Group Merit Badge in a weekend?

[Beavah]

The troop has held wilderness survival, pioneering, canoeing, motorboating, orienteering, bird stufy and climbing campouts over the years where the boys camped and also earned a merit badge.

 

Yah, this thread is spun from the Eagle Mill thread, just because it was a new twist to me on da old theme of MB fairs.

 

Are a lot of units doing this sort of thing now?

 

As a canoeing and climbing MB counselor, I'd certainly be uncomfortable tryin' to do either of those badges with a full unit in a weekend. In fact, unless all of 'em were really coming with a lot of prior experience, I'm pretty sure I couldn't do it. Leastways, not without badly shortchanging the experience and fudging on my duty to examine each boy individually.

 

O'course, I'm an old fart and not as creative as I used to be.

 

Are folks findin' this sort of thing standard practice, along with gettin' multiple badges in a day at Merit Badge School?

 

Beavah

 

[Liz]

We *occasionally* do stuff like this. I think maybe our unit was planning to do an Archery badge this coming weekend.

 

The trip I'm taking the boys on in the spring is being billed as a "Railroading Merit Badge Trip" but that's sort of a misnomer -- although we will be covering maybe 2 or 3 requirements on the trip, we'll be doing 90% of the MB ahead of time and some of the boys working on the MB aren't going on the trip at all. Other than riding the train to Sacramento and visiting the railroading museum, most of what we'll be doing will not be directly related to the MB.

 

In reality, we rarely get an entire MB done in a single weekend. There are a few exceptions. Our district occasionally puts on MB weekends at a local camp, and those are popular, but they're only available for a couple of MBs.

 

-Liz

[Lisabob]

My son's troop has done these sometimes. Beavah, I don't know how it works elsewhere but I don't suppose you need to worry, if other units work like his does. Typically they get an introduction to a MB - have some fun with it, do some hands-on stuff, etc. - but those who want to actually earn it, would need to do considerably more than what is possible in a weekend. In reality, most boys seem to enjoy trying out some activities, but relatively few actually follow through and earn the MB.

 

 

[gwd-scouter]

I know of a Troop that has themed campouts with the purpose of completing merit badges. I've wondered at times how they managed to complete all the requirements for some of them in a single weekend, but it is not my Troop.

 

Our District has at times held camporees that were merit badge themed: aviation, animal science, geology, shotgun shooting.

 

Our Council offers merit badge university, but our guys have never gone to that. It is on their plans for this year, though.

 

Our guys have proposed and planned to work on merit badges as a group, but not very often. Citizenship in the Community was one which started them off by attending a City Council meeting. Then some time during a couple of regular meetings was spent on other requirements. Most of the boys have completed their presentation of a community service organization and have done the service hours to go with it. Of course, this was all done individually.

 

We did pulp and paper about a year ago as a Troop. That was a lot of fun. We did spend a weekend a couple of years ago on motor boating and waterskiing. Everyone completed motor boating, but only two were able to finish the skill requirement for waterskiing.

 

Of course, in our situation, we are a small troop (a patrol really) and it has been fairly easy to work on a merit badge as a group. These days though, our boys range in age from 11 to 17 and we are about to get a bunch of Webelos. Our older guys are talking about pioneering, wilderness survival, taking a cycling trek for camping merit badge and other more adventurous stuff, whereas the younger guys are concerned about their T-1st class requirements and some of the fun-sounding merit badges (art, sculpture, music, etc.).

 

I agree with you Beavah, that the biggest hurdle in conducting a group merit badge is making sure that we don't fudge on the requirements to measure each Scout individually in his completion of the badge, especially those requirements that state things like: explain, discuss, prepare, etc.

[Eamonn]

The first Troop OJ joined had a change of leadership.

The Guy who replaced the SM held the opinion that every Scout in the Troop should be an Eagle Scout.

The idea that Advancement was a method of Scouting was cast aside and replaced with the idea that Advancement was Scouting.

OJ had been the type of Lad who looked forward to Troop Meetings and had perfect attendance. (OK he was 13 or 14 and really didn't have a lot of say in the matter.)

