New Scouts & Merit Badges

[KurtB 10]

We recently added 3 brand new scouts to our Troop. I am also new to this branch of the program.

 

I understand that a majority of the new scout advancement will be geared toward reaching 1st Class. However, are there any particular Merit Badges that should be "suggested" to them to begin working on? I would think Camping would be a good start (as they will hopefully be doing a lot of it), but are there any others that may be considered the "standard" starting badges that will also fit into the work they are doing toward 1st Class?

[eagle77 60]

Two that come to mind is swimming and first aid. Both are Eagle required and both are extensions of T-1 class requirements. Some may say they are a little tough, but why not go further and kill two birds with one stone?

[kbandit 10]

We start new scounts in First Aid merit badge class. We have a great merit badge counselor. They usually meet for 6 or 7 (or more) meetings spaced out over several months. Counselor makes the call on how many weeks they meet. If they don't get the badge they can usually learn/retain enough for the early ranks. Swimming ASAP. Sometimes swimming begins as just instructional swim which is great. Camping is good also.

 

You have got to remember new scouts are used to getting a patch for everything they did in cubs. Go on outing get a patch mentality.

[GKlose 24]

I asked a very similar question of my son's SM -- they were heading to summer camp just a couple of months after he joined. The SM said exactly the same thing: swimming and first aid are reasonable merit badges to work on during a first summer camp.

 

But, my (then) Tenderfoot son had other plans. He says he had fun at camp, but he didn't really work on advancement other than a couple of craft lodge merit badges, and shooting once at the archery range (scoring well enough to get that one requirement marked off on Archery MB). He didn't really try during his swim test, so he was classified as a non-swimmer, and didn't go to instructional swim all week. He didn't go to the "first year" program to work on 2C/1C advancement.

 

I'm happy he had fun this last year, but I'm going to suggest he come up with a plan for this year at camp. We'll see if he follows through

 

Guy

[shortridge 184]

One badge that may be tempting, but which I'd suggest holding off on for a while: Pioneering.

 

The knots and basic lashings are simple, and should be mastered by First Class. But to really develop skill in building gadgets and structures - and especially in splicing - you need more experience handling rope. The more knots you tie, the more comfortable you'll be putting together a tower or working with a rope's innards.

 

It can be really frustrating to try to build a tripod and watch the poles slide down time after time because you didn't do it right. That frustration can contribute to the "I hate knots" syndrome, or worse, giving up entirely.

[Lisabob 13]

I guess I'm going to veer off in a totally different direction. My advice would be, first and foremost, don't push the boys to do MBs if they're not interested. I know that for a lot of parents who are new to boy scouting (like I was when my son crossed over) the wide array of merit badge choices are just so tempting. There are a whole bunch of MBs that I looked at and thought "hey, yeah, my kid will LOVE this badge." As it turned out, he was plenty busy with other aspects of scouting, and not so interested in earning merit badges right away. Even now, I have to pull back on that a bit. There are a lot of easy badges that he could earn with hardly any effort (music, pet care, scholarship) and some others that I think he'd really enjoy/benefit from. But the experience is HIS, not MINE, so I've learned to let him make those decisions.

 

All that said - if I were to recommend a couple of badges to an eager, first-year scout, I'd recommend some of the fun ones. Things like fishing, reptile & amphibian study (you get to keep a frog for a month!), maybe woodcarving or leatherwork if he likes that sort of thing, maybe one of the shooting MBs. There will be plenty of time for the boys to work on those Eagle-required badges but I think they should start out with something that they're doing just because they want to do it.

[EagleBeaver 10]

Since I'm also a Camping merit badge counselor, I use that as an example of how the merit badge process works for new scouts when I'm doing their 'Scout' scoutmaster conference. Hiking and Backpacking are two others that take quite a bit of outdoors time.

 

At summer camp, new scouts often do Basketry and Leatherwork merit badges because they are fun and tactile, and they have something tangible to show mom & dad when they get home. I've found that starting merit badges that require strength, skill, or bookwork right away can turn scouts off and it's better to get a couple fun ones done while they are concentrating on their First Class advancement requirements.

 

There are a couple suggestions at http://www.boyscouttrail.com/boy-scouts/eagle-scout-schedule.asp for completing merit badges required for Eagle in 9th grade.

