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Merit Badge partials from summer camps and completions


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Shouldn't be necessary as certainly (sarcasm) Council checked the name  back when the blue card was processed. The  trustworthy word of the SM and Scout should be enough without a Congressional investigation.

IMO, the Eagle Application  should be just be 1 page. 

My $0.02,

Edited by RememberSchiff
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In my experience, Council never looks at blue cards. just as they don't check the signatures in a Scout's handbook to verify rank requirements.  Just the Advancement Report that the unit submits when purchasing the badges...(now electronic??).  Unless things have changed...

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Wanted to follow up.

I sat in on one of our scouts Eagle BOR last night and while there, I asked the District Advancement Chair about the not needing to find another counselor. I told him I already knew the answer as I have read the GTA and other materials but I wanted to hear it straight from the horses mouth.  He confirmed that any youth needs to seek out another counselor to finish up a partial from summer camp.  

Can't wait for the drama to ensue from scout and his parents on this.   I will simply hand them the MB section of the GTA and said let me know when you need to find some counselors for the remaining badges and walk away.

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In my council, I have been told that the Scout turns in their part of the blue cards (or a copy of the blue card, so the original blue cards don't get lost) at the same time as the Eagle Scout rank application.  The dates on the blue cards are checked against the electronic dates that are in ScoutNet.  ScoutNet syncs with Scoutbook, so merit badges that are approved in Scoutbook should be visible to the council in ScoutNet.  If the dates don't match, they can be corrected.

I don't know how a council could really check the names of merit badge counselors on blue cards - especially for MBCs outside of their own council (frequently the case for summer camps).  Also, some of the MBC info. on blue cards can sometimes be a bit hard to read (whose name is this?  LOL).  It might not be an issue unless the parents try to sign blue cards for their Scout when they aren't MBCs (but this is the type of thing that hopefully gets caught at the unit level).

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On 11/20/2019 at 5:01 PM, Jackdaws said:

I had a problem with my sons most recent summer camp and the rifle & archery classes he took.   They only marked off 2H for Rifle. I know they did more than that as I went up there on Thursday to watch him shoot.   They didn't mark off a lot of things that you even have to do before you even make it to the firing line.   I called the camp back afterwards and the lady said she can only answer for what was put on the print out.  Really?  Such crap.  So now my son will effectively have to start all over when he decides to find a new counselor for it. 

They also didn't mark off much for Archery.   He made the arrow & bow string and they didn't mark it off along with several other things. :mad:

This tells me that the Camp's Program Director isn't doing his/her job in supervising the program staff. Nor, reviewing the class sign off sheets on a daily basis, seems obvious that the Program Director isn't holding daily progress reports with Unit Leaders, or keeping the Camp Director up to speed concerning under performing staff....

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On 11/22/2019 at 1:08 PM, Thunderbird said:

In my council, I have been told that the Scout turns in their part of the blue cards (or a copy of the blue card, so the original blue cards don't get lost) at the same time as the Eagle Scout rank application.  The dates on the blue cards are checked against the electronic dates that are in ScoutNet.  ScoutNet syncs with Scoutbook, so merit badges that are approved in Scoutbook should be visible to the council in ScoutNet.  If the dates don't match, they can be corrected.

I don't know how a council could really check the names of merit badge counselors on blue cards - especially for MBCs outside of their own council (frequently the case for summer camps).  Also, some of the MBC info. on blue cards can sometimes be a bit hard to read (whose name is this?  LOL).  It might not be an issue unless the parents try to sign blue cards for their Scout when they aren't MBCs (but this is the type of thing that hopefully gets caught at the unit level).

it is hard to check summer camp "Merit Badge Counselors" because most of them, in the camps I have witnessed in operation over a six-state area since 1981 are not Merit Badge Counselors.  They are minors -thus  ineligible to be Merit Badge Counselors - assigned by council employees to conduct Merit Badge sessions and participate in the faking of records.  There will be no record of their registration, because they are not registered as Position Code 42 Merit Badge Counselors, an adult position.   Field sports and waterfront are more likely to have actual Merit Badge Counselors due to liability issues.

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On 11/24/2019 at 10:22 AM, TAHAWK said:

it is hard to check summer camp "Merit Badge Counselors" because most of them, in the camps I have witnessed in operation over a six-state area since 1981 are not Merit Badge Counselors.  They are minors -thus  ineligible to be Merit Badge Counselors - assigned by council employees to conduct Merit Badge sessions and participate in the faking of records.  There will be no record of their registration, because they are not registered as Position Code 42 Merit Badge Counselors, an adult position.   Field sports and waterfront are more likely to have actual Merit Badge Counselors due to liability issues.


I'm just speculating here, but I bet what they are doing is using 16-17 year old minors as "instructors", and having a registered Merit Badge Counselor (age 18+) sign the forms.  It's OK to use instructors who are not MBCs, but it's supposed to be the MBC who actually tests and approves merit badge requirements.  I suspect that they are using the non-registered instructors to do all of the testing / approving, and just having the registered MBCs sign the paperwork.  As you said, exceptions would be areas with liability concerns such as: shooting sports, water-related merit badges, climbing, etc.

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3 hours ago, Thunderbird said:


I'm just speculating here, but I bet what they are doing is using 16-17 year old minors as "instructors", and having a registered Merit Badge Counselor (age 18+) sign the forms.  It's OK to use instructors who are not MBCs, but it's supposed to be the MBC who actually tests and approves merit badge requirements.  I suspect that they are using the non-registered instructors to do all of the testing / approving, and just having the registered MBCs sign the paperwork.  As you said, exceptions would be areas with liability concerns such as: shooting sports, water-related merit badges, climbing, etc.

Your speculation is what I have witnessed. While some of the youth instructors might be well versed in the content, this still denies the scout an opportunity utilizing the adult association method. Even more so when the mbc abdicates his responsibility for testing.

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"Wilderness Survival Merit Badge Counselor, age 16, Camp Frontier: "Bear Bags are made of special material so a bear cannot smell the food and  the other stuff in the bag."

11-year-old candidate: "How do you keep the bear a mile away upwind ?"

Only two of 37 candidates had even touched the MB pamphlet.  Several were 11 or younger and on their first campout ever.

Everyone who attended all five 50-minute sessions - all 37 - received the Merit Badge with no testing of anyone on anything. 

A Scout is trustworthy.

 

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