Reason’s not to do MB’s at Troop Meetings

[scottteng]

I think I said that it was appropriate to do some merit badges at a troop meeting or even as a troop or patrol. I think that is a part of why the summer camp and merit badge univ. have become so popular is that our young men have become herd animals and they will do something in part because their buddies are doing it. Does that diminish the basic introduction that most merit badges cover probably not, if it sparks a boys interest to persue further, beyond the requirements then you have accomplished something worthwile.

[CNYScouter]

I would say it is Ok for a patrol to do a MB, as long as they get approval from the SM, call the councilor and set up the meetings.

 

I think doing a demonstration at a meeting that covers a few requirements of a MB's and then saying anyone interested can get the information for a councilor to finish is a good idea. I am just seeing way to many MB's done as groups and not as individuals.

 

Right now my son is waiting for his troop to offer the MB's he needs for Eagle to do them. I have been encouraging him to work on these on his own.

 

Mark Ray in his book "The Scoutmasters other book" has a section about MB's at Troop meetings. His response is "just don't start doing it". Once it is established it is harder to stop again.

At our SM training the trainer gives a good analogy about this. He never tells his daughter what clothes to buy but she does need his approval to purchase any item of clothing. I think the same goes true for MB's at Troop meetings or any Scout activity.

 

I don't agree with my son's troop with this at all. The PLC decided tp have MB's at Troop meetinngs. They also decided that they wanted the adult leaders to set up the classes for them.

The SM said, "OK, the PLC made this decision and that's what we will do and this is what a boy-led program does.

 

[SoDakScouter]

If all you do at Troop Meetings are Merit Badges, then there is a problem.

 

A for instance for my son's troop: Each August, we devote each meeting to canoing. We take the troop's canoes and going canoing each time when we are supposed to be having a meeting. The older boys show the younger boys how to properly handle a canoe, swamping, rescue, paddling, loading, getting in and out. At the end, the new boys have earned their merit badge. The older boys are canoing and getting to teach the younger ones, learning some important leadership skills in a potentially dangerouse enviroment. Of course, the Scoutmaster, Assistant Scoutmasters and myself are there in case there is a need. We also do this on a City Park Lake, that is only 10 feet deep at the deepest.

 

Beginning in September every year, we plan out the year and the boys decide if there is a merit badge or two they would like to work on as a troop.

 

We have "discovered" something that has turned out real well. We invite in Webelos Dens and help them earn one of their merit badges like Readyman. All the boys, younger and older, become teachers, putting to work their learning & experiences. I took my youngest son's Bear Den to work on knots with the Boy Scouts. All of the kids, parents and leaders had a blast.

 

So I think a merit badge or two done during the year at troop meetings is okay.

[acco40]

I get some flak from parents because we do not "do" MB at troop meetings. However, the boys decide, for the most part, what they want to do. I'm trying a new approach of making a month of meetings more of a patrol responsibility and not just the SPL's or PLC's. However, after the Christmas/Holiday break, I had the responsibility for one of the meetings. OUr outing the next week was to visit Wright-Patterson AFB, primarily the space museum. I essentially "taught" the aviation merit badge but I did not frame the troop meeting in that fashion. I did pass-out the merit badge worksheets and had a model jet engine, slide show presentation, model airplanes, etc. After the meeting, about 5% of the boys showed an interest in pursuing the MB. I gave them blue cards after they requested them along with the name of an aviation MB counselor. Even those who chose not to try and earn the MB learned something and some were inspired to go further.

 

Now, would you consider that "holding merit badge classes at troop meetings?" In a way yes, but not an assembly line approach.

[CNYScouter]

acco40-

 

What you have described is not "holding merit badge classes at troop meetings".

This is a sugeested "BSA" way to introduce a MB to the Scouts.

The only question I have is who sets up the person introducing the MB?

Is this done by a Scout or taken care of by an adult.

 

I have a real issue with my son's Troop in that they do MB's at one meeting a month. This is 100% arranged by an adlt leader. The adult's decide which MB's are going to be offered and an adult calls up a councilor (all inhouse Troop councilors) and sets up the classes.

The Troop we switched from did MB's at every meeting. Younger scouts were taught skills by adults and the older kids spent most of the meeting doing MB work. Only once or twice a year was something else done.

I have now talked with over half the Troops in my district and the vast magority of them do MB's at Troop meetings. The biggest reason I am given is that because kids ar so busy with other activities Troop meetings are the only time they have to work on Scout stuff including MB's.

 

I just think this is not the Scouting program. Even once a month takes away from what scouts should be doing.

 

 

[Lisabob]

CNY makes an interesting comment: that the kids are too busy to work on scout stuff outside of troop meeting times. Here's my take: if they were really interested in working on a particular mb, they'd find the time. On the other hand, it might be that their *parents* don't have the time to drive them hither and yon to meet up with the mb counselor outside of troop meetings. That's a whole other problem.

 

CNY it doesn't sound like this is something that's going to change anytime real soon for your son's troop so what about suggesting some marginal changes, like asking the scouts to pick a mb instead of having the adults choose it? Seems like a step in the right direction at least?

