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Communication Merit Badge question


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I am a Merit Badge counselor for the Communications Merit Badge.

 

"Requirement 8 says: Plan a troop court of honor or campfire program. Have the patrol leaders' council approve it, then write the script and prepare the program. Serve as master of ceremonies."

 

I currently have two boys working on this badge with me. They are currently planning the next COH (with Scoutmaster's approval) and they will both have a part being up front at the COH (Master of Ceremonies) I was going to sign the requirement 8 off for both of them. Do you think that this is meeting the requirement if they share the responsibility?

 

The reason I ask now is that now there are two other boys who are taking the badge at a MB college. Now they, too, need to serve as Master of Ceremonies at a COH or campfire. I do not want to have four boys doing one court of honor for completing this requirement. I am going to encourage them to wait and do it at a campfire, or the next coh. Is that within my "rights" as a merit badge counselor?

 

What is your opinion on both of the questions?

 

Jo

 

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Here is my thoughts ...

 

Yes, two scouts running one court is ok, as long as you believe they are doing equal work and are doing significant enough work to complete the said requirement

 

More then 2 Scouts I do not believe they would do enough to gang anything from completing the requirement. However if it is say a very large special COH with lots to be done and lots of MC type work to share then maybe.

 

Yes, I personally believe it is with in your rights to say they need to do a campfire or a different COH in the future. However it is also with in the rights of the Scouts to find a new counselor.

 

Just my wacky 2 cents ... looking forward to see what others think....

 

 

 

Scott Robertson

http://insanescouter.org

Helping leaders one resource at a time....

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" I am going to encourage them to wait and do it at a campfire, or the next coh. Is that within my "rights" as a merit badge counselor? "

 

Yes. The scouts must complete the requirement to your satisfaction.

 

However, I would work with the SM to try and ge a campfire scheduled in a timely fashion to help the second set of scouts meet the requirement.

 

SA

 

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I have always encouraged individual ownership on this one. As the requirement is written, it seems like it's wanting one person to write the script and serve as emcee. We have enough courts of honor and campfires that it doesn't generally get backed up very far. And encouraging individual ownership does give us a good supply of boys who want to run these things.

 

That said, I think your plan is fine for your circumstances.

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I'm a communications MB counselor too. I would agree with your interpretation, that it might be ok for two boys to work together to plan and conduct the COH, but that four boys is a bit much. I agree that you're within your right to tell the boys that, as well.

 

Actually I'm working with a boy right now on this very requirement. The difficulty I'm having is getting the adults in charge to move over and give this boy the space he needs to plan and MC the thing! Worse, because it is his Dad who usually runs the show (ugh, I know, not what's supposed to happen but yet it does), and who doesn't want to step aside.

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Wonderful friday All

 

Personally I don't think you should focus on the number of scouts, whether it is one or two or whatever. I look at the requirement as Oak Tree writes:

 

"As the requirement is written, it seems like it's wanting one person to write the script and serve as emcee."

 

If you feel you can get all four of the scouts to achieve that requirement, then you are OK. That is the way I counseled the badge.

 

Now, I know by using Oaks definition that more then one or two scouts at a COH sounds unreasonable. But have you been to four Eagle Ceremonies at one time? Many troops do a Troop COH followed by with a break then an Eagle COH. In a large troop, that COH might be so complicated that it required three scouts to plan and lead. And what about a Troop Campfire followed with a COH. These things get complicated and require several planners and leaders.

 

All that being said, just make sure the scout is growing from the experience, not just completing a requirement.

 

Barry

 

 

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If I were doing this, I would have each boy submit in writting a plan and script for the COH or campfire. I would then let the two of them bring their plans and work them into the program. Then that joint plan and script would be used to run the ceremony.

 

This requirement is a bit vaugely worded, and open to interpretation. It does not say you must do a ceremoney from start to finish. It says to plan one, write the script, and prepare a program. Then it says to be an emcee. It does not say for the scout to use his plan for the ceremony. There is a lot of wiggle room here, that you could do a joint ceremony with. It sounds like it is up to the MB counselor's judgement.

 

In our troop, the PLC in the past has had little to do with the COH. The preveous scoutmasters have done this. This goes back to the question, to what degree is the boy let troop boy led?

 

 

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LOL. You should see my head nodding in agreement as I go through each different answer! They all make sense.

 

I am considering telling the scouts that the first one who gets his written plan to me will be the one that gets to do requirement 8 for this CoH.

 

I'm gonna run that by the Scoutmaster. Don't want to cause a ruckus.

 

The second part of that requirement mentioning being approved by the PLC isn't really done right now in our troop. Though I'd love to see the PLC more involved, we only recently even HAVE a PLC. We're still struggling with that.

 

Jo(This message has been edited by cubscoutjo)

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CubScoutJo writes:I am considering telling the scouts that the first one who gets his written plan to me will be the one that gets to do requirement 8 for this CoH.Be careful; the requirements don't provide for receipt of a written plan by either the MBC or the SM; its enough for the Scout to WRITE a script, after getting his plan approved by the PLC.

 

Nowhere does it say the MBC or SM must receive (or approve) the plan (or script) before conducting the COH (or campfire).

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Fred,

 

I'm going to respectfully disagree on two levels:

 

First, at the moment, it appears Ms Jo is the gatekeeper of who gets to use this venue. Hopefully, as she describes her PLC, in time the youth will be the gatekeeper.

 

Second, to get to the script, the author has to make an outline. To build the outline, the author has to sequence. To sequence, the author has to decide what the blocks will be in the first place. That's planning in my book. If Ms Jo uses an intermediate product in the process of building a script for her gatekeeping decision, I can live with that.

 

BTW, are you going to get to PTC for Relationships Week this year???

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I view COH's as a patrol-method opportunity. If there are 4 boys each from a different patrol, then each one could in fact write and emcee their patrol's part of the COH. If two boys are from the same patrol, THEY can decide who does the COH and who does the next campfire, etc.

 

If the troop is adult-led then with the permission of the SM and other adults he can write/emcee the COH.

 

If the troop is boy-led, troop-method, then with the permission of the SPL and PLC he can write/emcee the COH.

 

If the troop is boy-led, patrol-method, the obvious choice would be working with his PL.

 

Stosh

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