{"id":2510,"date":"2019-09-17T12:33:59","date_gmt":"2019-09-17T16:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/?p=2510"},"modified":"2019-09-17T12:33:59","modified_gmt":"2019-09-17T16:33:59","slug":"issue-616-september-17-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/2019\/09\/issue-616-september-17-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Issue 616 \u2013 September 17, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

________________________________________
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

In last week\u2019s column you said to Scouts: \u201cFor each merit badge you\u2019d like to earn, go to your Scoutmaster first, and tell him of your interest. After a brief chat with you, your Scoutmaster will give you a signed Blue Card along with the name and contact information for at least one registered Merit Badge Counselor. Now some Scoutmasters may think they can \u201capprove\u201d your interest in earning a particular merit badge, but that\u2019s not how it works. The BSA specifically tells us that any Scout can work on any merit badge that the Scout wants to\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I understand and agree with your statement that a Scoutmaster can\u2019t \u201capprove\u201d a Scout going for any merit badges, but isn\u2019t it the Scoutmaster\u2019s job to at least guide the Scout towards certain merit badges and maybe waiting on others? For instance, if a new Scout came to me and wanted to work on Cooking merit badge, while I wouldn\u2019t say no, I\u2019d highly suggest that they work on the cooking elements of their rank requirements first, before they go for the whole merit badge. Now if they\u2019re gung ho and are phenomenal cooks, I\u2019m not going to say no, but I\u2019d want them to at least get their feet wet, learn about camp cooking, cooking as a patrol, the difference between \u201ccar camping\u201d and low-impact backpacking cooking first.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just like certain skills building upon one another as the Scouts advance in rank, so do skills like this (similar with First Aid, Camping, Fitness, Personal Management, and so on). Again, I know every Scout is different and their abilities vary, but since my job is to guide them and help them succeed, I\u2019d prefer to see them progress in a logical order that teaches them along the way, so that when they do go for a merit badge, they already have at least the basic skills to earn it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To be clear, I\u2019m not saying I\u2019d deny a Scout any merit badge or outright say they can\u2019t, but I\u2019d want to guide them so that they make the decision themselves, too. (Joe Sefcik, SM, Connecticut Rivers Council)<\/strong><\/p>\n

I know from our previous conversations that your heart\u2019s in the right place, so let\u2019s talk a little about your “agreement” with what I stated. Let\u2019s start here: That statement was \u201cstraight from the book\u201d and describes the process the BSA wants to see from Scoutmasters like you. It\u2019s easy, straightforward, and Scout-centered.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, let\u2019s suppose for a moment that you happened, for whatever reason, to \u201cdisagree\u201d with that BSA procedure. In that case, you really don\u2019t have the option of doing something other than what\u2019s prescribed. But you do have a pathway, if you choose to take it. Anytime you disagree with a BSA procedure, policy, rule, or regulation, you\u2019d follow the same process we coach our Scouts to follow (see \u201cObedient\u201d in the Scout Law): If you think something is unfair, you\u2019d seek to have it changed in an orderly way\u2026 Simple as that! (But, in the meanwhile, you\u2019d follow what\u2019s prescribed until it\u2019s officially changed, just like we advise our Scouts.)<\/p>\n

Moving on, yes, you\u2019d by all means want to have a conversation with any Scout interested in any merit badge. After all, these conversations, when coupled with what you learn about each Scout through your Scoutmaster conferences (which by no means need to be limited to one-per-rank!) will give you improved insights into what makes each Scout “tick.”<\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s talk a bit about \u201clogic\u201d\u2026 When you sit down with a Scout to talk about a merit badge he\u2019s interested in, it\u2019s probably not a great idea to presume that a Scout\u2019s choices will be “logical” (unless that Scout\u2019s name happens to be \u201cSpock,\u201d of course ). After all, let\u2019s think about how “logical” you or I were at their ages! So yes, definitely guide. But do it with a feather and leave your Louisville Slugger home.<\/p>\n

