Most and Least Popular Merit Badges

[mrkstvns]

On 3/12/2019 at 1:46 PM, Eagledad said:

Not sure I can help on Business Management. Aren't they called "The Man"?

The low numbers on American Business merit badge are a bit bewildering. It doesn't look like a particularly hard merit badge, and most of the requirements lend themselves well to doing in a merit badge university/midway type event.  Business is one of the most popular degree programs in American universities, so why teenagers would avoid it's corresponding merit badge makes no sense to me.  Maybe it's just that the merit badge involves a lot of concepts and theory, or in other words, it's freakin' boring!

[mashmaster]

7 minutes ago, mrkstvns said:

The low numbers on American Business merit badge are a bit bewildering. It doesn't look like a particularly hard merit badge, and most of the requirements lend themselves well to doing in a merit badge university/midway type event.  Business is one of the most popular degree programs in American universities, so why teenagers would avoid it's corresponding merit badge makes no sense to me.  Maybe it's just that the merit badge involves a lot of concepts and theory, or in other words, it's freakin' boring!

It doesn't bewilder me.  I just read the requirements and fell asleep.  What kid 11-18 wants to research a  boring topic like this?  

 

[HashTagScouts]

As a MBC for American Business MB, it is not an exciting badge so hard to get kids to take an interest in it.  The requirements were just revised, and it now is an even easier MB to earn.  There was a requirement of running a business for 3 months, so hard to get kids interested in the badge, and even harder to get them to want to have to do the 3 month requirement.  With that requirement gone, this is like a half day badge at a MB college, so #s will probably go up (and that was probably the point of changing the requirements).   

[mrkstvns]

2 hours ago, HashTagScouts said:

As a MBC for American Business MB, it is not an exciting badge so hard to get kids to take an interest in it.  The requirements were just revised, and it now is an even easier MB to earn.  There was a requirement of running a business for 3 months, so hard to get kids interested in the badge, and even harder to get them to want to have to do the 3 month requirement.  With that requirement gone, this is like a half day badge at a MB college, so #s will probably go up (and that was probably the point of changing the requirements).   

You're right. The requirements are a LOT easier now.

I wonder how many scouts who started on some of the easy requirements are going to say, "Aw, heck. I might as well just stick with the old requirements." Uhh, zero.

[DuctTape]

So they eliminated the only real experiential part of the mB requirements? Figures. What's next, eliminate the  actual swimming portions of swimming mB and relegate it to a workbook "discussion"? These are supposed to be MERIT badges, not show up and listen badges.

[mashmaster]

Scouting is a verb, it is about doing things not sitting down listening. Scouting is about actively doing things, not sitting down in a large class. No merit badges should be instructed to more than 3 or 4 at a time. --- Clarke Green

 

 

 

[HelpfulTracks]

There may be something else at play here.

Last year I was talking to another Scouter about my son wanting to mow grass to pay for high adventure trips. 

His son was doing yard work, to earn money and was thinking about working on the merit badge, when he was approached by a “police officer” asking if he had his license, insurance and other documents (including a license to use the Roundup in the bed of his truck).

Turns out that it was a code enforcement officer, and he wrote a summons for the youth.

Depending on the nature of your community, the old requirements could get cumbersome and expensive. 

His son went to work at a fast food restaurant and stopped pursuing the merit badge.

Edited March 16, 2019 by HelpfulTracks

[DuctTape]

to be fair, part of "running a business" is getting proper paperwork in order. It isn't just doing a job and getting paid for it, that is labor not business. And if you are thorton mellon "you left out a bunch of stuff".😜

[JoeBob]

On 3/12/2019 at 12:45 PM, MikeS72 said:

We did a 20 mile hike a month ago, where it was 45 degrees at the start of the hike, and 86 at the finish.

Reminded me of a 10 mile hike my troop did from Young Harris GA to Brasstown Bald (Highest point in GA). It was a balmy 65 when we started, and the SM INSISTED that we take jackets.  Huh?  We had 8 inches of snow on the ground when we topped out.  We were in cotton sweatshirts and tennis shoes.  As sweep, I had to pick up two scouts who laid down in the snow and claimed it was warm.  The weather front had iced over the macadam road to the summit; so when we reached the end, we had to glisade down the iced road to get to the truck.  Sit, slide down until you hit the snow bank on the opposite curve.  Crab walk over road, do it again.

I still remember the piercing pain in my toes as we warmed up next to the pot-bellied stove.  Worse than anything that winter warfare training (Jack Frost 77) threw at me later.