New to Merit Badge Counselor

[docSquatch]

I'm looking to get back into scouting. A friend of mine told me that I could join as just a merit badge counselor. I've filled out my adult application and MBC application and sent them to my local council. 

What I wanted to know was if there were any members that were strictly MBC and how they like just being an MBC. Should I consider joining a unit once I've been in for a while? I'd also be willing to take any advice you might have on being a MBC. 

Thanks in advance.  

[MattR]

@docSquatch, welcome to the forum.

It's up to you about joining a unit. But it's great that you want to be a counselor for more than a troop.

[jjlash]

23 hours ago, docSquatch said:

I'd also be willing to take any advice you might have on being a MBC. 

Please do take the online MBC training to ensure you know how that part of the program is supposed to work.  Don't rely on what you remember from your time as a Scout and don't rely on what other (well intentioned) leaders tell you - go straight to the source.

 

 

[qwazse]

Ditto @jjlash. Take the course. Come back with questions.

Have you met some of the scouters in your district?

[docSquatch]

On 8/10/2021 at 1:35 PM, jjlash said:

Please do take the online MBC training to ensure you know how that part of the program is supposed to work.  Don't rely on what you remember from your time as a Scout and don't rely on what other (well intentioned) leaders tell you - go straight to the source.

 

 

I took:

YPT

Merit Badge Counselor 

Cubmast and Assistant Training

Den Leader and Assistant Training

Scoutmaster and Assistant Training

 

While, I'm just looking to do the MBC, I figured the extra knowledge would help.

[docSquatch]

22 hours ago, qwazse said:

Ditto @jjlash. Take the course. Come back with questions.

Have you met some of the scouters in your district?

Not in my district. I've turned in my adult application and MBC application. I just talked with my local council today about my application. They are waiting for the registrar to get back to put me in. Should be next week. 

I wanted to wait until I had everything approved and all my ducks in a row before I started meeting with anyone. 

[RememberSchiff]

Okay since you are holding your blue cards close to your vest, my guess is you applied as a MBC for Programming, Wilderness Survival, and Bugling.

@docSquatch welcome to scouter.com

[docSquatch]

@RememberSchiff I appreciate it.

You got one. Emergency Preparedness, Fire Safety, First Aid, Programming, Public Health, Public Speaking, and Safety. I would like to add Communication, Family Life, and Medicine in the future. 

[RememberSchiff]

You will be busy. Thanks for volunteering.

[mrjohns2]

You should talk to your district and see if there is a max. My district allows a max of 7 MBs that you can council. 

[docSquatch]

@mrjohns2

When I talked with them yesterday, they didn't say how many they allow. I'll talk to them again next week after I get back. 

Do you council with more that just a specific unit? If you do, how do you find is the best way to introduce yourself to a new unit? I was thinking of emailing the different Scoutmasters and ask them about stopping by during a meeting to get myself out there. Again, after I get everything taken care of.

[mrjohns2]

I am open to the entire district. I don’t get a lot of Scouts, so yes, talking with units may be key. I think Scouts should work with Scouters outside of one’s unit. So, your thought about introducing yourself to multiple units sounds good. 

[InquisitiveScouter]

You wanted some advice on being a Merit Badge Counselor (MBC)...

1.  Read the current Guide to Advancement (G2A) https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33088.pdf, particularly Section 7.  Read it again.

2.  Get a current Merit Badge book for each Merit Badge you wish to counsel.  Read them.  Read them again.  Read them a third time. 

3.  A Scout must complete the requirements, AND NOTHING MORE!.  A Scout must complete the requirements, AND NOTHING LESS!  (see above) Too many times I see MBCs cutting corners, skipping requirements, or adding stuff that is not in the badge.  (This happens particularly at Summer Camp.)

4.  Requirements change from time to time.  Stay up on the current requirements for your badges.  Here is your best resource: https://www.scouting.org/programs/scouts-bsa/advancement-and-awards/merit-badges/  Know the rules for Scouts who start a MB, and then the requirements change while they are working on the badge.  (Basically, the Scout decides whether to continue under the old, or take on the new...with no mixing and matching)

5.  You don't have to be an expert on every requirement, but you need to know where to find help to in mentoring a Scout to complete a requirement.  An example specific to you Medicine, "7a. Visit a physician's office*, preferably one who delivers "primary care." (This may be that of your counselor.) Discuss the components of a medical history and physical examination (an official BSA health form may be used to guide this discussion), and become familiar with the instruments used."  I see from your profile you are a Paramedic, so, do you have a primary care physician contact that you can call upon to help a Scout meet this requirement???  Go back to step 2, and make sure you have an avenue you can guide a Scout down to help them meet a requirement.

6.  Get familiar with blue cards and the blue card process...both manually, and then through Scoutbook or other electronic means.  There are three people involved in the MB process...the Scout, a Unit Leader, and you.

7.  Scouts sometimes stop working on MBs....if you have been "assigned" to a Scout, and there is a long break, touch base with the Scout, and then the unit leader.  Don't be surprised if some Scouts start and never complete a badge...it's OK

8.  Keep blue card records.  Sometimes a troop's record keeping system isn't agile, responsive, or comprehensive, and a unit never records a Scout's MB.  Subsequently, a Scout loses his Applicant's Record, or the Troop actually took this portion from them (a pet peeve of mine).  It rarely happens, but it has happened for me five or six times over 30+ years.  The only record of the Scout's accomplishment then lies with you....and when the call comes, it is usually because Jimmy is running up against a deadline to submit his Eagle Application.  You can be the hero and save the day

9.  It is not your job to teach the Scout requirements, or make arrangements for them to complete requirements.  Scouts should be figuring that out themselves, and then coming to you to "Show Their Stuff".  Obviously, they sometimes need to be shown the way, and you can help with that, but don't fall in to the trap of you having to gather all the materials to teach every requirement.  You are not a MB teacher, you are a counselor...the Scout is supposed to do the work   From the G2A, "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."

10.  Find a way to have fun!

 

Edited August 13, 2021 by InquisitiveScouter

[NDW5332]

1 hour ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

6.  Get familiar with blue cards and the blue card process...both manually, and then through Scoutbook or other electronic means.  There are three people involved in the MB process...the Scout, a Unit Leader, and you.

In some instances there will be four people: you may need to include the Scout's parent, cc'd on e-mails for YPT purposes, if the Scout needs to reach out to you to set up the initial meeting, or for completion of partials afterwards.

[elitts]

2 hours ago, NDW5332 said:

In some instances there will be four people: you may need to include the Scout's parent, cc'd on e-mails for YPT purposes, if the Scout needs to reach out to you to set up the initial meeting, or for completion of partials afterwards.

Just to state the rule in total for new parents or scouters that may read this:

Any adult using "private" online or phone communications with a scout needs to make sure either another registered adult or a parent is included cc'd in the email; not both.  So any email, social media post or phone call needs to include: Scout, MBC, and then a parent or registered adult.

Edited August 13, 2021 by elitts