Written requirements?

[cballman]

Well it would be nice if they would just look at the requirements instead of just seeing tha badge and wanting to earn it.

An example is summer camp when the boys are wanting certain merit badges one of the first things they ask is how easy is it. Its hard to tell a kid that with a little work most all the merit badges are easy but then thats where parents get upset because the child has to do something. WOW a novel idea a child doing something for themselves

[Cowboy]

Gotta admit there are some MB's that I have steered some of our guys to because they are easy. Scholarship and Sports are good examples. We have a couple of guys who are currently working on the "long three" ERMB's who don't want to go through a COH with no awards. These two are pretty simple and require only "normal" work. If they are normal active Scouts they can earn these two just by doing what they should be doing anyway. My son is one who has all but 1 ERMB and he is working on that. He also has an "excess" of electives, so he is looking for fun and simple to earn. As Webmaster and ASPL who is also in sports, the "easy" ones are a good way to keep him active and interested without overloading him.

[evmori]

Ed Yes it is a Resource BUT We must get some way to get these scouts to have an idea as to what they are getting into. WHen I hold up a Large D Biner and they say It is a clippy thing I want to take it and hit the SM in the head as he brought unprepared scouts or ask them to tie a double Fishermans knot and you get the deer in head light look even though the SM was told they were responsible to teach the knots and were given the resources necessary to do that. Even a web site with knot videos that you can do step by step. The SM usually think its a joke you can tell by looking at them. SO make it a requirement Read the Pamphlet.

I agree wagion, but forcing a Scout to read a MB pamphlet isn't the answer.

ED You have a better Way?

Wagon,

I don't know if it's better but every time I counsel a MB for a Scout, I make sure I have the current MB pamphlet & I use it as a guide at the initial meeting with the Scout. I suggest they get a copy & there are times I will give them mine.

[Quailman]

Gotta admit there are some MB's that I have steered some of our guys to because they are easy. Scholarship and Sports are good examples. We have a couple of guys who are currently working on the "long three" ERMB's who don't want to go through a COH with no awards. These two are pretty simple and require only "normal" work. If they are normal active Scouts they can earn these two just by doing what they should be doing anyway. My son is one who has all but 1 ERMB and he is working on that. He also has an "excess" of electives, so he is looking for fun and simple to earn. As Webmaster and ASPL who is also in sports, the "easy" ones are a good way to keep him active and interested without overloading him.

It's not that they are necessarily simple - it's that several of the requirements are met by other activities these scouts are probably involved in. It's like music for a bandmember or coin collecting for a boy who's been building a collection since the second grade. Any well-rounded scout should have an outside interest or two or three that makes for an easy merit badge.

[Cowboy]

Quail, that was the point, though not as clearly stated as it should have been. The example of the Scholastics MB being that we expect our Scouts to be doing well in school, and showing Scout Spirit at all times. Those are the big requirements for that one. We also expect that our boys will have some outside interests, and in our Troop we have a lot of athletes. These guys should be able to meet the MB requirements without doing much over and above the requirements of the sports that they are in. I did not mean to say that they are gimme MB's, but that they are ones that the boys are essentially doing anyway, may as well go the extra step and get the MB too.

[smtroop168]

Sports MB takes longer than the "long three" ER MBs.

[kwildman]

yes tracking the training and practice for 2 sports seasons is about 8 months of work - sports is something that your active kids can get but it is not a gimme and they have to know to start their charting at the beginning of the season for each sport.