One Tuesday night (Troop Night) he informed me that he wasn't going to Scouts. When I asked why he said that they were doing Farm Mechanics MB and he wasn't interested.

I didn't drive him to the meeting.

The day after the meeting his SM happened to bump into me. He was very unhappy with OJ for missing the meeting.

I explained that OJ had no interest what so ever in Farm Mechanics and wasn't going to attend the next three Troop meetings.

Some months past and Atomic Energy merit badge was the badge of the month. The SM had found some fellow from the Navy to cover this.

I asked the SM if I might sit in.

This fellow from the Navy really did seem to know his stuff.

Trouble was that you needed a PhD in the subject to be able to understand what he was talking about.

I sat there for a couple of hours, not able to keep up and understand.

When the next COH came around the SM got up and stuck out his chest, he informed everyone that all the Scouts had earned Atomic Energy merit badge and how not many Scouts get that badge.

OJ got his badge.

I think he knew as much about Atomic Energy, before the MB Class as he did after.

Not long after this OJ changed Troops.

I'm not sure if these classes work.

I do know that if Scouts don't have an interest in the subject and feel that they are being forced to do something that they don't want or need to do. It's just a waste of everyones time.

Eamonn.

[scoutldr]

"A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor"

 

Making earning MB as painless and easy as possible...is that what the MB program is for??

[scottteng]

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. We will occasionally do a Merit badge themed campout usually when a committee member parent has a bug and does all the legwork. The most recent was a the in house campground of a good sized aeronautics museum where they completed aviation and space exploration under the direction of counselors that were staff members at the museum. The boys all enjoyed it especially the new cross overs for whom it was their first MB experience. We also do a troop MB day once per year in December which is the only month we don't camp due to the impossible schedule conflicts of family and seasonal obligations. We offer choice of usually three easy non Eagle required MB's. Last years menu was Fingerprinting, computers and public speaking. They can go to our councils MBU but most do not as it is at the extreme other end of the council from us. We have counselors for most Eagle required in house if the boys want to put forth the effort. If you stay to the easy non required MB's what is the harm of exposing them to lots of different things. Don't short the requirements but lots of them are easy and then there are those which can only be done by a real serious student of the discipline in my opinion too hard for short attention spanned boys.

[HawkUH60]

Hello

As a part of my Wood Badge ticket I am putting on a "Medical Merit Badge Midway" for my district. I have the potential instructors for it but I would like to know if anyone has out there has any power point presentations (or other another type) for Medicine, Dentistry, Public Health or Veterinary Medicine? If you do it would be greatly appreciated. YIS CPT John Green

[Knot Head]

 

Hi - that was my comment above in italics so I thought I would explain a little more.

 

We started doing this as a response to the increase in the merit badge universities. The goal was to provide a more robust merit badge experience.

 

We as a troop have a real problem with MB's earned at camporees or most recently "scoutbase 2008" held in Tunica Mississippi. At this event scouts earned two merit badges in one day. One Day! Many MB's had only 2.5 hour classes. In my opinion this is pathetic. How can you earn the fishing merit badge in 2.5 hours? Summer camps are not alot better. This summer the classes where we went to camp were 1 hour for 4 days for most badges. Some classes such as first aid lasted 2 hours for 4 days.

 

Contrast this with an event over a weekend. We can hold a 3 hour class, break for lunch, go fo 4 hours, break for dinner followed by a campfire. Next day we can go for two more three hour sessions if we need them before heading for home. That is a pretty good hands on experience and the boys seem to like it.

 

The MB's on these campouts are usually the outdoor type and can be done in a weekend with a reasonable class size. Look at the Pioneering MB requirements for example. If you are a good instructor you can do this in one weekend. And that includes watching each boy actually tie all of the knots and do all of the splicing and complete the lashings. There are some things that need to be done before the campout, for example you need to know your knots and lashings before you come on the campout. Otherwise you slow the group down too much. We do a "test" before and you cannot sign up for the campout until you pass the knot and lashing test.

 

Anyway these have worked well for us, but we only do about 3 a year and rotate so they are covered every other year at most.

 

Any questions I'll try to respond.

