Merit Badge “Blue Card” Revised

[Twocubdad]

The advancement method is not unlike Youth Leadership. There is youth led and there is youth lead off into a ditch. Our jobs as leaders is to train, coach and guide the boys into leading a successful program. A big part of allowing the boys to lead is allowing them to fail. Of course we adults are there to ensure the failures don't compromise health or safety. But we also need to guard against too many "controlled failures" piling up and creating a bad program. If your PLC failed to plan and execute a campout for three consecutive months, would you mumble "youth led" and let it go? Or at that point -- or some point -- would you step in, do some re-training and perhaps plan one campout along with the boys so they can see how its done?

 

Advancement is the same. Our jobs as leaders is to train, coach and guide the boys through a successful program. That means 99% of the time the Scouts set their own advancement goals, work at their own pace and make their own decisions. Again, a big part of this is controlled failure. And again, our first priority is seeing that the Scout's decisions don't compromise health or safety like that scrawny 11-y.o. wanting to take Horsemanship or Shotgun Shooting. But we still need to guard against creating a bad program. A new Scout pulling blue cards for all 21 MBs with a plan to complete one a month and five the week of summer camp is a bad program. If our training, coaching and guidance fails to convince the Scout otherwise, we ultimately have an obligation to that Scout to deliver a better program than that. At the end of the day, if all the counseling and guiding and talking and cajoling and bribery and distractions don't work, we just say no.

 

I did what bnelon suggested and re-read the Guide to Advancement. Fortunately -- and despite the blather from the "Advancement Team" the the contrary -- it still supports this:

 

7.0.0.2 Unit Leader Signs Application for Merit Badge ("Blue Card")

 

Though a few merit badges may have certain restrictions; short of them, any registered Scout may work on any of them at any time, as long as he has the approval of his unit leader. (emphasis added) This is indicated by his or her signature on the Application for Merit Badge, No. 34124, commonly called the blue card. Although it is the Scoutmasters responsibility, for example, to see that a counselor is identified from those approved and made available, the Scout may have one in mind with whom he would like to work. He may also want to take advantage of opportunities at merit badge fairs or midways, or at rock-climbing gyms or whitewater rafting trips that provide merit badge instruction. This is acceptable, but the unit leader should still consider the recommendation and approve it if it is appropriate. Whatever the source, all merit badge counselors must be registered and approved. See Counselor Approvals and Limitations, 7.0.1.4, and Registration and Reregistration, 7.0.1.5.

 

All this is more art than science. If you're worried about the technicalities of what the policy says more than helping a boy find the right path, you've missed the point. If I have to tell a boy "no I'm not signing the dang blue card" I've failed as a counselor and coach. Just like if I have to step in and pull the plug on a bad outing, I've failed in allowing the youth to lead. But that failure doesn't relieve my obligation to that young man to see that he suceeds long term and gets the most from the program.

(This message has been edited by Twocubdad)

[OldGreyEagle]

To Advance from First Class Scout to Star Rank the scout must earn 6 merit badges, then from Star to Life its 5 more merit badges. And to go from First Class to Star and Star to Life, there must be a Scoutmaster Conference and Board of Review. The merit badge experience certainly is a topic to discuss at these times. Waiting until the Eagle Board of Review is a unit program failure

 

If a scout earns Piobeering, he will be one of my lead instructor in Knots, Lashings and Troop Gateway Design COmmittee member. If a scout gives you a blue card on a badge you didnt know he was working on, is not that the time to ask him about it? To use that scout to present onn that topic? If the scout falters, is not that the time to do something? Why wait until the Eagle Board of Review?

 

Seems like we don't like it when Troops have their Scouts only use the In Troop Merit Badge COunselors because doing such short circuits the Adult Association method of scouting while also saying we can't trust merit badge Counselors from outside the troop

[Eagledad]

>>

Some points to bring up:

 

1) No one is taking the SM signature away

[John-in-KC]

Please cite chapter and verse on this:

 

"3) The ONLY authorized merit badge application is the blue card. Any other form must be specifically cleared by the National Advancement Committee "

[John-in-KC]

From the 2011 GTA:

 

It is important to note the blue card is the nationally recognized merit badge record.

 

That is descriptive, not prescriptive, in nature.

 

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/GuideToAdvancement/TheMeritBadgeProgram.aspx

[fred8033]

John-in-KC ... Good catch. Those "exact" words don't exist, but it is still effectively correct. I even found it documented in BSA advancement news November 2011 on page five.

 

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/advancement_news/512-075_Nov_WB.pdf

 

Now, I'm going to need to keep searching because I really thought I read those exact words (or close to it) in a BSA published document like the GTA or ACPP.

 

BUT the statement is still correct. The only "BSA" (read as national) MB card is the blue card. Other forms of MB evidence don't have to be accepted by other troops, other councils or other groups.

