How Long did it take?

[hacimsaalk]

I am currently trying to get Cit. in the Nation and Cit. in the World done, but i am getting off to a slow start. How long did it take you? Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks

[t305spl]

Cit. in Nation took me 1 meeting with the counselor and i did the written work over the course of a month. Cit. in the world I completed in one week at summer camp(Alot of work tho)

[BM_Crawford]

I did citizenship in the world in one day. It was after a friend of mine had his eagle banquette. I got inspired sat down the next day and did it all wrote everything in notes; then called up my councilor and finished it on the first meeting.

[hungryman287]

I am currently trying to get Cit in the Community, and Cit. in the Nation. It's seeming to me that Nation is easier. *needs to go work on the MB's*

[t305spl]

Yeah out of all three Cits. Nation seemed the easiest.

[hungryman287]

Yeah, I thought that Cit in the World was a fast one.

[Rick Tyler]

Yeah, I thought that Cit in the World was a fast one.

I've counseled all three Citizenship MBs perhaps a total of 75 times. Cit World is the longest and has the most requirements. For boys under the age of 14, it is very difficult, since they have seen very few of the requirements in school. Cit Community isn't that difficult, but younger scouts usually have trouble understanding the city finances. The easiest of the three is Cit Nation, especially for scouts who have had some American government in school.

Even for high school students, I can rarely get through Cit World in less than 2-3 hours of direct contact time. Anything less and I don't really get a feeling for the scout's level of understanding. Cit Nation can take less than an hour if the scout is prepared and knowledgeable. Cit Community is somewhere in between.

Remember, though, that I am a value-added MB counselor. I enjoy history, and have a degree in Political Science. While I don't make it a requirement for the MB (add nothing, subtract nothing) I usually go over more than what's in the book. I prefer if my counselees (is that a word?) learn enough to really get a feeling for the material, and don't just learn it well enough to barely pass.

[dparker]

I've counseled all three Citizenship MBs perhaps a total of 75 times. Cit World is the longest and has the most requirements. For boys under the age of 14, it is very difficult, since they have seen very few of the requirements in school. ...

Even for high school students, I can rarely get through Cit World in less than 2-3 hours of direct contact time. Anything less and I don't really get a feeling for the scout's level of understanding. ...

Our boys recently chose the Cit. World MB to work on and we started going over the requirements during our meetings. The ones attending those nights happened to be 12 & 13 years old and we had to go really slow to make sure that each boy was fulfilling and understanding each requirement. It was so bad that the counselor said she wouldn't teach it to 12/13 year-old Scouts anymore. I really think that the requirements are over the top and could be reworked to make them more accessible to younger Scouts.

[West]

Well, quite frankly I don't think every merit badge needs to be easy for younger scouts to understand. Expecally in the case of Eagle Required badges. There are plenty they can do while young, and then do the others later (then again I earned my eagle at 13). But cutting back on things that the boys really should learn just so young scouts have an easier time is not the answer.

For the topic on hand, it's been 13 years but I remember that world was by far the hardest. It took me probably 3 months and 3 or 4 meetings with the councilor. Nation was easiest, any worthwhile school beats that stuff into you as a kid. Community took a while, simply because they kept cancelling city council meetings.

[Rick Tyler]

(...)It was so bad that the counselor said she wouldn't teach it to 12/13 year-old Scouts anymore. I really think that the requirements are over the top and could be reworked to make them more accessible to younger Scouts.

The Merit Badge program is designed to be challenging for Scouts of all ages. If you make them all appropriate to an 11-year-old, the older boys will either finish them in 10 minutes, or not even do them because they are too easy. On the other hand, you need MBs like Fingerprinting, Art, Wood Carving and Swimming, that can be earned by a Scout of any age.

The day the lightning bolt hit and I understood the whole MB program, I was impressed. It is well designed to be interesting and challenging for all the youth. By the way, the MB books are well-written, too. I've learned a lot by reading my sons' books.

[diamondbackAPL]

I did most of cit. in the world at a merit badge workshop, AND IT WAS THE MOST BORING MERIT BADGE I HAVE EVER TAKEN!!!!!

at the workshop, we couldn't do the last few requirements, but I got them signed off with another counselor very quickly( I don't remember how quickly , it was along while ago).

[Mick Scouter]

I have been working with my sons on Citizenship in the World and yes I can agree it could be boring but it is a very important MB. I am trying to look beyond the requirements and look at the value added. DiamondbackAPL, don't get discouraged. You obviously have access to the internet and in the course of my searches there is a lot of very good information. Besides that we live in a global society and the more we know about the world around us the better we can help to make the world a better place. . Congratulations on completing the MB but don't look at completing this or any other MB as the end but as the beginning. I learn something new everyday. Challenge yourself and others to make the most boring to be exciting. I'll bet you can do it!

[Scout55]

2 days

[scubascout]

I did both these merit badges with a buddy of mine
For citizenship of the world, we used wikipedia on the internet (google"Citizenship in The World) It took us a few hours and then one meeting w/ the counselor to make sure everything was right

For cit. in the nation, the letter and the news took the longest, others wise we found the answers from knowledge and the internet