Citizenship in Society "Soft Release"; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Repackaged?

[CynicalScouter]

9 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

ESPECIALLY if the rumors that council's have to formally approve the MBC are true.

My favorite is the person who has said he will use Dennis Prager videos to demonstrate how systemic racism/institutional racism doesn't really exist.

https://discussions.scouting.org/t/concern-over-the-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-merit-badge/212618/8

[Eagle1993]

25 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

My concern is the 7 month transition. It needs to be the standard year, if not longer.  ESPECIALLY if the rumors that council's have to formally approve the MBC are true. It will take time in some rural, geographically large councils yo get the approved MBCs in place.

They need to cut one or multiple Eagle Requirement MBs if they add this.  I would be ok if it would be added to a Citizenship MB collection and you have to earn 2 of 4.  If they do that, I think 7 months would be fine .  I feel our required MB program skews to the book/class room type merit badges and this is going to make it worse.

[mrjohns2]

43 minutes ago, Eagle1993 said:

They need to cut one or multiple Eagle Requirement MBs if they add this.  I would be ok if it would be added to a Citizenship MB collection and you have to earn 2 of 4.  If they do that, I think 7 months would be fine .  I feel our required MB program skews to the book/class room type merit badges and this is going to make it worse.

They said they are cutting one of the electives. I agree, too much book/classroom MBs. As a nerd, it was great/fine with me. But that isn't the program. The more Scouts is like school, the less Scouts we will have. They get enough school at school.

[InquisitiveScouter]

3 hours ago, CynicalScouter said:

Rubber stamping only takes 30 seconds.

I see where this train is heading: the person who sticks his/her hand up to say "I want to teach it" will be insta-approved. No real vetting.

It's not cynical if it's true, right??

[DuctTape]

2 hours ago, mrjohns2 said:

They said they are cutting one of the electives. I agree, too much book/classroom MBs. As a nerd, it was great/fine with me. But that isn't the program. The more Scouts is like school, the less Scouts we will have. They get enough school at school.

If I were in charge, there would be at most 5 required mBs. 

[CynicalScouter]

2 minutes ago, DuctTape said:

If I were in charge, there would be at most 5 required mBs. 

There have never been that few.

https://www.troop97.net/bsaeagle.htm

[awanatech]

8 hours ago, CynicalScouter said:

There have never been that few.

https://www.troop97.net/bsaeagle.htm

I don't believe there's ever been as many required as now either. There is no reason they couldn't go the other way have an unprecedented low number of required. 

[CynicalScouter]

5 hours ago, awanatech said:

I don't believe there's ever been as many required as now either.

Not true. Right now there are 12 required plus 9 elective. This would take it to 13 and 8, which was is exactly where it was from 1936-1958. And in fact 1958 raised the number of required to 16. 1965 dropped it back to 11 required 10 elective.

And keep in mind unlike in the past several of those “required” have options such as hiking/swimming/cycling or sustainability/environmental science. 

[CynicalScouter]

5 hours ago, awanatech said:

There is no reason they couldn't go the other way have an unprecedented low number of required. 

There is already tons of criticism the Eagle program has been watered down to nothing. Telling scouts that they only need 5 required MBs and then can pick 16 of whatever they want is never  ever going to fly.

 

at that point if all they need is five required. you could probably complete all Eagle MBs in a month between coin collecting, fingerprinting, and a host of 3-4 hour classroom type MBs.

Edited September 28, 2021 by CynicalScouter

[DuctTape]

28 minutes ago, CynicalScouter said:

There is already tons of criticism the Eagle program has been watered down to nothing. Telling scouts that they only need 5 required MBs and then can pick 16 of whatever they want is never  ever going to fly.

 

at that point if all they need is five required. you could probably complete all Eagle MBs in a month between coin collecting, fingerprinting, and a host of 3-4 hour classroom type MBs.

My "if I was in charge..." statement would not exist in a vacuum. There would be a complete overhaul of the system. I think in terms of "systems" not in specific items. I understand acutely the interaction between nodes and thus how the different nodes should be defined and utilized for maximum benefit within and outside the system. Often I forget that most others are thinking about the individual nodes in the system and not how one change impacts others. My statement was unfortunately triggering  due to not referencing the multitude of other system wide changes. Since I am "not in charge" nor will I ever have that power, any idea I suggest is academic at best.

[RememberSchiff]

9 minutes ago, DuctTape said:

...Since I am "not in charge" nor will I ever have that power, any idea I suggest is academic at best.

If only ...

[Eagle1993]

I person like the 1952 to 1965 stent where you found your own path outside the first 10.  In addition you can make sure there is a diverse skill set earned and only some merit badges qualify in those groups.   
 

I feel the system is broken, the current list is boring for many scouts and it emphasizes classrooms vs activities. 

Im not saying the below is perfect (from 1952) but it is much closer to where we should go vs where we are today  

Camping, Cooking, Firemanship, First Aid, Life Saving, Nature, Personal Fitness, Public Health, Safety, Swimming, one from the Outdoor Sports group, one from any of the following groups - Animal Husbandry, Plant Cultivation, Communication, Transportation, or Building, one from the Conservation group, three from the Citizenship group.

 

[WisconsinMomma]

My oldest is a Life Scout and turns 18 in one year.  He has 5, whoops, now 6 MB's left to finish.  I do not think he will finish everything before July 1.  Maybe, but it depends on his hustle. 

Cit in Society will not have a MB book and it sounds more like a reflection and conversation with a counselor. Might not be all that time-consuming, thank goodness!