were not just getting signed off.

[Adrianvs]

Ed, What are some of the on-camp activities? We have offered a couple of off-camp treks the last few and they seem to be a success.

 

OutdoorThinker, I was going to mention Scoutcraft as an area ideally suited to the merit badge model which includes scouts of all ages. I think I did mention skill-based badges. Aquatics is another. This doesn't mean that the job is easy, of course, and it is great to hear of your success this past summer.

 

Perhaps the word 'expert' is misleading. I just mean an amount of knowledge or experience that allows us to effectively counsel a badge. Sometimes, this knowledge forms a theoretical framework with which to approach the subject matter at hand. Sometimes, it is an actual skill that can be demonstrated. My relative skills at archery and rifle shooting indicate that I could not give effective advice to an beginning archer to improve his performance, but could to a beginning rifle shooter. I am an expert in neither, but could counsel one. I suppose that is skill-based. Other badges seem to be more knowledge-based and the presentation must be different. It is certainly possible to train a band of 16 year olds to be effective teachers of meteorology or herpetology. It is just difficult at times, especially if they have been arbitrarily hired as eco-con instructors by the council.

 

I don't really mean expert. I just mean someone with interest in and/or knowledge of the subject. The other issues still stand.(This message has been edited by Adrianvs)

[evmori]

Adrianvs,

The on site activities are C.O.P.E., Discovery and a climbing wall. The off site activities are caving, horseback riding & whitewater.

 

Ed Mori

[Fat Old Guy]

I'm not a big fan of merit badges at summer camp with the possible exception of things like the water and field activities (swiming, boating, shooting).

 

What I've observed for things like leatherwork is that the Scouts go and sit for an hour while the counselor shows them pieces of leather, instead of them finding things that are made of leather. Next they hammer their initials into a piece of leather and stain it. Boom! Got one done. Wood carving and basketry are just a bad.

 

 

[Fat Old Guy]

"I don't think the counselors at summer camps need to be experts."

 

When we register merit badge counselors for troops or districts we expect them to have expertise in the field from work skills, education, or a hobby. Why should summer camp counselors be held to a lower standard.

 

 

[Sturgen]

Having worked for 4 years at a scout camp, all in "high adventure" areas i have found the best thing to do is offer as much as you can for both younger and older scouts, along with a few things for the dads, granted some handycraft badges are a one hour sign off but those are the requirements, and sometimes having that 11 yr old earning 6 or 8 badges his first summer will keep him in scouting for life, but most camps also offer a vast majority of the required badges as well as other experiences, Im partial to COPE and would suggest it to all old enough.

As to being experts, i would agree it would be best that every staffer is an expert in his/her field, but the sad fact is that sometimes councils are short on funds and time and there isnt always enough money to hire experts, or time to create them. then you have to make a choice, is it better to have experts on the waterfront, climbing tower, rifle range, and cope course, and have a relativly inexperienced individual teaching basketry, bird study, and other "safe" merit badges or somewhat trained individuals everywhere, when it comes to saftey i choose the first.

[packsaddle]

Sturgen, I agree with you regarding safety. However, for MBs like the nature ones or the citizenship ones, I think it would be better not to do them at all if the camp can't do them well.

[le Voyageur]

Another problem with summer camps Merit Badge programs is staff attrition as the summer proceeds. Often times, I've seen Program Directors plug the holes with C.I.T.'s. (speaking with 12 seasons under the belt, which includes one combat tour as a Program Director)

Here,the principal culprit that attrits the staff is none other than the O.A. Why it is, for an organization that is suppose to promote camping, holds Conclaves in the middle of summer camp is beyound me. Why not Spring Break, hey...

The other factor that eats away at the quality of the m.b. program is travel time, that is, for the boys to get from one area of instruction to another in a resonable time. Also, hourly scheduling dose not work, at best most Scouts receive only 4 1/2 hours of instruction in any badge they take. Better yet, would be 1 badge a day, and better still for the more difficult badges would be 1 for the whole week. Needless to say, this would have the SM's screaming.

As for older boy's program, these can be pretty tuff for some council camp's to produce. Experienced, and seasoned C.O.P.E. Directors, Climbing Directors, and Trek Directors are not cheap, and finding people with the skills and talents for running an outpost can be very difficult. There is nothing more dishearting than watching a high adventure program being stuffed with merit badges, because the Camp Director can't find someone to make the original program happen.

