Re: All Merit Badge Counselors within the Troop

Jan

I would like to toss in my two cents worth in on a couple of points you
raised:

----------
> ), why is it bad to have
> the Merit Badge Counselors come from the parents of the boys in the
Troop,
> particularly if that Troop is relatively isolated from other Troops,
> district office and larger populations from which to draw counselors
from?

I don't necessarily think that it is "bad", but rather it is limiting to
the scouts. One of the greatest benefits I got from the Merit Badge
Program was the confidence that came from having to go to someone who I was
not very familiar with to get the badge. This was very valuable experience
when it came time to interview for jobs.

> Wouldn't it be logical for such a Troop to develop their own corp of
Merit
> Badge counselors to save the boys (and parents) from driving the boys to
> towns 20 miles or more away to meet with a counselor?

With over 100 badges, in fields as diverse as Atomic Energy to Zoology
(sorry, couldn't avoid the "A to Z" thing ;-) ), this might not be
practical.

> Would it be better in a case such as this to have Merit Badge Clinics,
> where you set up a workshop or seminar and take the whole Troop through a
> Badge? Then you could justify bringing in someone outside the Troop?

We have done this with our troop, and it works well for some badges.
Others, such as Personal Management, do not lend themselves well to this
kind of work, however. Some badges require one on one interaction between
Scout and Counselor

I feel that, on a whole, I did more work for those counselors who were not
in my troop than I did for those who were, with one exception. Since my
father was my Personal Management counselor, he could (and did) watch the
results of the budget on a daily basis. Boy was that tough at twelve years
old! :-)

YIS,

Jim Lohmann
Cubmaster, Pack 295
Asst. Scoutmaster, Troop 295
Desert Pacific Council, San Diego CA
Eagle Scout Class of '82
>>>---/www/---> OA Brotherhood
mailto jlohmann@adnc.com
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/9637
"No matter where you go, there you are."

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