 

Lisa'bob

[vmpost]

We sometimes work on Merit Badges at troop meetings, but: 1) We work on them, we don't usually complete them - Scouts have to do that on their own, 2) That's what the Scouts want to do, and 3) It IS set up by the Scouts. Par for the course, the only problem we usually have is the adults who want to put their finger in! (Example: Boys lined up 2 young men who taught Pioneering at summer camp to come and work on it at a troop meeting. One of the adults kept going over to "help" and tell them the right way to do it. The boys were deferential to her, but I finally had to ask her point blank, "But did the boys ask you to teach this, or did they invite those boys who are doing a great job?" "Then you need to come over here with the rest of the adults."

 

Sometimes we just can't help ourselves, can we? We can do it better/faster/"our way". Many of the adults cannot fully see the advancement from Cubs to BS's, and want to continue to be a Den Leader. If we can step back and empower our youth (yes, be there to mentor & guide them & teach them leadership skills) WOW! Awesome things happen! And they just might decide to work on a MB at a troop meeting, but they might go to a climbing wall, practice dutch oven cooking, or just CHILL.

[Eagledad]

>>I have a real issue with my son's Troop in that they do MB's at one meeting a month. This is 100% arranged by an adlt leader. The adult's decide which MB's are going to be offered and an adult calls up a councilor (all inhouse Troop councilors) and sets up the classes.

[acco40]

I think many people forget that advancement is just one of the eight methods of Scouting. Too many parents, and regretfully some leaders, forget that advancement should not trump the other methods. However, because advancement may be the most easily quantified and the real goal of many, it is over emphasized IMO. The aims of Scouting can be met by Tenderfoot Scouts just as easily as Eagle Scouts. We should not forget that.

[SeattlePioneer]

I've been working with a small troop of about ten Scouts.

 

Last year there was an effort by a parent to teach the Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge --- very few completed the requirements.

 

Last August a parent organized an outing to a horse ranch where the Scouts got to practice saddling a horse, brushing and caring for the animal, mucking out a stall and generally passing the merit badge requirements. All the Scouts completed those requirements.

 

That was our monthly outdoor activity. We are now having a monthly PLC meeting in place of a troop meeting, then two troop meetings to prepare for the monthly outing, and an unstructured outing (swimming, bowling or such) for the Tuesday after the outing.

 

This plan is working pretty well. The SPL isn't overwhelmed by perpetually having to plan meetings and the need to plan for upcoming outings helps create a good deal of the plan for a troop meeting anyway.

 

There is no longer any time for Merit Badge classes.

 

We do have a parent who is teaching the Personal Management and Physical Fitness Merit Badges to four Scouts on the weekends. I think that is a good model --- it provides some structure and the older Scouts have a chance to work on something together.

 

Last weekend we did the council's winter camp, which included advancement instruction. I bird dogged our "Three Musketeers" who are working on Tenderfoot requirements. They got signed off on firebuilding and Tote 'N Chip requirements, cooked their own lunch, and in the afternoon I set up an orienteering course in which they had to use a map to locate specified locations around the camp.

 

They didn't actually get a fire started (neither did I!) the wood available was too wet in the rain, and neither the instructors not I were prepared with firestarters or even much in the way of dry newspaper. Last night I experimented with a firestarting kit composed of a homemade firestarter, some finely split tinder and matches double baggied to keep out moisture.

 

I'm going to take that to our PLC tonight, and it may well become a part of skills building session in which all the Scouts (and adults) will have a chance to make a good little firestarting kit. I expect to announce that we will have a troop firebuilding contest at our campout at a Scout camp in early March.

 

So the failure to build a fire at winter camp drives the Troop program the next month which promotes and drives the next month's outing.

 

 

 

 

Seattle Pioneer

 

 

[Eagledad]

I like the sound of your program Seattle, it's a down to earth fun kind of program.

 

You know I was thinking about our troop, just because a troop doesn't do MBs doesn't mean it shouldn't do a couple MBs a month. We tried to sponser to MBs a month in our Troop. An adult would announce to the scouts that he was leading a MB class. He would give them his/her name and a number so anyone interested could call. He then would talk with the scouts and arrange a schedule. Worked pretty well and the troop sponsors at least 24 badges a year.

 

Barry

[SR540Beaver]

Barry,

 

Our troop does something similar. We have a number of parents available for various MB's that boys can work with anytime they want. We do however periodically schedule certain Eagle required MB's that we want to ensure the quality of. It is announced that Mr or Mrs So and So will be teaching the Personal Management MB on X night over the next X weeks if anyone wants to sign up. They are always done outside of troop meetings and it is up to the boy to decide to sign up.

[Eagledad]

>>It is announced that Mr or Mrs So and So will be teaching the Personal Management MB on X night over the next X weeks if anyone wants to sign up. They are always done outside of troop meetings and it is up to the boy to decide to sign up.

[SR540Beaver]

Barry,

 

We are not far off from what you describe. We do the traditional thing where the boy goes to the SM first and gets names and a card signed and makes arrangements. Even for an MB fair, the boy is responsible for getting a card from the SM and finding out any pre-reqs or any other info he needs.

 

Like I said, we limit the number of MB's we offer as an outside class and we limit the frequency of holding the classes. The main reason for doing them is to control the quality. Personal Management and Family Life just can not be done justice in a summer camp situation. In fact, the SM will not sign a card for certain MB's at summer camp. He either wants them done in-house or thru an MBC on our list. While taking any MB is highly encouraged, we do explain to the boy why we want them to take certain MB's in certain environments as opposed to others.

[Eagledad]

Sounds like your in a really good troop Beav.

 

Have a great day.

 

Barry