Merit Badge "Competition"

[adv_385]

We've kind of gone beyond my original question. On our Troop Web Page, of which the Scoutmaster has anointed himself webmaster (no youth participation at all), he want to post a chart which shows that Jonnie B, who is not yet a Scout, has 10 merit badges, Billie W, who is Tenderfoot has 12, Joe J, Star, Has 20, etc. While the names are made up, the data is real. His stated reason is to motivate the Scouts to get more merit badges.

At one point, he called in a local police officer, who was an Eagle graduate of our Troop, to give a talk on Fingerprinting Merit Badge. The speaker, not a merit badge counselor, just talked. As he was speaking, the Scoutmaster, who is also not a counselor for the badge, was completely filling out the blue cards for everyone there, including the counselor's signature, citing "Scoutmaster prerogative". His goal is to maximize badge numbers, not foster interest in the individual subjects.

Yeah, I am an old timer, I've been in uniform for over 30 years, so maybe my view of the program is obsolete. However, I don't believe this has anything to do with the spirit of Scouting, much less the stated objectives.

Neal

[WVBeaver05]

At one point, he called in a local police officer, who was an Eagle graduate of our Troop, to give a talk on Fingerprinting Merit Badge. The speaker, not a merit badge counselor, just talked. As he was speaking, the Scoutmaster, who is also not a counselor for the badge, was completely filling out the blue cards for everyone there, including the counselor's signature, citing "Scoutmaster prerogative". His goal is to maximize badge numbers, not foster interest in the individual subjects.

To put it simply, this is wrong!!

Question: Must individuals who are serving as a merit badge counselor register as a merit badge counselor with the Boy Scouts of America?
Answer: Yes, an Adult Application must be completed for each position in which the individual wants to serve. The application allows only one position per form. For instance, an individual who wants to serve only as a merit badge counselor will need to complete only one application. However, a Scoutmaster or assistant Scoutmaster who wants to serve as a merit badge counselor must complete two applications—one for the Scoutmaster position and one for the counselor position

In a side box adjacent to this -

Unit leaders are not automatically approved to serve as merit badge counselors.

The link is: http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/GuideforMeritBadgeCounselors/FAQ.aspx

YiS

[RWSmith]

I'm going to split the above two posts (and any subsequent related posts after this one) off into another thread.

When I do this, I momentarily lock the thread; but, I'm not going to do so at this time because a user is "currently" viewing this thread. I'll give him a little while in case he's posting a reply.

Then I'll split it off.