 

[Sturgen]

I dont mean to be pompous, but it is very easy to tell who has worked at a camp before on here i dont know about other coucils but here are a few facts for INWC (most things are national standards)

- COPE, climbing, rifle, shotgun, Head cook and waterfront directors MUST be atleast 21

- Director for all other areas must be 18

- other payed staff must be 15 or older

- staff in training (14 yrs old) cant teach a merit badge on their own

- COPE and climbing staff must all be atleast 16

- there are ratios for staff to campers (youth and adults) that are required at COPE, climbing, shooting sports and waterfront

- COPE, Climbing and aquatics also have to have atleast one 18 yr old assistant

- each week staffers get 24 hrs off (noon sat- noon sunday)

- 24 hour on call, if something comes up (fire, cougars/bears on camp, hail, thunder storms, kids fighting in camp, YPI) you dont always get to sleep, personally i have had a couple of 42 hour days in 105 degree heat

 

now an insight into pay (per week before tax) :

- SIT: $O

- 1st yr junior staff: $72

- 2nd yr junior staff: $82

- 1st yr senior staff 18: $125-$175 depending on area

- 1st yr senior staff 21: $175-$225 depending on area

- Camp Director, Program Director and Head Cook: $275-$350

high risk areas (shooting, aqua, climbing, COPE) normally are on the upper end of the scale, kitchen staff and commishioners normaly also make an extra $10 or $15

 

this is just a sample i could go on for pages, but i hope some of you get the point, you have to have alot of staffers who are college and working age, most of which already have steady jobs or school to pay for, and most boys over 16 can find a good paying summer job, so why would they come to camp for literally pennies compared to what they could make at McDonalds flipping burgers, it takes a certain breed of person to work staff, one that cares more for scouting than money, believe it or not thats hard to find. unfortantly you also have the worst part of working camp staff.... SCOUTMASTERS.

nothing can ever be perfect for a SM, and they always seem to have the best plan, but never willing to help implement it, they also seem to have fun driving boys to tears, although there are always the few who wear the chickmagnet shirt and claim their personality as the best form of birth control, those are the ones that you want the plain old dads, those are the ones that make it worth it,

if you want to improve your local camp, take a few months off work and volunteer as a couciler, otherwise having an expert teaching every badge while still offering enough merit badges to allow a scout to come to camp more than once as well as making sure all your boys leave camp alive (i know some parents wouldnt mind on the last one but its the law)is going to cost atleast double of what your paying now, anyone open to the idea

[Fat Old Guy]

Gee Sturgen, you seem to think that the comments about camp staff are personal attacks and maybe they are but the reality of the situation is that we've all gone to camp and have expectations about what we are paying to get for our sons and the other scouts in our troops because we see that the merit badge material isn't being covered properly anyway camps really don't need to be nothing but merit badge schools even with COPE and things like that there is room for much more than just making baskets you could have day hikes, fishing tournements, pie eating contests, song fests, foot races, first aid drills, and much much more.

 

How's that for a run on sentence, I thought about misspelling half the words but I just can't bring myself to do that.

 

 

[Sturgen]

i would like to make it clear for the record, as fog has brought this up twice. i consider pages such as this to be lax, and due to that fact take little if anytime to spell or grammar check my posts, i realize that often my posts are an insult to any english teacher however, frankly my dear

[Fat Old Guy]

Sorry but that's a pretty lame excuse. If you don't know the difference between "your" and "you're" without a grammar checker then our tax dollars are being wasted.(This message has been edited by Fat Old Guy)

[scoutingagain]

I can't claim to be an English major either, and will admit my posts on this forum don't recieve the level of review I would give a business document, but I suspect Sturgen and some of our other younger posters are products of the "let them express their ideas without worrying about grammar," approach to education.

 

I drive my own sons nuts when I review a paper and correct what little spelling, punctuation and grammar I know. They tell me it's a science or social studies paper and the teacher doesn't grade based on grammar or spelling. Tuff nuggies. I make a specific point of marking up the paper so they need to reprint it. If they're going to reprint it, they will go in and make corrections. Slowly, they seem to be getting better at it.

 

SA