Bryan – The David Thuis Blog

May 19, 2013May 23, 2013

Ask the Expert: Can a troop prevent a Scout from earning a merit badge at a workshop or summer camp?

Ask the Expert: What happened to Bugling merit badge? Updated May 15 with some clarifications.

Not all merit badges are earned in the traditional troop setting.

Enterprising Scouts can earn them at council-run merit badge “colleges” or workshops, summer or winter camps, or on their own with a registered counselor.

But some troops restrict or even prohibit this practice, insisting that merit badges must be earned under their own roof — with only troop-sanctioned counselors.

True, the Guide to Advancement says Scouts must discuss their choice of merit badge counselor with their Scoutmaster, but some troops take it one step farther, declaring that merit badge workshops themselves aren’t kosher.

Is that OK? That’s what a Scouter named Thomas wondered in an email last week. In his troop, Scouts cannot earn Eagle-required merit badges at events like workshops, instead needing to earn those merit badges in-house. He writes:

Bryan,

Our BSA district holds various workshops such as Merit Badge Saturday and has arranged for qualified and approved MB counselors to run these sessions. The workshops offer many merit badges including some that are Eagle Required. This is supported by the “blue card,” which states the Scout “may also want to take advantage of opportunities at merit badge fairs or midways, or at rock-climbing gyms or whitewater rafting trips that provide merit badge instruction. This is acceptable …”

A concern is that our local troop had established a policy that no Scout in our troop would be allowed to earn an Eagle-required MB at a merit badge workshop. Some of the adult leaders in our troop voiced an opinion that we can and should place this restriction on the Scouts in order to ensure the Scout has a good experience using our troop approved counselors. Does the BSA allow for a troop to establish a local policy that prohibits the Scout from taking Eagle Required MBs at fully sanctioned and approved events? There are good intentions on both sides of this debate in the troop and we want to align our approach with BSA national policy.

Can you shed some light on this topic?

Sincerely,

Thomas S.

So what’s the answer? As always, we turn to those prolific light-shedders in the BSA’s Advancement Team.

The gist of it is this: Though Scouters can get away with it under current rules, the BSA highly discourages troops from restricting where Scouts can earn merit badges. And the practice of preventing a Scout from choosing his own counselor (be it at a workshop or elsewhere) will be prohibited in the 2013 edition of the Guide to Advancement, due out this summer.

Here are some other key points on the matter from the upcoming 2013 Guide to Advancement:

Unit leaders must have a discussion with a Scout before the Scout gets the signed blue card. This discussion is meant to be a “growth-oriented and positive conversation” rather than a restrictive one.
Any registered Boy Scout, Varsity Scout, or qualified Venturer or Sea Scout may begin work on any badge at any time, provided he’s had this discussion with his unit leader as indicated on the blue card.
But to elaborate on points 1 and 2, the blue-card signature no longer indicates “approval to begin work,” meaning a Scout may count certain requirements for a merit badge before he has the blue card. For example, nights of camping completed before he has the blue card for Camping merit badge will still count. (See this Ask the Expert post for more clarification.)
Units, districts and councils do not have the authority to implement a different system for merit badge approval or documentation.
The Scout and unit leader should come to an agreement as to who the merit badge counselor will be. Lacking agreement, the Scout must be allowed to work with the counselor of his choice, as long as that person is registered and approved by the council committee.
A Scout may want to take advantage of merit badge fairs or midways, or merit badge instruction at rock-climbing gyms, whitewater rafting companies, or museums. That’s acceptable, provided the counselors are registered and the Scout has a discussion with his unit leader and gets a signed blue card.

What I’ve written above is just an overview, and those changes will be further explained and made official when the 2013 Guide to Advancement comes out this summer.

(Update May 15): To give you a taste of what’s to come, I have uploaded the relevant page from the 2013 Guide to Advancement (clicking opens PDF). Take a look, but remember that it won’t become “gospel” until the advancement guide releases this summer.

I hope that clears things up a little. Thanks to the BSA’s Advancement Team for handling all the questions I’ve been throwing their way recently.

Have a question?

Send it to me, subject line “Ask the Expert,” and I’ll try to track down answers when possible.

Photo: From Flickr. Some rights reserved by Fort Meade. “David E. shows his Lego robot to James L. during S.T.E.M. Merit Badge Day when 430 Boy Scouts were scattered throughout the post to earn merit badges in science, technology, engineering”

(from Bryan on Scouting http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2013/05/14/mbworkshops/)

May 2, 2013May 2, 2013

Ask the Expert: Can merit badge progress begin before a Scout gets his blue card?

Ask the Expert: What happened to Bugling merit badge? If a Scout camps several nights with his troop before getting a signed blue card from his Scoutmaster, do those nights count toward his earning Camping merit badge?

That’s what a Scouter, who I’ll call James, wondered last week in an email. James wrote:

I have a question concerning when a Scout must have a blue card. Our troop has a merit badge counselor that told boys that none of their camping nights count prior to them getting a signed blue card from the Scoutmaster.

