Virtual Merit Badges

[Eagledad]

This is kind of interesting in many different ways. I wonder if he was ever a scout.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/coronavirus-military-cadet-pennsylvania-tent

 

Edited April 25, 2020 by Eagledad

[desertrat77]

My counselor for First Aid MB was a senior master sergeant who oversaw the enlisted operating room technicians at the nearby military hospital.  The training was not conducted at a troop meeting.  We were expected to call Mr. S and coordinate with his schedule.

Our first session lasted 2 hours--and no requirements were signed off.  Instead, those two hours were an invaluable overview and detailed discussion about the importance of first aid.

It took me almost 3 months to complete the MB.  Mr. S had high standards but was fair and patient.  He ensured we were competent on every requirement.  Plus he freely shared his experiences as a medic, and we benefited from his personal example as an outstanding scouter.  I'll always be grateful for the time he spent with us.

There are merit badges a scout should look at on his/her vest and be able to say "I really worked hard for those!"  First aid should be one.

Edited April 25, 2020 by desertrat77

[DuctTape]

@desertrat77... your experience is a shining example of how the methods are used together. In this case advancement, personal growth, ideals and adult association. 

[RememberSchiff]

1 hour ago, fred8033 said:

I keep flip-flopping.  I celebrate finding a way to keep scouts involved in scouting.  I celebrate finding a way to distract scouts during this stressful time.  On the flip side, virtual camp outs are just not the same thing.  I have a real hard time figuring where to position on this.  Is it possible we will end up with Eagle scouts who only camped in their own back yard ?  But then again, maybe that is an acceptable reflection of today.  

I suppose it will not be long before we are discussing if a COR can or should ask a scout "How many of your scout outings and merit badges were virtual?" 

[TAHAWK]

"Earning merit badges should be Scout initiated, Scout researched, and Scout learned. It should be hands-on and interactive, and should not be modeled after a typical school classroom setting. Instead, it is meant to be an active program so enticing to Scouts that they will want to take responsibility for their own full participation."

BSA, Guide to Advancement at §7.0.3.0

 "There must be attention to each individual’s projects and fulfillment of all requirements. We must know that every Scout—actually and personally—completed them. If, for example, a requirement uses words like “show,” “demonstrate,” or “discuss,” then every Scout must do that. It is unacceptable to award badges on the basis of sitting in classrooms watching demonstrations, or remaining silent during discussions.

. . .

Counselors agree to sign off only requirements that Scouts have actually and personally completed."

 Id. at § 7.0.3.2

Filling in an unofficial worksheet is not, of course, discussing.  It may be showing or demonstrating if done by the Scout rather than done by someone else or merely copied down.  I have had xeroxed "work sheets" submitted with the expectation that they would be accepted.

Edited April 26, 2020 by TAHAWK

[TAHAWK]

Lake Erie Council is pushing "virtual" merit badges, including Nature, Geology,  Soil & Water Conservation, and Wilderness Survival ("virtual fires"?).  

Leatherwork MB

Game Design MB

American Heritage MB

Electronics MB

Scouting Heritage MB

Wilderness Survival

Robotics MB

Mammal Study MB

Public Health MB

Moviemaking MB

Disabilities Awareness MB

Public Health MB

Citizenship in the World MB

Nature MB

Coin Collecting MB

Photography MB

Reptile & Amphibian Study MB

Genealogy MB

Energy MB  

American Business

Chemistry

Safety Merit Badge

Wilderness Survival MB

Digital Technology MB

American Labor MB

Soil & Water Conservation MB

Fingerprinting MB

[RememberSchiff]

4/28/2020

Ben Blumenberg, SE Sagamore Council, expects to see a rise in the number of earned patches in the coming weeks.

“We’ve seen more merit badges earned now than any other week of the year except for our summer programs" , Blumenberg added.

https://www.wishtv.com/news/local-news/boy-scouts-can-now-earn-organ-donor-awareness-patch-amid-pandemic/

Tune in next week for another exciting adventure of Scouts of the Internet.

Edited April 30, 2020 by RememberSchiff

[RememberSchiff]

On 4/25/2020 at 10:55 AM, RememberSchiff said:

One council here is offering a virtual First Aid merit badge class via Google classroom at $20/student. Drive thru online registration and virtual learning...

As a former First Aid MBC,  my scouts spent all sessions hands-on - practicing (again and again) assessment, bandaging , proper splinting, transport, ... never charged a student .

