Genesis Of A Merit Badge - Signs, Signals, And Codes

[RememberSchiff]

Interesting background story from the Newtown (CT) Bee about the development of a new merit badge, Signs, Signal, and Codes.

 

 

Link with text and photos

http://newtownbee.com/node/267324

 

Emoticons, Braille, and Morse code are among the various forms of language featured in the Boy Scouts of America’s newest merit badge, Signs, Signals, and Codes. Introduced in February by Boy Scouts of America (BSA), the badge is the 135th addition to the merit badge program.

 

Whether Scouts are hiking a trail, signaling for help in an emergency, or texting their friends, some form of communication is involved. Newtown resident Catherine Summ, a Boy Scout Troop 270 committee member who has been involved with local troop for about a decade, recently shared some of her expertise in a specialized communications field to help create the latest merit badge introduced by the national organization.

 

Ms Summer was selected in 2013 to be part of the ten-person Development Team for the new badge. The badge merges the use of technology, including text messages and emojis, with plenty of tradition. Scouts are also introduced, while earning this badge, to emergency signaling, Morse code, American Sign Language, Braille, trail signs, sports officiating hand signals, traffic signs, and what Ms Summ describes as “a lot of nonverbal communication.â€

 

Ms Summ discovered the project about 18 months ago.

 

“I was flipping through an issue of Scouting magazine back in late 2013, and saw this small ad that said Boy Scouts of America was looking for people to help develop a new badge,†Ms Summ said. “I couldn’t believe I saw this tiny blurb, in the upper left hand corner of the page, that basically said ‘We’re working on a new merit badge. If you know Braille or American Sign Language, and would be interested in contributing to this badge, please get in touch.’â€

 

Ms Summ, who is a teacher for the visually impaired, was interested.

 

“I thought this would be a great way for me to contribute to Boy Scouts,†she said. After sending an e-mail to BSA showing her interest and sharing some of her professional credentials, Ms Summ was eventually connected to Pat Mitchell, of Billings, Mont., who is also a teacher of the visually impaired who became involved in the project.

 

The full committee, with members spread from Connecticut to Hawaii, began working on the new badge in January 2014. The group’s first deadline was within a few months.

 

“BSA wanted to fast-track this,†said Ms Summ. “They were hoping to have it by the time summer camps started last year.

 

“We worked really hard, and had about 80 percent of the work done, but just couldn’t finish in time for that,†she said.

 

Instead, committee members continued contacting each other. Ms Summ and her committee counterpart were in contact regularly, on the phone and through e-mail correspondence, “sometimes daily,†she said. The full committee had also weekly meetings via telephone and e-mails.

 

“My colleague in Montana and I were corresponding quite frequently,†she said. “We were working on a draft, or we were researching, and we would just correspond via e-mail or by phone, at least once a week for a period of four or five months.â€

 

Their task, she pointed out, was to take the equivalent of a full-year graduate course and boil it down into six pages devoted to Braille, plus an insert with examples of the Braille alphabet and numbers, and a few simple phrases. The insert, a sheet of tough cardboard stock, allows Scouts to go hands-on for this section of their merit badge.

 

“That insert was important,†said Ms Summ. “We were thinking about the fact that there are boys who might be in troops in more remote or rural locations, or in areas where you don’t have a teacher for the visually impaired, or you don’t know someone who reads Braille,†she said. “How would they get that exposure? Now, they’ve got it right here.â€

 

The badge was formally released by BSA earlier this year.

 

“As the largest youth-serving organization, the Boy Scouts of America strives to create new programs and opportunities for youth members that speak to their evolving interests,†Steve Bowen, chair of the Merit Badge Development Committee, said via press release when the new badge was announced a few months ago. “By pursuing this merit badge, Scouts will learn to translate other forms of nonverbal communications, such as emojis, which is a productive skill they can use both in and out of Scouting.â€

 

To earn this merit badge, Scouts are required to demonstrate their practical knowledge of their newly acquired skills by completing the following requirements: (Odd, these are NOT the released MB requirements. -RS)

 

*Be able to communicate with another person by spelling their first name using Morse code, American Sign Language, and semaphore;

 

*Identify the letters of the Braille alphabet that spell their name by either sight or touch, decode a six- to ten-word Braille message and create a Braille message to share with their counselor/troop- leader;

 

*On a Scouting outing, lay out a trail for their patrol or troop to follow, using only the trail signs and markers provided by troop leaders;

 

*Test their parents, friends, or troop leader by giving them examples of their favorite text symbols or emoticons, and identify the meaning or usage of each symbol.

 

Tim Malaney, who served as the lead volunteer for the merit badge committee, said via press release that introducing Scouts to a variety of nonverbal techniques, “we’re giving them the tools they need to develop into effective communicators.

 

“We hope the merit badge program continues to grow alongside advancements in technology and learning so we can continue to provide value to our youth members,†Mr Malaney added.

 

Ms Summ is pleased with the work she and the entire committee did.

 

“We really wanted to create a fun merit badge,†she said. “It was a really good experience. I would not mind doing this again.â€

 

She also called BSA’s process “a truly democratic process.â€

 

“They really wanted everyone’s input,†she added. “Everyone had equal say, from the design of the badge, the requirements, and even the cover of the badge guide.â€

 

Her one regret was that those who worked on the badge are so far spread that not only did they never meet, but there was never a commemoration of their work.

 

“We cannot celebrate this achievement together,†she said.

 

Introduced In Newtown

Local Scouts had an unusual honor last month, when one of the creators of the newest merit badge introduced it to them in person.

 

On April 22, Troop 270 held a Merit Badge College, an event when Scouts work on the requirements for a merit badge. Ms Summ and her husband, Peter Björknäs, divided the troop into two groups. Each adult worked on different aspects of the badge.

 

(The couple has two sons: Henry, an Eagle Scout finishing his first year of college; and Felix, a junior at Newtown High School who is developing his Eagle Scout Project.)

 

While she said the presentations, which continued the following week, were fun, Ms Summ also admitted she and her husband were initially a little nervous.

 

“It was great,†she said. “The boys were focused, and so curious. I brought them some worksheets that a beginning Braille reader might use when they’re learning the Braille code, some story books.

 

“We had 60 active boys, and it was so much fun,†she said.

 

Ms Summ took her Braille typewriter with her for the Merit Badge College last month, as well as a slate and stylist, which she describes as “really low tech. It’s just a metal frame, and you hold a piece of Braille paper in the frame and punch dots in the frame.â€

 

Her goal, said Ms Summ, is that all members of Troop 370 have earned their Signs, Signals, and Codes merit badge by the time the troop’s Court of Honor is held in late May or early June.

[SSScout]

Now if EagleSon can only stop making his "f"s   look like "Euros"   ....   My dad worked as a "show card artist".   He had impeccable print and flourished script writing.  My mom was one of the first woman news reporters (Chicago Trib and Boston Globe).  I did a Jr. High project on Cuneiform.    Morse Code?  Still useful.

 

Communication is an underrated topic, for sure, especially when it comes to  written English.   I brought up the application materials on computer for the Council Jamboree application for adult leaders.  So many typos and grammar errors.  I am moved to write to my SE and ask him to proofread it....

[Stosh]

Maybe we should include text-speak too  Valley Speak is a bit passe, but no one can beat  Ebonics.

[Gone]

Maybe we should include text-speak too  Valley Speak is a bit passe, but no one can beat  Ebonics.

 

I BlEv d BSA hz included txt lingo n 2 d merit badge requirements.

 

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