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Summer Camp Merit BadgesVSCounselors


VentureScoutNY

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Heres a topic I have discussed with many people.

 

Merit Bades & lots of them. That's whats on most scouts minds when they go to Summer Camp. Sometimes it's all about getting Merit Badges. We all know that to earn a merit badge in 1 week that the info, in some cases, not all, is very watered down. I have seen many cases where scouts earn merit badges at summer camp but know little of the information that the badge is really about.

 

The idea of Merit Badges are to teach the scouts specific skills. And some for scouts that are interested in a specific topic. But you NEED merit badges to advance in rank...so in many cases scouts get them becase they HAVE to. Just like in school, you have to do the work, but do you come away with really knowing the information?

 

When I went to summer camp, I felt like in many ways I was at school. Not that I did not want to earn them, but I was out in the woods camping with my friends. The last thing on my mind was working on merit badges. I come from very populated suburbs, where the cement and sidewalks seem to grow everywhere. So going camping was very special and I wanted to explore, not sit in my tent reading and writing. Thats just my opinion though.

 

So I decided I would earn all of my Merit Badges through local counselors. Some badges I did need to be camping for which I did often, and told my counselor about what I did on my return. But I was proud to say that I earned all of my merit badges through counselors. I had the chance to travel throughout my council meeting new people, and learning from many adults who have had many different experiences. Things were not watered down, I was sort of the lone scout going from counselor to counselor learning more and more.

 

I don't mean to say in this post that earning merit badges at camp is a bad thing, its a good thing.

 

But how do all of you think about earning merit badges through counselors comapared to at camp...in which instance do you think a scout will really LEARN better.

(all scouts are differnt I know,all scouts learn different in different places..i know) Lets try to play with this one...

 

Thoughts...

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Venture scout -- I am a current merit badge counselor for several badges, I use my years of personal hands on experience and education to help my scouts understand and meet the requirements set by the BSA.Some boys need more time and help than others to complete their goal.I have also visited many summer camp MB classes where the counselors do their best for that week.Many MB can easly be completed in this time -- if a MB req'd a set # of days for camping or weeks to bike so many miles this needed to be completed before long term camp. So to answer your question I believe the boys will say at camp- but I know they can get much more from a counselor -- RM

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I've been very disappointed with most of the merit badges that I've seen taught at summer camp and I think that they undermine the whole merit badge process. Rather than learning about the subject and trying to produce a good work, the Scout worryies about getting finished in one week and quality of work is not an issue.

 

The handicraft merit badges should be eliminated from summer camp. Maybe have craft classes that can be applied to merit badges but remove the focus from the merit badge.

 

Keep the action merit badges like swimming, canoeing, small boat sailing.

 

Spend more of summer camp focusing on Scouting activities like hiking, nature, swimming, exploring.

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Generally, I also find that some summer camp merit badge sessions suffer from a race to finish in a week or lack of focus on the individual scout's knowledge/skills/abilities due to the group teaching approach. Several of our Scouts have started various merit badges at summer camp and gained partials, only to have the local merit badge counselors who they go to to complete the requirements find that them lacking because they did not really complete requirements or exhibited poor (or no) knowledge. Some summer camp merit badge counselors do an excellant job, others leave much to be desired.

 

I agree with FOG that there are merit badges that lend themselves well to the summer camp setting such as swimming, lifesaving, boating, shooting, archery, and many of the outdoor skill mbs. I would disagree with FOG in that some of the craft-type merit badges also work well in the summer camp setting.

 

Where I have real heartburn is summer camp offerings of merit badges such as Citizenships, Communications, and the like.

 

Venture scout - I applaud your effort to use the broad range of available counselors. All too often scouts will take the easy road of earning merit badges only through summer camp and/or through counselors within the troop. The positive experiences you gained are what we try to emphasize with the scouts in our troop. In BORs our scouts are asked about where and from whom they earned merit badges, along with asking them to relate what they learned - not a rehash of the requirements, but life experiences, people they met, new things learned, and so on.

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Any merit badge can be learned at summer camp providing the counselor has the knowledge and the available resources to teach it. This will be depended on the physical and financial resources of the camp and the ability of the counselors.

 

Any merit badge requirement can be completed at camp providing the scout can be tested individually, group testing is a violation of the Advancement policies of the BSA.

 

Any Merit badge can be earned at camp if the scout can meet all the requirements as stated in the Merit Badge book, no more and no less.

 

These are easy elements to control. the difficulty comes in changing the mindset of Scouters. Councils have trained SMs that summer camp is a place to get merit badges, and adult leaders who have erroneously trained scouts and parents that a successful summer camp is measured in merit badges.

 

We have created this problem and it is pretty widespread. It will take everyone to fix it.

 

Councils and unit leaders need to emphasize the real benefits of spending a week in a scouting environment. The fun, the friends, new experiences, the opportunity to learn new things, adventure. The chance to learn about several merit badges and maybe even complete some requirements or earn a merit badge.

 

Counselors need to stick to the rules. NO GROUP TESTING. Not at summer camp, Not at troop meetings.

 

Lets measure summer camp by the joy of spending a week scouting together. If it's time to go home and nobody wants to leave...that's the measure of a good camp experience.

 

Just my humble opinion,

Bob White

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I feel there are some merit badges that Scouts wouldn't have the chance to earn if it weren't for summer camp. Sure there are counselors outside summer camp but summer camp provides the optimal place to learn them! I am talking about badges like Small Boat Sailing, Pioneering, Environmental Science, Nature, Motorboating just to mention a few. And I am talking about my part of the world only. Sure some of the counselors at summer camp aren't that good. But some of the counselors outside of summer camp are just as bad!

 

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

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Bob,

 

I couldn't agree with you more. I know I fell into that trap the first couple of summer camps for which I was the acting SM. Even bragged at the ensuing CoH that our Troop of 32 (or so) came home with well over 100 merit badges.

 

I would like, however, to temper what you said with a part of what Ed says. He is very right that the best place to earn some MBs is at summer camp. I truly believe that, assuming a qualified MB Counselor, many of the badges Ed lists are better done at summer camp.

 

The one thing I have come to understand, though, is that although summer camp is a great place to earn, say, Small Boat Sailing, earning the badge shouldn't necesarily be the result of the activity at summer camp. If a boy sets that as a goal, then I say "Go for it!". But if it takes a piece of cloth to be the evidence that a boy had a great time because he sailed, then we've probably given the boy the wrong impression of what his camp experience should (or could) be.

 

Just my $0.02.

 

Mark

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Doesn't that assume that every camp has a water front capable of operating a boat on? Because they don't.

 

Isn't on a boat on water the best place to earn small boat sailing? Does it really have to be surrounded by a scout camp to be the "best" place.

 

Different camps have different resources. The best programs for them to offer are the ones they have the resources to do.

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Doesn't that assume that every camp has a water front capable of operating a boat on? Because they don't.

 

Isn't on a boat on water the best place to earn small boat sailing? Does it really have to be surrounded by a scout camp to be the "best" place.

 

If you would have read my post properly you would have seen I was referring to the summer camp my Troop attends.

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

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Bob,

 

Of course you are right. My statement does include an assumption that there is a waterfront, and that it includes the capablity to have a boat on it. It further assumes that there is also qualified staff.

 

I've been making an effort at shortening my posts recently (has it been noticable yet?). These are the kinds of things that don't get said when I try to say less.

 

Mark

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