 

[Buffalo Skipper]

Our troop has in the past, held themed campouts including pioneering, cooking, wilderness survival, and others. These were used as opportunities for earning MBs, a policy to which I am opposed (or at least I am opposed to the manner in which the MB portion was implemented).

 

These monthly themes (as well as others which may apply here) appear in the Program Features I, II, and III. We are trying to organize the monthly theme (at meetings, and carrying this over to a campout) more here lately, implemented through the PLC. What we are starting to do differently is before we being a theme, we quietly and briefly remind scouts that our theme for whatever month is (as and example) pioneering. If you are interested in working on this MB, you will need to get a blue card and meet with a counselor before we begin.

 

For an example, look at the Pioneering MB.

#3-throw a rope. This is a skill all scouts should know. In fact it is taught and required for Bear, long before scouts.

#4-explain ropes. This should go hand in hand with any skill instruction about knot tying, maybe on the advanced level, but still this is something every scout should have a working knowledge of.

#7-build a scale model of a tower. Not something to be done at a meeting or campout.

#9-build trestle (alone). This should be done alone but may be taught and/or practiced at a meeting or at a campout, and shown to a MBC.

#10-pioneering project. This states to be done alone or with other scouts, and may be done at a campout.

First Class Requirement #7 involves lashing skills.

 

Some of these skills need to be taught to all scouts, and pioneering projects should practiced as a group (patrol competitions are great for this!). But anyone who wants to apply these skills to MB requirements needs to be prepared and have met in advance with a counselor to discuss the requirements. The same principles can be applied to other merit badges like cooking and wilderness survival. But each must be signed off with a counselor, not exclusively as part of a troop function.

[Beavah]

The MB's on these campouts are usually the outdoor type and can be done in a weekend with a reasonable class size.

 

Yah, I reckon da bad example we set at summer camp of MB "classes", and then reinforce with Merit Badge Fair "classes", has completely overrun da original intent and value of merit badges.

 

Scouting isn't school. We really shouldn't be doin' "class" should we? For outdoor badges in particular, it sure seems like we should be takin' kids canoeing, and climbing, and doin' pioneering projects. You know. Fun, active learning. Play. And then, when each becomes proficient in da skills of the badge, they earn it.

 

May the Great Scoutmaster forgive me, I'm startin' to think like Kudu! I can imagine if BSA adults ran sports leagues, we'd plan a weekend "soccer" campout centered around the Soccer MB. Half the requirements of Soccer MB would be "explain" or "tell" or "describe", which the boys would get signed off for after sittin' through a couple lectures on da pitch. Then they'd be shown a few drills and made to do a few drills, and get signed off for those for somethin' like kicking one ball into an empty goal on their own, or performing one throw-in correctly. If they're lucky and there's time, they might play one game with the adults givin' instructions all the time. Six months later, when someone asks a boy with Soccer MB to teach a skill or organize a game or play striker for their team, the lad won't be able to. His Scoutmaster will accuse anyone who asked him such a thing of "retesting."

 

Just like we do at camp, eh? Just like school. Start with da definitions. This is a gunwale, this is a thwart. Don't get into a canoe until day three. Blech!

 

An alternative thing to try is Scouting. Just plan a canoe campout, or several. Put boys in canoes. Teach 'em "live", by doing. After yeh say "hold onto the gunwale" a couple of times, they get it, eh? Doesn't need a class. Boys need time paddling, racing, flipping, having fun. Just like soccer, eh? A lad who actually plays the game can also describe da rules, explain the positions, demonstrate a free kick. And six months later, after a winter off, he still can.

 

No wonder soccer is cool and Boy Scouting is dorky, eh?

 

Beavah

[Bob White]

Yeah I suppose that some counselors don't use a hands on approach to teaching, but isn't that more a characteristic of counselor? It certainly isn't the method of teaching that is taught by anything in the BSA program.

 

I would bet a lot of unit leaders teach by lecture rather than hands on as all the BSA training instructs and supports.

 

On the other hand there are some skills you don't just pitch an untrained person into without some instruction first. Canoeing comes to mind. Unless you have the luxury of a lot of canoes and enough instructors to put an instructor in each canoe, trying to teach it by shouting instructions and information to abunch of untrained paddlers is an excercise in futility.

