Citizenship in the Community

[Rick Tyler]

New Requirement # 5:
"With the approval of your counselor and a parent, watch a movie that shows how the actions of one individual or group of individuals can have a positive effect on a community. Discuss with your counselor what you learned from the movie about what it means to be a valuable and concerned member of the community."

Any suggestions on a movie?

Well, this is an easy one. "Follow Me, Boys" for sure.

[Russ]

Another would be "Pay It Forward."

[Russ]

BTW, concerning the earlier part of this thread, ASM-142 asked:

How as a troop can we have consistency when there are different Merit Badge Counselors that impose different waiting periods?

and evmori said:

Merit badges are not the responsibility of the Troop. They are the responsibility of the merit badge counselor.

One thing to remember here is that, while what evmori says is correct, the Scoutmaster does have control over which MB counselor a Scout uses (assuming, of course, that there is more than one qualified and properly registered and approved MB counselor available for the given subject). Reference The Scoutmaster Handbook, page 125. It's up to the Scoutmaster to decide which counselor he refers the Scout to, so if one counselor is either lax in enforcing the requirements or unreasonable in exercising his or her "discretionary powers," so to speak, the Scoutmaster always has the option of not referring Scouts to him or her in the future. (Note, however, that this should not be misconstrued as giving the Scoutmaster the authority to second-guess the counselor; if the counselor says the Scout completed the requirements, the Scout completed the requirements, no question.) If a given counselor's performance is consistently not up to par, then the Scoutmaster doesn't have to keep referring Scouts to him--but before I would write such a counselor off, I'd first discuss my concerns with him/her (and/or the district advancement committee) to see if we could resolve the problem.

[RWSmith]

"Pay It Forward" (2000), Rated PG-13
"Spider-Man 2" (2004), Rated PG-13
"The King and I" (1956), aka "Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I" - USA (Complete title) Not Rated (Not necessary)

[commish3]

Mr. Holland's Opus
It's a Wonderful Life
October Sky

[riverwalk]

Yeah, I guess that's what I am, haha. I don't know about modern released movies, just don't give them a chance. But I'm serious about my "old" movies. And I really appreciate the tear jerkers. So I kinda like these for characters that made a difference in their situation(s):


Mr. Smith goes to Washington (1939)
Room for one more (1952)
Call Northside 777 (1948)
Broken Arrow (1950)
People will talk (1951)
12 Angry Men (1957)

There are many others and I'll try to recall some. These lead characters either caused others to do the right thing or did so themselves, doing the ethical thing. Room for One More does feature Boy Scouts so that's kinda neat. Movies have to seek permission to accurately portray the BSA, that's why some movies have kids that look like they're in some "scouting" program, but isn't exactly BSA, haha. Another besides Follow Me Boys (outstanding!), is Mr. Scoutmaster, if you like some reference to Scouting.

[riverwalk]

Well, here's some more. The immediate following are some of our recommendations.

Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939)
To Sir With Love (1967)
Lilies of the Field (1963)
Boys Town (1938)


Here are some from local friends. I don't know these movies, but perhaps they also meet the Requirement.

Remember the Titans
Radio
Big Fish

[Rick Tyler]

Local Hero (PG)
Whale Rider (PG)
Hoosiers (PG)
Shane (G)
Seven Samurai (probably PG)
The Magnificent Seven (PG-13)
Dirty Harry (just kidding)
Norma Rae (PG-13)
Gung-Ho (PG-13)
Blazing Saddles (really just kidding)
Harry Potter movies (PG-13)
Star Wars (A New Hope, SW IV, 1977) (PG)
Lawrence of Arabia (PG)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (PG)
Jaws (PG)

It's getting late. I'll try to think of some more later.

[srisom]

Great suggestions on the movies. I will pass them along to several Merit Badge Counselors.
Thanks.

Just what this forum is about: sharing knowledge.

[riverwalk]

Might as well throw in Bells of St. Marys. Watching it now, and it has a great example of an individual, doing a positive thing for a large group of people.

[neilchapman]

Have you guys noticed that the requirements for this merit badge have changed significantly for 2005?

I'm looking for a workbook with the new requirements we can use this weekend. Anybody know of a link? Otherwise we'll be retyping today!

Kindest Regards,

Neil Chapman
Asst Scoutmaster
T325 HBBC
Raleigh, NC