The topic of Merit Badge needing updates has been discussed many times. I was talking to our Family Life MB Counselor (aka my wife), and she was pointing out how outdated the book was. Is there a published plan of Merit Badges that are going to be updated in the coming years?

Don't i wish!

 

I recently had a post on the board about something similar - we were having a Merit Badge college starting in Feb, and I was to be teaching/ counseling Communications MB - Our MB classes run every other Sat for 6 weeks - Feb 7, 21 and Mar 6.

A week or so before the class started, end of Jan 2004, they published the new badge requirements!

 

 

Of course, the new version MB books are not out yet - not in our council office or anywhere.

 

Communications hadn't changed much, but Personal Management and Emergency Prep had. Luckily, I think Pers Management had been changed a few months ago, and it's new booklets are out and available.

 

But either way - it threw the MB counselors into a quandary, how to teach the new badge requirements, without the book being available to the boys? While the requirments are out - many people use the worksheets from MB.com and they also have not been updated yet - tho some of us made our own. Still, the new requirements were not out to the poublic in time to have the dozens of NEW REQUIREMENT copies made for the hundreds of classes already scheduled. Most of us are winging it, and some are continueing to teach the old version of the badge.

 

What would it hurt to give councils a warning or a general timetable of revision dates?

 

Even when they DO 'update' the books, they are still often terribly outdated. the photos, concepts & language often go back 20-30 years, or more - so many of the books photos are from the 60's and 70's and really have a lack of appeal to 21st century boys!

 

I mean, has anyone looked at that long-haired kid carrying groceries on the cover of "Family life"? - he may have been pretty "normal" for 1970 - but he looks like quite a nerd for 2004! No self-respecting boy would want to be caught dead carrying that book - much less actually READING it! Almost ALL the MB books, even the newer ones, have cover photos from the 50's to the 70's.

 

they would almost be better off illustrating the books with cartoons, or having NO illustrations - to lend them a feel of timelessness.

 

After my first year in BSA, I learned not to waste money on buying merit badge books myself - or the 2001, 2002, etc 'official' merit badge books - as SOMETHING is outdated almost as soon as they are printed. I let the troop buy books and borrow as needed. I get my new requirements, worksheets, resources off the web and confirm them against the book the troop gets -

In fact, I found out about the changes from MB.com - our council and district weren't even yet aware of the changes!

 

I do feel it is part of a MB counselors responsibility to keep up with changes to the badges/ areas they counsel, but that doesn't mean we should have to scramble for info. BSA should at least, notify councils and the councils should include that info in general roundtables and newsletters BEFORE it affects the boys who want to work on a badge!

 

Laura;

 

I understand your pain; been there myself. However, don't get trapped into a false dilemma here. The pamphlet is a resource, but is only one of many available. If the pamphlet has outdated requirements, use the requirements in the '04 requirements book. If the content is outdated, send them somewhere else for their research.

 

We do collect some MB pamphlets in the family. Some have content that will always be relevant at some level, whether BSA changes MB requirements or not. For example, First Aid, Pioneering, Camping, Hiking, are just a few examples of pamphlets whose content will never be obsolete.

 

You're absolutely right, it's a counselor's responsibility to stay current on requirements and resources...

 

KS

 

 

Laura - I feel your pain ;-)... It was your topic that made me start thinking about it more. It seems that there are some people that know (or appear to know), what MBs are being updated and when they are due out. I wish national would publish this for us. All I've found on their site is the # of MBs issued - which is pretty interesting.

 

I think it would be very useful. For example, if a boy came to me and asked me to counsel him in Computers, and I knew it was being updated this summer, I would encourage him to wait and see what the new requirements are. They would probably be more relevant and interesting.