 

 

 

 

[John-in-KC 311]

Let me keep this simple:

 

- When Tenderfeet are working on Swimming as part of T-2-1, they are working towards requirements of Swimming Merit Badge. In fact, proficiency at 2d Class and 1st Class swimming is a mandatory pre-requisite for Swimming MB, to wit:

 

Before doing the following requirements, successfully complete Second Class rank requirements 7a through 7c and First Class rank requirements 9a through 9c.

Second Class rank requirements 7a through 7c:

(7a) Tell what precautions must be taken for a safe swim.

(7b) Demonstrate your ability to jump feetfirst into water over your head in depth, level off and swim 25 feet on the surface, stop, turn sharply, resume swimming, then return to your starting place.

(7c) Demonstrate water rescue methods by reaching with your arm or leg, by reaching with a suitable object, and by throwing lines and objects. Explain why swimming rescues should not be attempted when a reaching or throwing rescue is possible, and explain why and how a rescue swimmer should avoid contact with the victim.

First Class rank requirements 9a through 9c:

(9a) Tell what precautions must be taken for a safe trip afloat.

(9b) Before doing the following requirement, successfully complete the BSA swimmer test:

Jump feetfirst into water over your head in depth, swim 75 yards in a strong manner using one or more of the following strokes: sidestroke, breaststroke, trudgen, or crawl; then swim 25 yards using an easy, resting backstroke. The 100 yards must be swum continuously and include at least one sharp turn. After completing the swim, rest by floating.

(9c) With a helper and a practice victim, show a line rescue both as tender and as rescuer. The practice victim should be approximately 30 feet from shore in deep water.

 

So is T-2-1 proficiency in First Aid a requirement of 1st Aid MB:

1. Satisfy your counselor that you have current knowledge of all first-aid requirements for Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class ranks.

 

The material in Camping MB is due course of a Scouts' advancement. He should start his camping log immediately. A troop which camps Fri Night/Sat Night 10 months a year, including 1 LT camp, gets requirement 9a knocked out in short order.

 

Let him enjoy the trail, and the learning come by discovery

[KurtB 10]

Thanks everybody for the suggestions. If anybody has anything else to add, I am listening.

 

John - thanks for the specifics details on how the Swimming, Camping & First Aid badges fit directly into the requirements of T-2-1.

 

mn_scout - I like the idea of bringing it up at the 'Scout' level conference with the new boys. They should have their conference tomorrow night with the Scoutmaster, so it will be interesting to see if it is discussed.

[Buffalo Skipper 13]

Sounds like some good advice here, especially in regards to Swimming and First Aid; but I view camping slightly differently. Think about this:

 

Swimming and First Aid are vital skills to everyday activities. Being a swimmer can make a difference in the activities in which a scout can participate with the troop (or patrol). And having completed the First Aid MB establishes an assumed level of competency in basic first aid situations, which a scout can encounter in his everyday activities. But consider a few other things. First, camping is something which experience builds the skills (not the skills being required for the experience) Once the camping nights requirement is reached (7+ months in the average troop, if the scout participates in every overnighter), that is when I would encourage this one. By that time, he should have the experience to make this a fairly easy accomplishment. Remember what our founder said (paraphrased): Advancement is like a sunburn, it occurs naturally when scouts spend time in the outdoors.

 

Not to leave the outdoors, but Scouting tries to focus on "moulding" our boys into well rounded young men. For new scouts, look at some easy things they like to do. Do they collect things? Bottles, cub scout patches, or trading cards? Tell them about the collections MB. This is one of the easier ones for someone like this. Find out what their parents do for a living. Maybe there's a badge in which a parent could be used as resource (not a MBC). Does the scout excel at academics or are they active in sports? Maybe they play a band instrument. There are plenty of "easier" MBs the scout may pursue early on, one which match their experiences and interests.

 

And getting them involved in simple MBs early is GOOD! It encourages the scouts by giving them a good grounding from which they can pursue other interests. We had a scout who took the Reptile Study MB as a young scout. At the time he had no interest whatsoever in snakes and their kind. He now owns half a dozen snakes and several lizards. He completed his Eagle just after New Years, is the reptile specialist at a local pet store. He is now 18 and registered to teach reptile studies; at a Troop-Webelos campout 18 months ago, he gave a presentation on snakes (including 2 he had caught), not suprisingly, his handling of the snakes was expert. The Webelos asked some silly questions (like how do you know if it is a boy or a girl snake and such). He answered every questions confidently and directly. One of the Webelos dads is a vet who owns several animal hospitals. He was stunned by this (then) 16 year old's vast and accurate knowledge. He couldn't add anything at all. THAT is the power of the Merit Badge program.