It seems that I have read that this is contrary to BSA policy. Could you point me to a specific BSA reference for this?

Well, James, there’s no greater authority on this than Christopher Hunt, advancement team leader here at the BSA’s National Office.

First, read his short answer: “For Camping merit badge, all campouts since the Scout joined the troop should count.”

So in this case, the merit badge counselor is mistaken. But a similar logic applies to progress toward other merit badges, as well. Here are some of the answers Chris has provided to other Scouters with related questions:

Collection-based merit badges

Question: In merit badges like Coin Collecting, can a Scout use a collection he started before even joining the program to fulfill requirements?

Chris says:

For certain merit badges like Coin Collecting, for example, most counselors would accept a collection that had been begun well before a Scout was even eligible to join. The experiences in finding coins and adding them to the collection would build as the boy learned about the mint markings and conditions of the coins and resources he could use to discover their value, and so forth.

In the same way the experiences on campouts build as Scouts mature and learn how to stay warm and dry, and efficiently take care of their campsite. Instead of collecting coins these Scouts are collecting campouts, and what they’ve learned on the campouts can become the background for productive discussions with the counselor.

Visiting landmarks

Question: If a Scout visits a national monument with his family, can that visit be applied to Citizenship in the Nation merit badge?

Chris says:

If a Scout visits a National Historic Monument with his family and then wants to apply that to Citizenship in the Nation (req 2a), then the counselor should ask him what he learned and found interesting about it. That part of the requirement is, of course, more important than the actual visit. If the Scout remembers what he learned and found interesting, and if the discussion can be related to some sort of citizenship lesson, then the requirement should be checked off.

Cooking merit badge

Question: Some Cooking MB requirements seem to indicate Scouts work directly with their counselor. Do the above rules apply here?

Chris says:

In Cooking there are a lot of discussion items that most counselors would want to conduct directly with the Scout after the blue card is signed. That would be appropriate. Past work for some of the other requirements might be acceptable, however.

For example, if a Scout planned a menu in the past and then developed the plan and prepared the food as stated in the requirements, then the counselor should give this consideration. He might discuss how it all went and what the Scout learned; and he might want the Scout to have the SM confirm it was done. If the counselor is comfortable the intent of the requirement was met then he can check off the requirement.

More on Camping merit badge

Question: What if I have a Scoutmaster or counselor who’s asking for “the source” on what you’ve said above about Camping MB?

Chris says:

In merit badges like Camping, nights camped since becoming a Boy Scout all count, regardless when other work on the merit badge began, or when the Scoutmaster signed the blue card.

This Clarification has been provided through our e-newsletter, Advancement News, and through our Twitter account. The Application for Merit Badge “blue card” has also been reprinted to reflect this, and the revision of the Guide to Advancement, scheduled for release later this summer, precludes the practice. Wording changes in the reprinted blue card and the Guide to Advancement revision also no longer use “approval” or “qualified to begin working [on the merit badge]” in association with the Scoutmaster’s initial signature on a blue card. It now signifies simply that the SM has had a discussion with the Scout about the badge, and that he has provided the name of at least one merit badge counselor.

An important reminder

Chris says: “It is not the Scoutmaster’s decision, in any case, one way or the other. Only a merit badge counselor can decide if requirements have been met or not.”

Ask the Expert your question

Chris has been very helpful in answering these and other tricky advancement questions. Keep them coming to scoutingmag@gmail.com, subject line “Ask the Expert,” and I’ll try to track down an answer.

Follow the Advancement Team on Twitter

Get the latest BSA advancement news on Twitter by following @AdvBSA.

(from Bryan on Scouting http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2013/04/30/ask-expert-mbs/)

May 2, 2013May 3, 2013

The most- and least-popular merit badges of 2012, and what that info tells us

Which merit badges had Scouts rushing to counselors and Moms and Dads rushing to the sewing machine last year?

Here’s your answer. In January 2012, I presented a list of 2011′s most- and least-popular merit badges based on sales numbers from the Supply Division. This year’s numbers come from the BSA Program folks and are based not on sales but on the actual number earned, meaning they should be more accurate.

As you’d expect, the 12 most-earned merit badges from 2012 were all Eagle-required. Those merit badges provide extra motivation for Scouts to finish them on their journey through the ranks. But the badges that ranked 13 to 130 have some interesting takeaways:

Four lessons learned

Newcomers Chess, Kayaking, Geocaching, and Robotics were all in the top 50, despite the fact that each is only a few years old.
Most, but not all, of the badges in the top 30 are offered at council summer camps, meaning it’s easier for a Scout to earn one even if there isn’t a qualified counselor in his troop.
The five rarest merit badges are Journalism, Stamp Collecting, American Labor, American Business, and Bugling. Search and Rescue was in 2012′s bottom five, but it shouldn’t really count because it didn’t debut until August of last year.
STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) merit badges are hot, but so are the lower-tech ones like Archery, Climbing, and Wood Carving.

