KoreaScouter Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 This is a bit of a carryover from the "This Scout has Legions of Merits" thread. I guess I'm curious about which Eagle-required MBs the Scouts in your Troops earn first, and last. Why only Eagle-required? Common reference; everybody has to earn them. Me first, I guess, and this is not scientific. First one: First Aid. Last one: Personal Management. Why? Our 1st Year Scouts tend to complete First Aid at their first summer camp while completing First Class Trail. Personal Management is the least fun, and tends to get put off 'till the end; plus, calls for a maturity level not normally present in a 10 1/2 year old lad. As an aside, the most popular electives for us are the crafts badges, followed closely by Aviation (mostly Air Force kids, and we can get them in the air almost at will). KS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGreyEagle Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 Agree with KS on the last merit badge, normally its Personal Manangement although Personal Fitness is a close second. Then the first merit badge tends to be First Aid with the "Citizens" running a close second. First elective? Basketry at summer camp of course ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evmori Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 The Scouts in my Troop usually earn Swimming or 1st Aid 1st. Just like OGE & KS, Personal Management & Personal Fitness are usually last. Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1 1 Peter 4:10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk9750 Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 Swimming is always our first, as we do a tremendous amount of aquatic activities. We push Swimming MB at the Scout's first summer Camp. I can't think of an exception in our Troop. Personal Management, Personal Fitness, and Communications vie for last finished. I suspect that Mgt. and Comm. get put of until last partly for KS's reasoning, but as often in our Troop because I am the MB Counselor for those two, and I have a reputation for being tough. Fortunately, almost every Eagle Scout has thanked me at his COH for the way I do Personal Mgt. They always say they got more from that merit badge than any other they did. Handicraft badges at summercamp are most prevelent in our Troop, but the two elective MB that are chossen most often in our Troop are Cooking and Hiking. It is a badge of honor in our Troop to have earned these two badges. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purcelce Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 Ditto to other posters. Looks like this is BSA wide Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdvanceOn Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 Until recently swimming has been one of the last (if ever) earned merit badges. Our troop has basically been a non-swimming troop (and yes, they used to sign off the rank swimming requirements just because). The first Eagle badge NOW is swimming. Our last seems to be Family Life and Personal Fitness. Both of these are actually easy EXCEPT for the paperwork involved. It's like pulling teeth to get the Scouts to keep records! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eamonn Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 I thought that it was just my son who left the Personal Management till last. Oh Well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob White Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 It seems the first required one earned is usually First Aid or Swimming. The last is often Citz. in the World, Personal Management, Family Life, or Communications. Bob White Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk9750 Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 Bob mentioned the Citizenship badges as being last very often. In our Troop, the annual planning calender always has a trip scheduled for work on these badges. Participation is limited to people working on the badge. No one has to go if they don't want, but they all want to go. So if you want to go the the County Seat (does anyone other people in Mt. Pilot use that term?), or Washington D.C., or New York, you get started on these badges. The three Citizenships badges are most often completed by our guys in their 2nd, third, and 4th year in the Troop. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shemgren Posted June 19, 2003 Share Posted June 19, 2003 In my experience (including in my own case), 1st Aid is the first MB earned and the Citizenships and Personal Management are left to last, with Communications and Personal Fitness close to last. I try to inform the Scouts about this trend and to try break this early on to get some of these badges dine eariler. Some Summer Camps are aware of this trend and are offering some of these badges at camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eamonn Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 How does a Scout do Personal Management at Summer Camp ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk9750 Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 Eamonn, Good question. It's got to be tough to interview a bank official in the middle of a Scout Camp. Our summer camp this year is doing Communications (Limited to Life Scouts, I think). I guess this one could be done at summer camp, but why? Why would anyone want to spend a week in the outdoors doing an indoor MB? Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdvanceOn Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 Mark: I believe in another post you said you go to Heritage Reservation. The two Eagle merit badges they are offering at Trail to Eagle (communication and personal fitness) CANNOT be completed at camp (see your camp leadership guide). They are offering them to help the Scout get started on them only. Any Scout working on them will get a partial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SR540Beaver Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 mk9750, "County Seat" is a common term here in Oklahoma.......the center of the universe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk9750 Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 AdvanceOn, Thanks for that bit of info. For the first time in my Scouting career, I am not going to summer camp. As the Advancement Chair and acting SM when we go to Heritage, I have been intimately knowledgable about their MB program. This year's acting SM has all of the info, and mentioned to me about the two Eagle Require'd MBs they added this year. We discussed this with the boys, and none of them wanted to pursue either at summer camp, so I didn't investigate these too thoroughly. Just to be clear, they also offer Swimming, Lifesaving, Camping, and Env Science, along with Hiking as other required MBs. And they do a fine job with these. I endorse them highly. And although I said I won't be going to summer camp this year, that's not quite accurate. I will be driving 5 guys out and back. Can't wait to make the 3 1/2 hour drive each way twice in the same week! Oh well, I get to go through my dad's home town. Maybe with no one in the car going back after dropping them off, I'll stop by and look around. Where in SW PA are you? And what week do you go to camp? Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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