 

As a SM, it is your job to encourage and foster your scouts' interests. Take this responsiblity very seriously. You never know what will come of it.

[John-in-KC 311]

Let me make sure the message I sent was the one received:

 

- At least four Merit Badges have developmental skills in T-2-1. Don't issue the kids blue cards now. Let Ages and Stages naturally happen, so that when they're First Class, they are naturally ready to earn these MB.

 

Of course, with Swimming MB, the odds are a Tenderfoot today will earn that in due course by the end of his second summer camping season.

 

Keep remembering: Advancement is but 1 of the 8 methods of the Scouting program. It is no more and no less important than Patrols, Adult Association, and uniform.

[scottteng 11]

We require new scouts to take swimming and first aid their first year at summer camp. Being on the coast in Florida we do lots of water based activities during the year and need to know up front the swimming skills of the scouts. For example this months camping trip is a canoe trip down a river. We had stuff set up last month and the month before that the Webelos could visit and they cross over the end of this month. It makes them work harder to get the qualifications to go on these trips we also do a senior scout trip during lobster season in the keys where they must be first class and have snorkeling as well. We have many boys that have scuba as well and three youth life guards.

[dg98adams 18]

Sounds like our Troop is like a lot of others, "First Aid" & "Swimming". If a Scout is not a swimmer by now, we have a couple ASM's (myself included) that are Lifeguard trained, work on improving swim strokes.

 

Now what our "nurse-ASM" does is the First Aid required for T-2-1, then leads them up thru what's needed for the rest of the badge & CPR (for the entire Troop). We use First Aid to show them how Blue Cards work...so they start that card when they start T-2-1.

 

If they have an interest in any other MB before camp it because we have a Troop activity that applies (Canoe Trip - Canoe training - Canoe MB), (indoor climbing overnight - climbing MB), (survivor-themed early spring campout - camping MB).

 

We don't use the NEW Scout program at camp, because we camp often enough to cover skills before summer Camp. Our SM recommends 1 water activity (swimming, snorkle, canoe, rowing, small boat sailing) at camp even if it's instructional swim (I usually volunteer as staff at the pool - tough job I know )

 

I would not recommend and heavy camping MB sessions with new Scouts < 1st Class, because they probably don't have enough experience to understand the different kinds of camping...but we do start the Blue Card on the 1st Troop campout - as it takes 20 nights of camping to earn).

 

We have had a new Scout with Appalachian Trail experience that was ready for the camping MB.(This message has been edited by dg98adams)

[Beavah 205]

Yah, may just be me, but I've always felt First Aid (if done well) is both a bit too much and too bookish for the first year at camp. Finish First Class, then worry about First Aid in year 2.

 

I think the first year, what yeh want is fun and success more than anything, eh? So if the lad is a good swimmer, by all means knock off swimming MB. If the lad is a non-swimmer then don't push it, eh? Just encourage fun in the water.

 

Other ones are any low-hanging fruit MB, simple crafts, etc. Just enough so the boy learns the system and gets a successful completion of one badge under his belt.

 

There's so much else that's goin' on with first year boys in terms of adjusting to the troop, older boys, findin' a place socially, figurin' out the basics of camping, cooking his first meal, cleaning his first pot, etc. That's plenty! Don't add to it with some merit badge pressure.

 

Beavah

 

[Twocubdad 665]

We encourage our first year campers to take First Aid and Swimming at camp. In a perfect world, I wish they could take the first year program, but it's really weak around here. Beyond that, we try to get the first year guys into a handful of other badges, usually basic ecology stuff like Nature, Reptile Study or Weather and maybe a handicraft badge or two.

 

My real concern with the elective badges is crowd control. We try to steer the new guys into a handful of elective badges so that they generally stay together as a group during the week and don't have them hauling all over the camp between classes.

 

Beyond summer camp, I encourage boys focus on 1st and 2nd class requirements and lay off starting on MBs until the latter part of their first year. If someone is really hot-to-trot for MBs I'll steer them toward something like Pets, Collecting, Music or Reading. They are generally rather light-weight and gets them into the MB process without becoming a huge distraction. It never fails that some over-achieving parent shows up with an Enviromentals Science book their second month in the troop. Um, no.