Biggest movers

I also compared Program Group numbers from 2011 with Program Group numbers from 2012 to see which merit badges saw the biggest jump. I eliminated any merit badges introduced in 2011 or 2012, because those numbers are unfairly skewed.

Somewhat surprisingly, Textile and Theater merit badges each saw more than a 25 percent increase from 2011 to 2012.

And these nine also had double-digit gains: Animal Science, Drafting, Pulp and Paper, Astronomy, Insect Study, Cinematography, Inventing, Electronics, and Radio.

On the other end of the spectrum, the five with the biggest drop from 2011 to 2012 were: Coin Collecting, Scouting Heritage, Snow Sports, American Labor, and Skating. Each of those fell by between 14 percent and 31 percent.

The full list

Check out the full list and make your own conclusions. Badges in green are Eagle-required, while those in yellow are new (December 2009 or sooner):

Here you go, stat geeks!

As requested, here is the Excel spreadsheet including the number earned from 2008 to 2012. (Clicking will download the .xlsx file.) Enjoy! And please post any interesting findings in the comments below.

Your takeaways?

I’d love to hear how you interpret this list. Why are the popular ones popular? How can we get more Scouts interested in those that are, let’s say, “more rare”? Share your thoughts below.

(from Bryan on Scouting http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2013/04/22/mbs-2012/)

February 22, 2013February 22, 2013

Can Tiger Cubs attend resident camps?

That’s a trick question. Yes, they can.

Effectively immediately, the policy forbidding Tiger Cubs from attending resident camp has been reversed.

As Scout Wire first reported yesterday, the change allows Tiger Cubs to go to resident camp with their adult partner or guardian. What’s a resident camp? The BSA defines it, at least for Tiger Cubs, Wolf, Bear, and Webelos Scouts, as “a council-organized overnight camp of at least two consecutive nights in duration that operates under council-retained leadership.”

Overnight camping by Tiger Cub, Wolf, and Bear Cub Scout dens as dens is still not OK.

The language in the Guide to Safe Scouting and other publications will be updated as those documents are reprinted. In the meantime, the Age Guidelines in the Guide to Safe Scouting now read:

Age Guidelines

The Boy Scouts of America has established the following guidelines for its members’ participation in camping activities:

Overnight camping by Tiger Cub, Wolf, and Bear Cub Scout dens as dens is not approved, and certificates of liability insurance will not be provided by the Boy Scouts of America.

Tiger Cubs may participate in boy-parent excursions, day camps, pack overnighters, or council-organized family or resident camping.
Tiger Cubs, Wolf, Bear, and Webelos Scouts may participate in a resident overnight camping program operating under BSA National Camping School–trained leadership and managed by the council.
A Webelos Scout may participate in overnight den camping when supervised by an adult. In most cases, the Webelos Scout will be under the supervision of his parent or guardian. It is essential that each Webelos Scout be under the supervision of a parent-approved adult. Joint Webelos den/troop campouts including the parents of the Webelos Scouts are encouraged to strengthen ties between the pack and troop. Den leaders, pack leaders, and parents are expected to accompany the boys on approved trips.
All Scouts registered in Boy Scout troops are eligible to participate in troop or patrol overnight campouts, camporees, and resident camps.
Boy Scouts and Varsity Scouts 12 through 17 are eligible to participate in national jamborees. Boy Scouts and Varsity Scouts 13 through 17 are also eligible to participate in world jamborees and high-adventure programs.
All youth registered in Venturing are eligible to participate in crew, district, council, and national Venturing activities as well as national high-adventure programs and world jamborees.

(from Bryan on Scouting http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2013/02/22/can-tiger-cubs-attend-resident-camps/)

December 27, 2012December 27, 2012

ScoutCast: A BSA podcast, all grown up

scoutcast-logo1 Scouters love to shoot the breeze about the next campout, newest merit badge, or tastiest recipe.

But when someone brings up a more-sensitive topic at a roundtable or leader meeting, it’s often greeted by silence.

That’s where the new ScoutCast comes in. The new podcast, a close relative of the popular CubCast, will focus on topics that you might not feel comfortable talking about at roundtable meetings, such as bullying. That’s January’s subject.

The goal: Get you and your fellow Scouters thinking and, ideally, talking about these critical issues facing Boy Scouts.

The hosts are familiar ~~faces~~ voices to those of us who work for the BSA’s magazines. Meet J.D. Owen, editor-in-chief of Boys’ Life, Scouting, and Eagle Scout magazines, and Paula Murphey, senior editor of Boys’ Life.

For the debut episode, J.D. and Paula chat with New York Times best-selling author Michael Gurian about the best ways to handle bullying in your troop. (P.S.: Read Scouting magazine’s 2010 article on the subject for more insight.)

Click here to listen or to download the file to your smartphone or MP3 player for offline listening.

(from Bryan on Scouting http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2012/12/27/scoutcast-a-bsa-podcast-all-grown-up/)