From: Michael A. Poretsky (MPoretsky@AOL.COM)
Date: Tue Feb 29 2000 - 12:13:59 CST
First Aid is among the several merit badges I counsel.
Depending on the Scout, I will sign off his "blue card" in one of two ways:
1. He can take the Red Cross Community First Aid and CPR course plus the "When Help is Delayed" module, which I give. At the end of the course, I sign off (with SM approval) all first aid requirements up to and including the Merit Badge. Yes, all of the material IS covered. Total time is 12 hours.
2. A Scout can counsel with me and demonstrate, etc. the skills covered in the Merit Badge. This usually takes about three sessions: one to make sure the Scout understands the requirements, the second and possibly third to have him show me that his had the knowledge and skills required. Total time for me is three to five hours.
My point is that there is more than one legitimate way to counsel a Merit Badge and the Scout. Some MB's lend themselves to independent study with minimal input from the counselor. Others are more effectively counseled in a more "classroom" atmosphere. The real skill for us leaders is to make certain that the boys who come to us get the most knowlege possible from working on the badge - the merit badge knowlege and general knowlege of communications, personal management, etc.
Until they start issuing standardized boys I, for one, will adapt the counseling to the needs of the boy while making sure that the requirements are met as written.
Yours in Scouting,
Mike Poretsky
(The hour a week I'm giving now is in the week of September 17, 2231)
