pre-filled blue cards to share?

[MikeS72]

On 9/6/2022 at 7:37 PM, curious_scouter said:

On here, perhaps.  There are enough fillable PDF templates out there from a dozen+ sites that plenty of others do it.  As I started creating my own little library, I was wondering if someone on here was as OCD/crazy as me and had already gone down the path and pre-filled the requirements listing for a bunch I haven't yet.  That's really the hardest part.  I use 3-up template (3 cards per sheet) vs. the 1-up template so save paper (thrifty) but it requires me to manually type every requirement 3 times and get it right.

If Scoutbook will print a card like below (dates aren't needed - that's an example from the group MB day just to save some writing) with the requirements already listed but not signed that would be awesome.  I could not see how to make it do that.

Hello neighbor!  (sort of - same council, different district; we may even know each other if you are active in OA)

[qwazse]

17 hours ago, curious_scouter said:

@qwazse - thanks.  I needed to hear that, some of the responses here are downright mean spirited. 

They aren’t mean-spirited. They just want to save you from unintended consequences.

All, regarding handwriting … my 11th grade English teacher (often a guest at many courts of honor because he also counseled Communications MB) freed us from any obligation to use cursive. He was a veteran clerk in WWII and the Cold War and realized how badly requisitions could be fouled if one didn’t write in block letters. From that point on, he left cursive behind. Many students took his message to heart. I learned to type on account of my atrocious handwriting that would do little besides qualify me for medical school. But for his class, it was fine to use a mix of cursive and block lettering on essays for the sake of legibility, and that made the rest of my academic career so much easier. (It’s amazing how much better one studies when one can read one’s own notes!)

All that say, it’s a big country. if you really think your scouts will benefit from pre-filling their own cards, have at it. And, give them props if their QM has them  carve their own set of auto fill stamps from spent tires, boil down indigo for their own ink, and fold some old neckerchiefs for stamp pads.

Edited September 8, 2022 by qwazse

[Eagledad]

21 hours ago, fred8033 said:

Nice. 

I come from a different school of thought.  I'd prefer to not have that class and to not help the scout too much.  Don't be an obstacle, but let's not create an overly structured scout experience.  Rather, filling out blue cards is a great chance to have conversations with the scout and to give him things to look at and work on.  It's a chance for the scout to improve and solve things.  ... Another way to work it.  If the scout brings you a blue card that is not cleanly filled at the start, give them a new blue card and walk them thru filling it out neatly. 

The one time a close is appropriate is when the culture process is going the wrong direction. When culture affects 100 scouts, then the class is the quick fix for correction.

You are right that the MB card is an opportunity for a discussion and teaching, mostly with brand new scouts. But, we found that the lesson learned from MB processing didn't translate to signing off other scouts' handbooks. The issue there is that the signing off advancement incorrectly isn't discovered until the other scouts have a conference. And, usually several scouts are victims of the incorrect signoff processing. I didn't feel a correction here required an individual discussion when the correction was simply a better explanation of correctly signing off other scouts advancement.

And, I took it as more of adults doing a better job explaining the process. When it comes to these things, boys, (adults included) often take the path of least resistance. 

Barry

[mrjohns2]

On 9/6/2022 at 6:37 PM, curious_scouter said:

On here, perhaps.  There are enough fillable PDF templates out there from a dozen+ sites that plenty of others do it.  As I started creating my own little library, I was wondering if someone on here was as OCD/crazy as me and had already gone down the path and pre-filled the requirements listing for a bunch I haven't yet.  That's really the hardest part.  I use 3-up template (3 cards per sheet) vs. the 1-up template so save paper (thrifty) but it requires me to manually type every requirement 3 times and get it right.

If Scoutbook will print a card like below (dates aren't needed - that's an example from the group MB day just to save some writing) with the requirements already listed but not signed that would be awesome.  I could not see how to make it do that.

Right on the main screen…

 

[InquisitiveScouter]

To note, the "blue card" is not required when using Scoutbook.  Scoutbook "automates" the process.

However, I have had a few instances where a Scout contacts me for MB counseling, and the leader has not "signed" in Scoutbook.  That is, Scoutbook allows a unit leader to invite a counselor without signing the card electronically.  

It seems to me this should be automatic, as well.  That is, the signature on a physical blue card indicates just that:  the unit leader has had a discussion with the Scout and recommended a counselor. 

