MBC witnessing requirements

[Hunt 11]

To what extent must a MBC witness the performance of the MB requirements? It seems clear that in many cases the counselor will rely on the trustworthiness of the scout to report that the requirement has been satisfied. For example, the Camping MBC cannot be expected to accompany the scout on all his campouts and see that he put up his own tent. On the other hand, some of the requirements clearly require the scout to show or demonstrate something to the counselor.

I'm interested in cases in which somebody else qualified witnesses the achievement of the requirement, and then the MBC signs off. For example, I have heard of boys performing some of the requirements for Swimming or Lifesaving for Red Cross-trained lifeguards, and then bringing a note to the registered MBC. Does anybody see a problem with this?

[NIscouter 10]

You as a MBC do not need to be there for everything. The use of a signed note (documetation) by an adult who witnessed an event should be fine. A scout should be expected to be trustworthy and we need to start at that point. My son visited a "local weather person" as part of his weather merit badge and had him sign a short note to verify this. I would say that if you have any doubt that an event occurred, call the person who signed the note to verify.

[Bob White 20]

The scout can also provide evidence by bringing photos or video of the activity, finished reports, and completed projects.

 

When and what would be appropriate will depend on the specific requirement and the agreed upon actions between the scout and the counselor.(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[torribug 10]

The Family Life merit badge is a good example of a MBC not being around for some of the activities/requirements. Pictures, reports, charts, receipts, etc. can go neatly in a notebook. The MBC needs to trust that the scout has completed some of the activities. That's 90 days worth of 5 different chores, plus two projects that benefit the household. I don't know of a single parent that would let their son fudge on THAT one!

 

While not a necessity (for most MBs), notebooks are great things to keep whenever a scout works solo on a merit badge. Then it's really easy for the MBC to see what has been done.

[SemperParatus 1]

I generally accept notes, pictures, videos, and whatever documentation the scout may provide (e.g., agenda from county council meetings for CitComm) and follow-up with a discussion of the scout's experience/reflection on the activity.

[EagleInKY 14]

Merit Badge worksheets are another good tool for verifying that the work is done. www.meritbadge.com has Merit Badge worksheets for just about every merit badge. SWMBO is a Family LIfe MB counselor. She gives the scout a copy of the worksheet and expects him to return it to her with write-ups on the projects and the chores. I don't think she asks for parent signoff, but trusts the scouts to be honest.

[SemperParatus 1]

Like EIKY'mon, many counselors in our troop use the worksheet approach as a 'tool' also. The worksheets can be very helpful to the scout in organizing his thoughts and information.

 

When we do our merit badge counselor training we do stress that the worksheet completion can never be mandatory, but rather should be just a tool that can be used to help the scout accumulate his research, thoughts, stats, etc. It should not necessarily be accepted in lieu of the actual requirement. For example, a requirement to 'discuss with the counselor' must still be an oral conversation and not merely an essay that the scout writes on the worksheet. In the past, we have had counselors that relied too heavily on the meritbadge.com worksheets, making its completion an added requirement.

[Eagledad 2784]

Hi All

 

My interpretation has been that its up to the Counselor how the scout satisfactory completes each requirement. Some counselors allow performance of a requirement before the scout even signed up for the badge. Others want to witness everything. How that counselor is satisfied is up to them. As a counselor, I always discussed with the scout at our first my minimum expectations for each requirement. That way there are no surprises later on. If the scout doesnt like the way a particular counselor wants to work, he can certainly look for another one.

 

Where this can get tricky is finishing incomplete badges like those from summer camp. The scout needs to find a local counselor to finish his badge, but since that counselor will give the final signature, they may want some evidence of completing the other requirements. While counselors are not supposed to retest, they do have the right for proof that the other requirements were performed. That can be difficult to verify from summer camps staffs, so the scout may choose a re-demonstrate the requirement as the easiest route. I found in most cases, the counselor just asks the scout a few questions.

 

Sometimes we look at this as scouts trying to earn badges with minimal effort. But my older son once took a class in a subject he was very interested in. The teacher only did the very minimum to sign off the badge and my son didnt learn a thing. He threw away the signed MB card and looked for another counselor. He never went back to a MB college.

 

Barry

 

[acco40 95]

Exactly Eagledad - why not let the counselor counsel?

[FScouter 24]

"While counselors are not supposed to retest, they do have the right for proof that the other requirements were performed."

 

The original counselor would sign the back of the card as to what parts were completed, thus there should be no question.

[Hunt 11]

I agree with letting the counselor counsel--the purpose of the question was to help those of us who do counsel think about the best way of handling some of these issues. For example, I counsel Music, and I have simply accepted boys' word that they are in the school band--I didn't require them to show me documentation. But they had to perform a song for me--I wouldn't have accepted a statement from somebody else that they could do it.

Here are some principles I think I would derive from the discussion so far:

1. As a counselor, you should ask for the level of verification of a requirement that satisfies you that the scout has actually performed the requirement. That may vary depending on what the requirement is. (Further question: could it vary depending on what you know about the scout?)

2. If the requirement calls for the scout to show, tell, or demonstrate something to the counselor, I wouldn't accept a statement that somebody else has seen it. The only possible exception would be if another registered MBC has signed off part of the card. (Even then, I would probably question the scout about it, especially if it was done at camp, and even more so if I can't make out the name of the counselor, which is pretty common on the blue cards we get back from camp).

[LPC_Thumper 10]

When I meet with a Scout as we start any Merit Badge I ask him a question, "Do you know the difference between a badge and a patch?"

 

We discuss things until they get that a badge is earned through completion of requirements. I then ask them if they are interested in merit patches or Merit Badges? I almost always find that this five minute "Discovery Experience" helps them understand the difference between working together and copying anothers work. I invite them to try and ensure that they earn the badge, not just collect the patch.