Managing Merit Badge Blue Cards and Advancement

[Oak Tree 15]

I explained the blue card system to a new Scout. He thought about it for a minute, and then asked if the best way to deal with this problem would be to ask for all 120 blue cards as soon as you start Scouts, and then everything you do will be able to count. I agreed with him that that would be one way to make sure you got credit for all your activities. I don't think he'll actually do anything about it, but I do see where his idea makes some kind of theoretical sense, and is similar to SeattlePioneer's suggestion. Might be a little much to manage, though.

 

Oak Tree

[Hunt 11]

SeattlePioneer, it seems to me that you could accomplish a major part of what you have in mind by having a good Scribe. While you might not have blue cards, you would have records showing which boys did these various activities. I don't think "issuing" blue cards will necessarily solve the problem of MBCs rejecting requirements done before issuance anyway--a MBC who takes that approach will probably not accept a blue card that was signed two years before the Scout contacted the MBC.

[AvidSM 11]

When it comes time to work on a Merit Badge, most boys remember doing a certain activity, but sometimes they can't recall the details or the date. There are computer programs out there, like TroopMaster, that allow you to keep records of such things. We make it a habit of recording the dates and other data, like miles hiked, for each activity. That way the information is available for the boys when they need it.

 

I don't think it's a good idea having the troop manage the blue cards for the boys. It's the boys job to fill out the initial information on the card, get approval to start the MB from his SM and then contact the approved counselor. This teaches the boy to be reponsible and helps develop his social skills.

 

As a MBC myself, I never had any issue with accepting notes from a boy, signed by the SM that said, "Johnny scout completed requirement so-and-so on some earlier date".

[scoutingagain 20]

I tend to agree with the approach Longhaul and Hunt has suggested.

 

The requirements for a MB are outlined in the MB pamphlets and the annual Requirements booklet. There is nothing that says a counselor cannot accept activities completed prior to the scout contacting him. However, there is nothing that obligates the counselor to accept those activities either. That is why it is highly recommended that a scout contact the counselor before starting work... to ensure what he is doing will be acceptable.

 

We track activities in Troopmaster, and have a record scouts can show counselors to ask for credit for certain activities. This is used mostly for the Camping Merit badge, that requires 20 nights camping and some specific activities while camping. The Camping Counselors at our Summer camp and within our unit have always accepted our TroopMaster activity report as documentation of completing these activities.

 

The issue of Blue cards is moot for us, since our District doesn't use them.

 

As far as pushing Life scouts, I agree with the approach that says they need to want it for themselves. As Life scouts they should have enough maturity and interest to complete the journey on their own. At a recent meeting I made a point of publicly asking two of our Life scouts what requirements they needed to do to get to Eagle. They new exactly what they needed to do. Which MBs they needed, when they needed to start a project etc. I did this primarily for the benifit of scouts that had recently earned 1st class. The point was, that after 1st class, advancement was primarily the responsibility of the individual scout. The unit has a program to get new scouts through the 1st Class Rank, but after that it is up to the scout to plan and achieve his own advancement through participation in unit activities, summer camp, MB Universities(which I don't like) and individual MBs(which hardly ever happens).

 

We have some scouts that tend to stall out at Star or Life, but that is their business. I may nag them a little here and there, but don't go around managing their advancement for them.

 

SA

 

SA