MB Data: What does it show?

[Hunt]

The following link:

http://www.scouting.org/factsheets/02-500.html

 

takes you to a list of all the merit badges awarded in 2004 (and since 1911). I think it's pretty interesting, and relates to a number of threads. A few things I observe from a first look:

1. To my surprise, it appears that quite a few scouts are choosing to earn Emergency Preparedness instead of Lifesaving, while Hiking and Cycling don't appear to be siphoning off too many from Swimming.

2. You can really tell which MBs are offered at summer camp. It appears to me that these, plus the Eagle-required ones, are the biggest by far. This supports the idea that not too many boys are seeking out MBCs outside their troops, in my opinion.

3. The difficulty of the badge makes a difference. Take a look at the numbers for Insect Study, compared to Mammal Study, for instance. Insect Study is hard, because you have to make a significant collection. You have to be VERY interested in insects to pursue this one.

4. I was pleasantly surprised by the numbers for Cooking.

Other observations?

 

[evmori]

I'll bet you'll see a marked increase in Computers since the badge has been updated.

 

The Fingerprinting numbers surprised me. So did the Art numbers.

[mdutch]

Interesting chart. I am not suprised by the number of scouts getting fingerprinting. It can easilly be completed in about 1.5 hours. I agree with the original posts observations that most scouts are getting non-required MBs at summer camp.

[Lynda J]

Fingerprinting doesn't suprise me. It is offered at almost every Merit Badage college as is Art.

It is also a fairly easy badge to do.

 

I wonder what Unclassified means though. Lots of those badges

[NJCubScouter]

Very interesting. The "summer camp" theories appear to be correct. Basketry is an old summer camp favorite (I remember that being the first badge I ever got at summer camp), and based on the badges I see my son and his friends earning today, Art, Fingerprinting and Indian Lore appear to be among the new favorites. I think Cooking is mostly a summer camp badge as well, or else it is signed off by a Scoutmaster based on a series of overnighters. I see Rifle Shooting and Archery are among the biggies too and I am sure they are overwhelmingly summer camp badges; where I am, there really would not be many other opportunities to do those badges than at camp.

 

The one that sticks out at me as being somewhat surprising is Wilderness Survival. I know they offer that at summer camp but I have seen boys going down the list to schedule their badge sessions at camp, and they almost always seem to zoom quickly past that one. Maybe it is because I am usually watching younger boys do it, Wilderness Survival is an older-boy badge or so its name would suggest.

 

Lynda, I was surprised by the "Unclassifieds" being the largest category in the 1911-2004 column until I realized that the 2004 figure is zero, and that the only categories of discontinued badges listed are those that were discontinued in 1993 or 1995. Many, many other badges were discontinued before 1993, and I suspect that the "Unclassified" category is the total for all of those badges. I remember once looking at my first handbook, from the 60s, and noticing all the badges that had been discontinued (or in effect, "merged" into other badges. Most of these are in the agricultural field. Take a look at this link which purports to list EVERY badge that has existed since the beginning, with years, and in many cases it tells you what badge replaced that badge and/or what badge that badge replaced.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_BSA_merit_badges

 

Look at all those agricultural ones that no longer exist, like Beef Production, Hog Production, Sheep Farming (all now under Animal Science), and Corn Farming, Cotton Farming, Citrus Fruit Culture (all now under Plant Science), and there are many more. Not to mention ones that have been completely discontinued like Signalling (1991), Stalking (1952; that would have a different connotation now than it did back then), and Cement Work (1952).

 

One final note, it is distressing to see how few kids go for Reading, I assume it is NOT offered at summer camps, but I have looked at the requirements and it is so EASY. I guess it shows how much the earning of merit badges has become an activity for summer camp or special merit badge events. That doesn't seem like a good thing.

[OldGreyEagle]

A great woman I know often says "Merit badges are NOT created Equal". The closer a merit badge approximates school work, the less a scout will like it. This theory would explain why Citizen in the Nation, Personal Fitness (its not the activity, its the record keeping/book work) and Communications are so "hard" to complete amoung others. Reading is just to much like school work to many, and more is the pity. You havent lived until you see the English countryisde through Thomas Hardy's eyes or viewed a landscape as described by James Fenimore Cooper, Sat in an apple barrel with young Jim Hawkins or raced across the Transylvanian wilderness on horseback with Jonathon Harker. Just remember, its a sin to kill to mockingbird

 

[Hunt]

I suspect that the problem with Reading is the requirement to devote 4 hours to a reading-related service. If so, it's too bad.

 

I think the rise of Fingerprinting and Art show the degree to which Merit Badge days are a significant source of MBs now.

 

[evmori]

The reading requirements for Reading can be completed in most school English classes over time.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[Trevorum]

Great data!

 

Of the 15 most earned MBs for 2004, 12 were Eagle required, representing 38% of all MBs earned for that year. The only optional MBs in the top 15 were Leatherwork, Rifle Shooting, and Woodcarving.

 

Of these 15 most earned MBs for 2004, seven are also in the top 15 for the 95 cumulative years (1910 to date). Previously popular MBs which have dropped out of the top 15 are Cooking (dropped from #4 to #26), Canoeing (#8 to #18), Fire Safety (#10 to #45), Home Repairs (#11 to #68), Pioneering (#12 to #27), and Basketry (#13 to #27). Cooking, previously Eagle required, is now being taken few far fewer Scouts. Basketry is actually becoming less popular.

 

Of the more than 110 million MBs ever earned, 10% are no longer offered. Other than the 'unclassified' MBs, which as NJ notes includes many agricultural specialties, the most popular MBs which were eventually discontinued were Machinery (#82 most popular, 1910 to date), Masonry (#86), Rabbit Raising (#91), Botany (#103), and Beekeeping (#113).

 

IMHO, the data present a fascinating perspective on American life and economy during the 20th Century, mirroring a shift in lifeways and occupations from the agricultural and mechanical to service and technological. If the raw data behind the collapsed 1910-date category are available, there is an excellent thesis or dissertation in here.