 

The only "official" is the blue card.(This message has been edited by fred8033)

[Twocubdad]

Perhaps we've been around too long, Barry, but I think I did the same thing you did which was to pick up this debate where it left off on another thread some months ago. I don't think you and I are alone in that.

 

If I recall, that thread http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=365651&p=1 was based on an announcement in the March Advancement News change was coming. I believe the language of that announcement was even more pointed that SMs have NO ability to ultimately decline to issue a blue card for any reason.

 

Beyond the discussion of the change itself, I have an issue with these various "teams" making what seem to be policy changes almost willy-nilly and issuing them monthly via their own little newsletters. How many folks even get copies of Adavancement News? Up until the past year or so my impression was that the distribution list was semi-restricted to folks working in the advancement area. Seems to me we have enough trouble getting to learn, understand and use the published policy.

 

I spent real money to buy several copies of the Guide to Advancement when it came out. Let's ues them.

[Twocubdad]

Perhaps we've been around too long, Barry, but I think I did the same thing you did which was to pick up this debate where it left off on another thread some months ago. I don't think you and I are alone in that.

 

If I recall, that thread http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=365651&p=1 was based on an announcement in the March Advancement News this change was coming. I believe the language of that announcement was even more pointed that SMs have NO ability to ultimately decline to issue a blue card for any reason. It also went into some baloney BSA Newspeak explaination that "authorized" doesn't really mean authorized in the usual, English-language usage of the word.

 

Beyond the discussion of the change itself, I have an issue with these various "teams" making what seem to be policy changes almost willy-nilly and issuing them monthly via their own little newsletters. How many folks even get copies of Adavancement News? Up until the past year or so my impression has been distribution was semi-restricted to folks working in the advancement area. Seems to me we have enough trouble getting to learn, understand and use the published policy.

 

I can understand "emergency" changes to health and safety stuff and I think most unit leaders now know to consult the online version of G2SS for quarterly updates. But the online version G2SS is a compendium including all the final changes. I'm not required to read through a backlog of monthly Health & Safety Newsletters trying to pick out what's a policy change, what's a good idea and what's simply the musings/wishes of the newsletter authors. (Who is the guy from national Health & Safety who lurks here occasionally? An Attaboy to ya!)

 

Of course I'm not lobbying for quarterly updates to the Guide to Advancement. I spent real money to buy several copies of the G2A when it came out. Let's use them.

[bnelon44]

Newsletters are nice but not really official policy changes. The definitive sources are:

 

Guide to Advancement for all Advancement policies and procedures (there is an update expected next quarter, maybe sooner)

 

Guide to Safe Scouting for all safety policies related to unit activities

 

Boy Scout Requirements Book for all Boy Scout advancement requirements

 

Cub Scouts have their handbooks for advancement requirements, so do Venturers (they also have additional books)

 

 

 

 

[John-in-KC]

WHO CARES about the MB application beyond the Troop?

 

The BSA Source to the System of Record (ScoutNet) is the Advancement Report or Internet Advancement. The BSA System of Record, as I say above, is ScoutNet.

 

There is not one bloody word in GTA which requires records retention other than the Counselor maintain his records at least one year

 

(In the training I give to new counselors in my District, I recommend 7 years as a best business practice, because that gets 99.95% of youth members to age-out at 18.)

[koolaidman]

John-in-KC

 

Is this what you are looking for? (page 37 2011 GTA, second paragraph)

 

"Though it has not been clearly stated in the past,

units, districts, and local councils do not have the

authority to implement a different system for merit

badge approval and documentation. In any case,

through the years, many councils have created new

forms and approaches to the process, some including

IT components. In an effort to gather and consider

these potential best practices, councils are now asked

to submit descriptions and copies of their blue card

alternatives to the national Advancement Team."

[fred8033]

John-in-KC wrote: "WHO CARES about the MB application beyond the Troop? "

 

The scouts should if they knew enough. Commonly, troops screw up, fall apart or volunteers just make mistakes. If a troop collapses or someone forgets to submit the advancement form, the blue card is proof that it is complete. As some troops have a mass of extra MB and then re-fill the stash with those just earned, I can understand why some people might be missing advancement credit in ScoutNET.

 

It's common for a scout to go to a new troop after the other collapsed and his scout records are a mess. Having a stack of valid blue card pieces is very useful.

[koolaidman]

Twocubdad, the use of the word "approval" in your underlined section is precisely what will change in the new GTA per the January advancement newsletter.

 

The newsletter mentions that the new practices will be "mandated" when the new GTA is published, and until then conformance with the clarified procedure is "requested".

[John-in-KC]

When the bureaucracy of my volunteer position, which I give time to for joy, is greater than the bureaucracy of my day job, then maybe it's time to consider the causes I give my time to.

[Sentinel947]

KC- are you seriously saying that the Blue Card is a time intensive piece of paperwork? I assure you it is not. The Scout fills it out. The Scoutmaster signs it once. The Counselor checks all the requirement boxes after the Scout completes them and then signs it. It's easy and painless.