And also keep in mind that a Scout\u2019s merit badge choices don’t necessarily need to be advancement-focused. If, for instance, a Scout expresses interest in Art, or Bird Study, or Game Design, or Music, or Veterinary Medicine, encourage him. Just because a merit badge may be \u201cEagle-required\u201d doesn\u2019t mean that\u2019s the \u201cbest\u201d reason to pursue earning it. Sure, Scouts should be encouraged to go for Eagle-required merit badges because these give that Scout a whole bunch of positive life-skills and knowledge, which is a lot more important than simply \u201cYou need them for rank advancement.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a Merit Badge Counselor, I\u2019ll always ask a Scout, on our first meeting, \u201cWhat is it that interests you in this one?\u201d And it saddens me to sometimes hear, \u201cIt\u2019s required,\u201d with not a word about personal interest in the subject matter or how it\u2019s going to give him or her better skills or more knowledge.<\/p>\n

The Merit Badge Program is one of the most important ways that Scouting at its finest shows through! Scouts have some 135 subject areas they can explore. As one Scout said to me, \u201cIt\u2019s like a big buffet with all kinds of stuff to try, and guide to help us choose and then taste!\u201d I know that none of these will make a Scout an “expert,” but each one will offer a taste of a subject that could become a life-interest or even career!<\/p>\n

Speaking of life-interests and careers emerging from merit badge activities, I’ve personally seen this happen. One Scout I knew well became a Forest Ranger after discovering and earning Forestry, Environmental Science, and Fish & Wildlife Management merit badges. Another, who happens to be in the Asperger’s spectrum, is now about to graduate from Bucknell University with both a Bachelor\u2019s and Master\u2019s degree in Computer Science. His entry into this field began with merit badges. He began with Communication (I was his counselor), moved on to Electronics and then to Computers (precursor to Digital Technology), and then became a CS major in college. (By the way, both of these fine young men earned the Eagle Scout rank as well!)<\/p>\n

Also, using your \u201cCooking merit badge\u201d example, keep in mind that for a Scout to be interested in earning this doesn’t by any stretch mean he or she needs to be a “phenomenal cook” first! All they need is their own personal curiosity and a willingness to learn!<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s more: Merit badges are a great way both to let Scouts know they have a friend and to find interesting ways for them to stay involved in Scouting\u2026even after Eagle (yes, there\u2019s \u201clife after Eagle, too!). For instance, through Scoutmaster conferences you\u2019ve learned that Jack or Jane and their family is really into family history. Maybe Mom\u2019s a DAR member, or Dad an SAR, or they\u2019re tracking a great-great-great grandparent who came to America on the Mayflower. What a wonderful opportunity to mention that there\u2019s a Genealogy merit badge! Or, while you\u2019re on a campout, you encounter a Scout who figured out how to actually make a \u201cbacon-stretcher\u201d (more on bacon-stretchers next week!). So have a chat with that Scout and mention that there\u2019s an Inventing merit badge that might be worth checking out, and provide a counselor\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

Well, that\u2019s enough for now, except to mention that all of this is based on my own experiences as a Scout, back when \u201cDinosaur Spotting\u201d was a merit badge\u2026<\/p>\n

As a Scout, I earned Swimming and Life Saving merit badges, but these weren\u2019t to capture Eagle rank; they were to have fun at summer camp! As it turned out, these experiences led me to later become an accredited high school swim meet official, a BSA Aquatics Director (a summer job I held for three consecutive years in my early 20\u2019s), and life guard for my college’s faculty pool; and then a private swimming instructor; and later (in my 50\u2019s) a BSA Lifeguard and BSA Lifeguard Counselor, and Merit Badge Counselor for all aquatics merit badges, whose worked with over two hundred Scouts in the past 20 years\u2026and still counseling!<\/p>\n

Happy Scouting!<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Andy<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Have a question? Facing a dilemma? Wondering where to find a BSA policy or guideline? Write to askandybsa@yahoo.com. Please include your name and council. (If you\u2019d prefer to be anonymous, if published, let me know and that\u2019s what we\u2019ll do.)<\/strong><\/p>\n

NOTE: Although these columns are copyrighted, any reader has my permission to quote or reproduce any columns or parts of columns so long as you attribute authorship: \u201cAsk Andy\u201d by Andy McCommish.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[No. 616 \u2013 9\/17\/2019 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 Andy McCommish 2019]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

________________________________________ Hi Andy, In last week\u2019s column you said to Scouts: \u201cFor each merit badge you\u2019d like to earn, go to your Scoutmaster first, and tell him of your interest. After a brief chat with you, your Scoutmaster will give you a signed Blue Card along with the name and contact information for at least […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2510"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2514,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2510\/revisions\/2514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}