Political Science Merit Badge

[geekiscool]

I think political science would be a good merit badge. Badges are supposed to involve possible careers or hobbies, and political science would be an interesting career aimed badge. Thoughts?

[alex gregory]

Between citizenship, american heritage, law and other examples I can't think of right now I think political science is pretty well covered. What were the requirements you were thinking of that would make a PoliSci MB distinguishable from the 3 citizenship MBs that already exist and are Eagle required?

[AquilaNegra2]

"Political Science" would necessarily be skewed in the direction of the MBC views. Nothing is neutral. So long as *I* can teach your Scouts the political truth , I think this is a great idea. Someone whose views are decidedly to the left of mine, terrible idea.

[kwildman]

"Political Science" would necessarily be skewed in the direction of the MBC views. Nothing is neutral. So long as *I* can teach your Scouts the political truth , I think this is a great idea. Someone whose views are decidedly to the left of mine, terrible idea.

You said what i was thinking.

I dont know enough about political science to really make an informed comment. The only think I know is that nearly every person I know that was a PolySci major ended up going to law school.

[Mrw]

"Political Science" would necessarily be skewed in the direction of the MBC views. Nothing is neutral. So long as *I* can teach your Scouts the political truth , I think this is a great idea. Someone whose views are decidedly to the left of mine, terrible idea.

That was my thought too.

[alex gregory]

I dont know enough about political science to really make an informed comment. The only think I know is that nearly every person I know that was a PolySci major ended up going to law school.[/quote]

And you point is what exactly?

How about we stay away from comments that disparage the profession of a lot of people on this forum.

[Mrw]

If PolySci is a common pre-law major, we already have a Law merit badge don't we?

[smtroop168]

Welcome to the Forum GEEKISCOOL.

There is a process for recommending new MBs to the BSA listed elsewhere on the forum.

The bottom line is that you need a sponsor to make your case. The last two I'm aware of are Fly Fishing and Composite Materials who had corporate sponsors to offset the cost. The fly fisherman convinced the BSA that their sport was different enough from "regular" fishing. I don't know where the deep sea fisherman are on this? The ACMA has their own web site on the CM MB.

We could have fun designing the MB on this one!!

[riverwalk]

Since Scouts can't participate (without BSA approval) in political expression, perhaps this one would concern them?

[milominderbinder2]

Websters defines political science as: a social science concerned chiefly with the description and analysis of political and especially governmental institutions and processes.

The areas of Political Science are broken down into component parts and covered by these merit badges:

*American Heritage (research political figures, read biographies, etc.)
*American Labor (interviews, globalization, labor issues)
*Family Life (updated Citizenship in the Home)
*Citizenship in the Community (attend governmental meetings, etc.)
*Citizenship in the Nation (research political issues, write letters, etc.)
*Citizenship in the World (research world issues, etc.)
*Communications (attend governmental meeting, interview political figures, etc.)
*Journalism (rights, responsibilities, shaping opinion, etc.)
*Law (learn about the legal system, interview a lawyer, attend a court, etc.)
*Public Health (governmental offices, health agencies, health assistance, etc.)
*Public Speaking (give and research speeches, learn parliamentary procedures)

There is no one merit badge called Political Science because there are 11 Merit Badges covering each aspect.

- Craig

[kwildman]

I dont know enough about political science to really make an informed comment. The only think I know is that nearly every person I know that was a PolySci major ended up going to law school.

And you point is what exactly?

How about we stay away from comments that disparage the profession of a lot of people on this forum.[/quote]


My point is that Law is not Political Science. I don't believe that I said anything disparaging about any profession. Many of my closest friends and clients are lawyers. I would venture to guess that 1/2 of them were political science majors.

[wagionvigil]

I do not see the comment as a disparaging remark. Most of my Attorney friends majored in Poly Sci and then there are a couple that have degrees in Music and a couple former teachers.

[Geokashers]

The bottom line is that you need a sponsor to make your case. The last two I'm aware of are Fly Fishing and Composite Materials who had corporate sponsors to offset the cost.

Wow....so one needs to come in with $75K to get a new MB created? This is big business! Thought we were doing this for the Scouts and not the corporations? Pretty soon the MBs will have corporate names on them like most sports arenas??

I read on one of the other threads that the $75K is needed to cover the cost of making the new MBs and printing the new books. Am I missing something here?? Last time I checked I had to buy these things at the Scout Store! Maybe we should just charge a little more for the new MBs until the $75K 'cost' is recovered??

Perhaps we should somehow determine the interest of the new MBs being proposed with the Scouts themselves so that we're providing MBs that truly interest them?

[smtroop168]

Yes the BSA is big business. 300 councils across the world serving close to a million scouts (counting Ventures) eligible to work on MBs. It's more than just printing a MB pamphlet for the new badge and coming up with the badge itself. There are numerous other publications that must be updated (including all MB pamphlets to show the current dates for each one). So like any business they need to look at their costs. If it costs $2.50 to write and publish just the PS MB pamphlet, then you'll have 30000 pamphlets. How long do you think it will take to sell the 30000 pamphlets to recoup your cost? There were 19 MBs that had over 30000 awarded in 2007, 7 were non-required. Leatherwork, Archery, Rifle Shooting, Wood Carving. Wilderness Survival, Fingerprinting and Canoeing. Interestingly less than 500 American Business MBs were awarded.

The BSA's committee that reviews new MBs considers what currently out there such as milominderbender's post showing PS is covered in 11 other badges.

The procedures to request a new MB are given in the Geocaching post so if you are passionate about pursing this, give it a try.

[Geokashers]

Yes the BSA is big business. 300 councils across the world serving close to a million scouts (counting Ventures) eligible to work on MBs. It's more than just printing a MB pamphlet for the new badge and coming up with the badge itself. There are numerous other publications that must be updated (including all MB pamphlets to show the current dates for each one). So like any business they need to look at their costs. If it costs $2.50 to write and publish just the PS MB pamphlet, then you'll have 30000 pamphlets. How long do you think it will take to sell the 30000 pamphlets to recoup your cost? There were 19 MBs that had over 30000 awarded in 2007, 7 were non-required. Leatherwork, Archery, Rifle Shooting, Wood Carving. Wilderness Survival, Fingerprinting and Canoeing. Interestingly less than 500 American Business MBs were awarded.

The BSA's committee that reviews new MBs considers what currently out there such as milominderbender's post showing PS is covered in 11 other badges.

The procedures to request a new MB are given in the Geocaching post so if you are passionate about pursing this, give it a try.

Thanks for the info. Somewhere in one of these forums someone had indicated the number of new MBs that have been added/removed over the years. Seems like new MBs are happening often enough that they could be batched together to save costs? Some of the years they only added a single MB so that seems to be the most expensive case. Perhaps adding/removing MBs every 'n' years might make more sense? And advertising what MBs are coming and going so that scouts could try to earn them before they're gone for good?

[smtroop168]

The Powers that Be said:

Political Science – A proposal was received in 2005 and denied by the committee.

[pipestone1991]

Welcome to the Forum GEEKISCOOL.

The bottom line is that you need a sponsor to make your case. The last two I'm aware of are Fly Fishing and Composite Materials who had corporate sponsors to offset the cost.

We could have fun designing the MB on this one!!

I'll tell you guys what. When I have my own Law Firm set up in 8-9 years I sponser it