 

The same with firearms, woods tools and anyt activity with a reasonoble expectation of injury for an untrained person.

 

This doesn't mean that the instruction has to be lecture style or boring but it does mean that some level of pre-training be done before you simply throw an inexperienced person into the activity.

 

To not do so would be irresponsible.

 

A big problem with summer camp is that a attitude has been cultivated among many leaders both old and new that the measure of the success fo a summer camp is the merit badge count at the end of the week. "We had a great summer camp the boys earned 58 merit badges in total" has become all too common of an occurrence.

 

That is not all together BSA's fault, that is a a "tradition" started and carried on by unit leaders who have a misplaced sense of the purpose of summer camp and of Scouting.

 

I can'y believe the number of scouters I have heard complain and whine when they learn that they do not do merit badges at Philmont. As if the trek experience is not enough if they can't "get the scouts some merit badges while we are here".

 

The merit badge program exists so that each scout can plan his own advancement trail based on his personal interests. It is not meant to be a troop activity.

 

You cannot misuse the program and then the program for not working.

 

 

[shortridge]

If a unit goes on a high-adventure trip, a long-distance canoe trek or a substantial backpacking expedition, it would make sense that the Scouts would complete large chunks of the MB requirements during those trips. But I'd question an event with the sole purpose of getting Scouts through the requirements.

 

For those of you on the East Coast, there used to be (and may still be) a winter Scouting event at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, with MBs taught by midshipmen - usually on such scientific topics as Atomic Energy and Oceanography, drawing on the resources at the Academy. It was a great experience - lots of fun to tour the campus, eat in the dining hall and talk with the midshipmen, many of whom were Eagles or former Scouts - but I know I was shortchanged when I took some badges there. It wasn't a question of unqualified instructors or insufficient resources, but simply a matter of time.

 

I could see the value in taking such an "organized" approach with First Aid, if you have a professional instructor (doctor, nurse, etc.) and want to make the most efficient use of his or her time.

 

The only such unit-organized MB event that I remember during my youth tenure was a trip to a poultry processing plant, for Agribusiness (since discontinued) - a new ASM was involved in the poultry industry. I don't think any of us actually earned the badge. There were attempts to do an organized Railroading class - a passion of the Scoutmaster - but no takers.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

[GKlose]

This is an interesting thread...I earned Atomic Energy as a scout, when a friend asked me if I wanted to work on it with him. Our Scoutmaster found a counselor (a scientist at a nearby air force base) and we spent several weeks traveling to this guy's house. He spoon-fed it to us, bit by bit, teaching us the parts we didn't know. I had some interesting projects come out of that, including growing some irradiated bean seeds and building a geiger counter (with a G-M tube coming from this scientist). I also recall writing to the Atomic Energy Commission and getting a whole series of pamphlets they published, which covered all sorts of interesting topics: how reactors worked, isotopes, history, etc. The counselor didn't test us, but every meeting with him started with a verbal review quiz from him where he'd go over the things we learned the previous session. I feel like it was one merit badge we both earned the hard way, by putting in a considerable amount of time.

 

While the material I learned didn't directly lead to my choice of profession, the material did serve me well over the years, and I'm glad I had that experience.

 

I'm glad it wasn't just a "read this" kind of moment, the end result of me just being handed a merit badge.

[HawkUH60]

everyone seems to look down on organized merit badge events where a scout can go and earn a badge. If it were not for things like summer camp or merit badge midways I would never have gotten to Eagle. Growing up in Baltimore Area Council Penn State use to run a Science and Energy camp for a week during summer camp. Great experience and I went back the next year as youth staff. All of the merit badges were class room oriented with lectures and activities and all were easily completed in the week of camp if a scout had the drive to do so. Nothing was handed to me. Everyone has been talking about merit badges that involve the outdoors in some way shape or form. We all know there are easier ones out there. I can remember getting leatherwork and finger printing at the 89 Jamboree in a day. How much time should it take to earn them (the two I mentioned)? Some take more time then others, some are more physically demanding and others are more academic demanding. If a Scout does his home work and comes prepared to discuss and participate in a academically oriented merit badge then who is to say it cant be earned in a day long event? I dont recall reading anything about time requirements, generally speaking.