badges that should be eliminated

[Lisabob]

In the other thread, discussion turned (briefly) to the reading and scholarship merit badges. And in another thread there is mention of some possible new MBs coming into existence, and maybe replacing some existing badges. So I was thinking about what I'd get RID of, if the decision were mine.

 

As a former counselor for both reading and scholarship, I hate to say it, but I find these to be two pretty uninspired badges. They're ok for an early middle school boy who enjoys school and wants a quick & easy first merit badge, but even so, they're extremely simple and lack much in the way of adventure and for most boys they probably don't require much or any personal growth either. Most of the requirements are things even younger boys already know how to do (use the catalog and the internet, for example). I would never push either of these badges on a boy who needed some serious inspiration though.

 

Now please, don't take that to mean that I think school or reading are bad or unimportant or something! I'm an avid reader and an educator. I just don't see much "merit" in either of these two badges, as currently structured. So for me, I think I'd nominate one or both of these as badges that could be consigned to the dust heap.

 

What do all of you think? Good badges? Or not so good? What would you get rid of?

 

 

[Kudu]

"What do all of you think? Good badges? Or not so good? What would you get rid of?"

 

Get rid of all of them.

 

Then bring in outside experts to rewrite the ones that deal (without schoolwork requirements) with the following two things:

 

1) Scoutcraft

2) Service to Others

 

Scoutcraft and Service to Others are the ONLY two legitimate Scouting Merit Badge subjects. Scouts get enough school in school.

 

1) Scoutcraft.

 

You might remember Scoutcraft. It is in the BSA "mission statement," the one mandated by Congress:

 

Sec. 30902. Purposes

 

The purposes of the corporation are to promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods that were in common use by boy scouts on June 15, 1916.

 

Scoutcraft is all the outdoor fun stuff that makes 75% of all sixth grade boys want to join the BSA.

 

2) Service to Others.

 

That is the "the ability of boys to do things for others" part. The practical help other people at al times and how to be a hero stuff--like First Aid, Lifesaving, various health and safety badges, etc.

 

By the way, the "Three Aims of Scouting" mandated by Congress are

 

Patriotism

Courage

Self-Reliance

 

Patriotism is the natural result of Service to Others, Courage and Self-Reliance comes from Scoutcraft.

 

Kudu

 

[Beavah]

Yah yah yah. We get your position, Kudu.

 

That havin' been said, I've been on many an Eagle board of review where boys admitted that the badge they got the most out of was one of those required badges you despise so much. Personal Management is common. Citizenship is common. And I know more than a few men who found their career because of one of those frickin' (cotton pickin'? dastardly?) career-style merit badges and the relation they built with their counselor.

 

I think there's merit () in gettin' away from MB classes and universities all that drivel. Scouts should not be school. But that's not the same thing as sayin' we should get rid of all non-outdoors-focused merit badges. Done well, such merit badges can bring boys together with great ideas and great mentors, and help 'em learn a lot of practical skills.

 

After all, self-reliance these days means managin' personal finances and bein' able to repair your car and havin' a career you love and are good at, eh? A lot more than it means bein' able to track a gopher.

 

Beavah

 

[Kudu]

Beavah writes:

 

"That havin' been said, I've been on many an Eagle board of review where boys admitted that the badge they got the most out of was one of those required badges you despise so much. Personal Management is common. Citizenship is common."

 

That is because any indoor boy can get to an Eagle Board of Review without ever walking into the woods with a pack on his back.

 

If our socialized Scouting included Baden-Powell's Scouting requirements, an Eagle candidate might be just as enthusiastic about that 120 mile horseback Journey he organized for Senior Hiker Merit Badge!

 

Kudu

 

[shortridge]

I do think Kudu's argument is worth considering, not just outright dismissal. Certainly thought-provoking.

 

My suggestions off the top of my head:

 

- Get rid of Truck Transportation in favor of a general Transportation badge, to include basic aviation (not as in-depth as Aviation MB) and water shipping as well.

 

- Merge Stamp Collecting and Coin Collecting into the Collections MB, as tracks or concentrations.

 

- Merge Dog Care into Pets. The BSA is showing a clear and blatant anti-feline bias.

 

- Merge Public Speaking into Communications.

[evmori]

Kudu does make a good point.

 

Reading is not an easy badge to get! It requires as much if not more work than a lot of merit badges.

 

 

[DeanRx]

I don't know about eliminating any badges... condensing into a group for some, maybe...

 

Its been a long while since I've earned any and being in cubs, my son hasn't gotten to the point of doing them yet.

 

One thing I always wondered as a scout: WHY are there 3 Citizenship MB's? Community, Nation, World ?!?! Aren't they all the same? I agree with the other poster that stated "Collecting" should be an umbrella grouping of stamp and coin collecting.

 

One MB I'd like to see made a requirement for Eagle: Sewing.

 

I know its not manly, but it is extremely useful information for any adult to know. I have several MOTHERS in our pack that can't sew their cub's badges on for them. My mother told me that she quit sewing on patches once I made WEBELOS. If I wanted it on my uniform - I was expected to sew it on there. Young men should be able to sew on a button, quick mend a seam, etc... just as much as they should be able to change a flat tire and check their oil. To me its part of being a self-sufficient adult. Add in the fact that it'll make them a better fisherman (knots) and they might need to sew up a nasty gash for first aid on a backcountry Philmont trip and its a handy little skill to have.

 

One MB I'd like to see added: HUNTING. It'll never happen - far too much outcry from the PETA folks.

 

I just think that at least ONCE in a scout's life they should be made (if they are meat eaters) to kill, field dress, and cook their own protein. People today have such a removed idea about where their food comes from and how it is processed. If you have to stalk, kill, and prep your own meal - one has a much greater appreciation for the food they so readily take for granted everyday.