Need to add a third panel on left showing a scout staring at his smartphone!

Well...maybe my son can take his driver test virtually.

Taking my 2 aspirin now.

Inconceivable...even easier

Georgia is now allowing people to get their drivers' licenses without having to take a driving test during the coronavirus pandemic. Qualifying teenagers in the state just need their parents' permission to get one. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/georgia-drivers-test-parents-permission/

Edited April 30, 2020 by RememberSchiff

[T2Eagle]

6 hours ago, RememberSchiff said:

Inconceivable...even easier

Georgia is now allowing people to get their drivers' licenses without having to take a driving test during the coronavirus pandemic. Qualifying teenagers in the state just need their parents' permission to get one. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/georgia-drivers-test-parents-permission/

Eh, do you know anyone who doesn't have a driver's license today because they couldn't pass the test?  

[RememberSchiff]

Like Scouts, some had to "do" the road test more than once. 

[MikeS72]

On 4/25/2020 at 12:51 PM, desertrat77 said:

There are merit badges a scout should look at on his/her vest and be able to say "I really worked hard for those!"  First aid should be one.

As both a First Aid MBC, and a long time Red Cross instructor, I frequently tell scouts that I consider FA to be the most important MB they will ever earn.  While many badges will lead to lifelong hobbies and interests, FA has the potential at any time to save a life.

[DuctTape]

5 minutes ago, RememberSchiff said:

Like Scouts, some had to "do" the road test more than once. 

Are you saying they didn't just go to LicenseUniv and sit through a 1 hr presentation where they (maybe) "participated" in the discussion resulting in the DMV Commissioner granting the license?

[SSScout]

37 minutes ago, RememberSchiff said:

Like Scouts, some had to "do" the road test more than once. 

It's been a long time since I went down to Kensington and drove that stickshift Rambler around the National Guard Armory. Twice. 

I (used to) teach driving and safety to our new bus drivers before I retired, so I ended up teaching our Yearly Meeting Summer Camp counselor/bus drivers. Most of them had never driven anything larger than a Toyota Corolla, so it was a fun thing.  I would set up cones in a big parking lot for a slalom course and manuevering practice. The scientific term is "proprioception",  the ability to reach out and grab something : your brain knows where your arm/hand is, your eyes see/know where the glass of milk is, and makes that connection without conscious effort.  Same thing in driving .  Knowing where the bumper and wheel is in respect to the curb/wall/street sign/pole allows one to drive without hitting something and changing the shape of your motor conveyance  .Many a cone was "killed". On The Road practice was a challenge sometimes, but the kid (!) would sometimes thank me afterward,  teaching from the "Smith System" perspective.  Repeat after me:  "If it looks like a railroad crossing, I will treat it like a railroad crossing." 

 Presto, so to speak, you have a Class B CDL with Passenger Endorsement.  Good for a part time, fall back job, if your MA in philosophy doesn't work out. 

Over the years, I got to know which testing sites here in Murlin were busy, available, which had sympathetic examiners, which had examiners with chips on their shoulders. It takes some time to get really  good, with the proper attitude , to be a safe driver, but it starts with the confident ability to aim your vee-hic-kull thru spaces just barely able to accommodate it.  That said, I was amazed a few years ago to learn that Murlin would no longer require nascent drivers to demonstrate (!!) the ability to parallel  park.  My bus drivers would still be required to demonstrate that skill (with a forty foot long bus !)., but not the kid in the Corolla.  Defensive driving took on a whole new meaning.

I have seen driver training machines, but one must still do it in the real world.  I had one trainee, a petite young woman, who became very good at everything I had to teach her. We went to the examining site and unfortunately it was pouring down rain. The examiner was very sympathetic, gave her every "break" as I watched. He stood out in the rain in his official slicker, but my student couldn't even SEE the cones to drive around, much less avoid them.  We came back two days later and she passed all the tests easily. 

Virtual reality.  We used to laugh about our bus system drivers inability to "phone their work in".  Will our Scouts be allowed to "phone in" their outdoor experience? 

 

[MattR]

1 hour ago, RememberSchiff said:

Like Scouts, some had to "do" the road test more than once. 

Guess when I first learned where one way signs are located.

[desertrat77]

During my DL test, I successfully parallel parked a 1974 Plymouth station wagon.  It's still one of my proudest accomplishments.