Although, a unit leader could invite a counselor in Scoutbook without having had the discussion with the Scout.  I would not do this, though...  Because sometimes the Scout already knows the counselor or wants to work with a specific counselor.

After a Scout finishes a badge, I direct them to print a copy of the completed blue card from Scoutbook for their own records.

 

"Since blue cards support the merit badge process as it is intended to function, the Guide to Advancement continues to reference and recommend them. It is expected that when blue cards are not used, advancement administrators at all levels will find ways to carry on the processes, interactions, documentation, and other nuances that make the process such a critical element in BSA mission achievement."

[mrjohns2]

1 hour ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

To note, the "blue card" is not required when using Scoutbook.  Scoutbook "automates" the process.

It does "require" the SM to go in and mark yes on this first item in a MB. If they don't, it is just like not having them sign a blue card before starting a MB.

It fully supports a SM printing the cards, though, with the info filled in. For example, the unit leader.

 

 

[mrjohns2]

On 9/6/2022 at 6:37 PM, curious_scouter said:

with the requirements already listed but not signed that would be awesome.

No, because that isn't normally how blue cards are used. Normally, a Scout works on a MB until completion and then the counselor signs off as the MB is complete. The requirements being listed are only the requirements completed, not incomplete, and only needed for a partial.

[InquisitiveScouter]

4 hours ago, mrjohns2 said:

It does "require" the SM to go in and mark yes on this first item in a MB. If they don't, it is just like not having them sign a blue card before starting a MB.

It fully supports a SM printing the cards, though, with the info filled in. For example, the unit leader.

 

 

Agreed that SB shows this, and that that is the proper order of things... that was not my point.

A Unit Leader can invite a counselor without having that block actually signed in Scoutbook.  Should it be that way? No, but the system allows it.

 A counselor can sign off requirements without actually having that block signed.  Should it be that way? No, but the system allows it.

So, in essence, SB does not "require" the unit leader signature before engaging the counselor.  And it should!

Edited September 9, 2022 by InquisitiveScouter

[5thGenTexan]

I have been told Blue Cards are outdated and completion in SB or Black Pug is good enough....

[DuctTape]

I am no Luddite, but if any process change in scouts eliminates a scout's responsibility and puts it solely on adults is a disservice to the scout and takes away from them an opportunity for growth. So SB, or other digital record keeping should either supplement the blue card process, or the scout needs to be able to access the digital record to submit records.

[mrjohns2]

On 9/8/2022 at 7:34 PM, InquisitiveScouter said:

So, in essence, SB does not "require" the unit leader signature before engaging the counselor.  And it should!

Having the unit leader signature before starting isn't a must, it is a should. I guess it would be nice if it enforced it, but again, it isn't a showstopper. 

[InquisitiveScouter]

5 hours ago, mrjohns2 said:

Having the unit leader signature before starting isn't a must, it is a should. I guess it would be nice if it enforced it, but again, it isn't a showstopper. 

Yes, it is... a must, and should be a showstopper.  

[SiouxRanger]

15 hours ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

Yes, it is... a must, and should be a showstopper.  

My recollection is that the Scoutmaster's signature represents the SM's acknowledgment that the Scout is mature enough(and has the required rank)  to work the selected merit badge.

[InquisitiveScouter]

21 hours ago, mrjohns2 said:

Having the unit leader signature before starting isn't a must, it is a should. I guess it would be nice if it enforced it, but again, it isn't a showstopper. 

Correction... not a must before starting!  A Scout can start working on any merit badge at any time.  However, he cannot meet with a counselor until after having the discussion with the unit leader.  That is the "must" and the "showstopper."

If a Scout comes to me with no blue card, and says everything is being tracked in Scoutbook, I check the unit leader signature block in SB.  If it is not checked, then the merit badge session is on hold until I verify with the unit leader.  If the until leader gives me a verbal acknowledgement, then we continue, and I ask the unit leader to put the date in Scoutbook.

[InquisitiveScouter]

10 minutes ago, SiouxRanger said:

My recollection is that the Scoutmaster's signature represents the SM's acknowledgment that the Scout is mature enough(and has the required rank)  to work the selected merit badge.

Used to be that way.  Old blue cards said "approval" as well, iirc.  Nowadays, it is simply a discussion betwixt Scout and Unit Leader, with the signature acknowledging that the conversation occurred and an MBC contact was provided.  A Unit Leader cannot deny the opportunity to a Scout.