 

Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I favor the Scoutcraft things much more than the "management" classroom type MB's. I think they have their place. Especially with regards to Citizenship and some of the Sciences and Math. But things like reading? Come on - that isn't a MB as much as it is a nessesary skill to navigate life (and do other MB's). Reading MB is to academics as a walking MB would be to hiking or backpacking. Its assumed the skill of walking is mastered by the fact that one completes the hiking or backpacking MB. Its not its own skill-set. Nor should reading be.

 

I also always thought it odd that there is a Dentistry MB and a Vet Sciences MB, but no medicine MB. Yes, there is a First Aid MB, but nothing devoted to spuring a scout's interest in advanced medical techniques. First Aid coupled with Chemistry is the closest you can get. They don't even have a Biology MB, do they?

 

Just my ramblings...

[gwd-scouter]

I'm not familiar enough with the requirements of all the merit badges to know which I think could/should be eliminated. Just working from the common badges our guys earn:

 

I agree and have posted elsewhere that the three citizenship badges should be combined.

 

I also don't see the need for dog care and pet care as individual badges.

 

Sure, some merit badges are easy to earn - music for instance. All the guys in marching/concert band have earned that one. The trumpet players usually go on to earn bugling - though that one is rather difficult for some. Reading and scholarship are two that most guys earn early in their Boy Scouting career. I see no problem there, although I believe they could be combined.

 

Why sports and a separate badge for golf? The reason I ask is why an individual badge for golf and none for any other sport? Maybe a general sports badge with an emphasis required for a particular sport. Ditto for collections and then individual for stamp and coin collecting.

 

The badge I would nominate as being the least productive/meaningful/useful is fingerprinting. Can't tell you the number of times I hear a Scoutmaster at summer camp tell his new Scouts "go take fingerprinting tonight, it's easy and you'll earn your first badge."

 

DeanRX - there is a medicine merit badge.

[GKlose]

http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Medicine

[GKlose]

Way back in summer '71, as a Tenderfoot, my first merit badge was Reading. It helped that my mom was studying library science at a local university, and she hooked me up with a librarian that sort of mentored me through the process.

 

But this brings up an interesting point to me -- reading and scholarship could be combined and would make sense, but also the breadth and depth of Reading could be changed to be more of a Library Science focus (if the field is specific enough for a graduate degree, Master of Library Science, it could warrant it's own merit badge).

 

I had another thought yesterday -- I would be all for dropping (immediately, without question) any merit badge that could be done in a short time at a "merit badge college". In fact, I just heard a story from my DE that he earned Soil and Water Conservation in two hours at a national jamboree merit badge midway when he was a kid. That's the kind of thing I think should be clamped down upon. The idea of awarding a merit badge after a couple of hours of effort seems to me to be completely at odds with what a merit badge is all about.

 

(confession time: not long ago, someone in our council put out a call for counselors for a "merit badge college" specifically for sciences/engineering/technical/arts merit badges -- I sent him email to volunteer, but when the time came to actually commit, I had second thoughts. Reading in this forum had a lot to do with that. I realized that I have no interest in being party to handing out merit badges with substandard effort, and many of the ones I counsel can't be done in just a few hours. The list of offered merit badges grew too, so that a scout could sign up for, and earn, many Eagle required merit badges too. The whole event started going a direction that I don't believe in.)

 

Guy

[shortridge]

DeanRx - There is a hunting program in Venturing, FYI.

 

www.usscouts.org/advance/venturing/Electives/Hunting.asp

 

The requirements don't involve actually killing or dressing an animal - the closest you come is assisting at a game check station and going on a hunting trip.

[DeanRx]

Good to know about the Medicine MB. I was working from an outdated source list (namely the back of my old scout handbook).

 

The hunting in venturing is a good start.

 

I still think its a good idea to have a young man either hunt or slaugter their own dinner at least once in their life - so they have an appreciation of where food actually comes from. There is a reason the native americans and early settlers didn't waste food, nor took it for granted. A good deal of that attitude came from the sweat equity and somewhat unpleasant task of the stalk, hunt, kill, and butcher.

 

One doesn't waste what one has to work hard to attain. We've really lost sight of that fact since the majority of folks moved off the farms in the late 1950's. Now even the smallest towns have multiple drive-thrus and folks can get their hamburger cooked to order without getting out of the car.

 

The whole process lends itself to taking food-sources for granted, thus becoming complacent about where and how one's food is processed... that is, I guess, until the FDA fails to do its job and no one can get Peanut Butter for awhile... then folks start to take notice.

[John-in-KC]

Look at the bottom ten earned nationally. If there's a coherent pattern (they're earned primarily in states with economic activity of that badge), keep them. If there's no coherent pattern, dump them, and replace with stuff that's more advanced.

 

We might be able to divide Computers, as one example, into Computer USER MB and Computer NETWORKING MB.

 

As for me, I think most regulars here know what's on my mind: Bring Cooking MB back to the Eagle Required List, even if it means adding to that list and dropping an optional merit badge.

[Lisabob]

John, I'm curious, where would a person find the list of the bottom 10 (or top 10, for that matter)?

 

Ed, I'll concede that some parts of the reading badge do take time and effort, particularly 1b, 1d, and 4. I do think requirements 1a, 1c, 2 (to some extent) and 3 sound like better Wolf and Bear cub scout requirements than age-appropriate boy scout merit badge requirements.

[John-in-KC]

Lisa,

 

ScoutNet. I am making (a perhaps rash) an assumption here that it has management tools at the National Council level, that allow for data mining and analysis.