Re: Time limit for MB's
Bruce E. Cobern (bec@PIPELINE.COM)
Wed, 27 Nov 1996 02:00:35 GMT
At 04:19 PM 11/24/96 -0700, Monte Kalisch wrote:
>I see your point here, but I think it brings up an interesting question:
>does that mean that any requirement, once signed, may have to be done
>again? Does this include the requirements for Tenderfoot, Second, and
>First Class? Does that say that the Scoutmaster has the ultimate
>responsibility to make sure that each Scout has earned all the requirements
>before he signs the SM Conference line?
No, because a SM conference is not a skills review as much as it is a goal
setting session. The responsibility for the lower rank requirements rests
with whoever signed them off. Similarly with MB's, the responsibility rests
with the counselor, and there is only one counselor - the one who signs off
on the last requirement.
>At summer camp, there are thousands of partials which get completed. Does
>the counselor have the responsibility to recheck all of those requirements
>which have previously been completed? When/where does this stop?
That many partials? Doesn't anybody finish anything? :-) Seriously,
though, the counselor has exactly that responsibility. Not to have the
Scout redo all the requirements, but to satisfy himself that they have been
done and to have the Scout redo all or part of any requirement where the
final counselor isn't satisfied that the requirement has actually been done.
Most of the time this merely involves asking the Scout what he did to meet
the requirement. In the case of written requirements it helps if the Scout
still has the written work. Then it is easy to just show it to the new
counselor. This really isn't as big an issue as you are making it out to
be. If you (generic camp staff) are only signing off requirements that have
actually been done, and done well, then the counselors back home will very
quickly become comfortable with your partials and will probably accept them
without question. The problem is that many camps get the reputation of
being merit badge mills where merit badges are given away not earned. In
these areas the counselors are reluctant to accept partials because they
have no confidence in the camp's standards.
>I agree with you to some extent, but I wonder what the "official" policy
>is.
I don't think you are going to find any "official policy" statement.
However, when I was at the Advancement session at Philmont a number of years
ago this was discussed at length and, according to TJ Van Houten, then the
adviser to the advancement committee, the "policy" is as I have stated - the
guy/gal who puts his signature on the card has a right to feel comfortable
that the merit badge was earned.
--
Bruce E. Cobern
mailto:bec@pipeline.com
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
