For our first discussion in the series "Navigating BSA Policies & Procedures" I've decided to tackle a crucial yet incredibly simple piece of card stock that all Scouts at some point in their Scouting career will come in contact with: the BSA Merit Badge Blue Card.
Merit badges are an important part of the Scouts' BSA career. Twenty-one merit badges must be earned in order to obtain the rank of Eagle Scout - eleven of which are required for the rank. As early as the rank of Star, merit badges are needed in order to advance to Life as well as Eagle. Summer camp in itself is dedicated to a week of earning merit badges that would otherwise be difficult to earn at home with a counselor or a meeting with your troop.
So where do you begin? Obviously, the first step is to decide which of the over 130 merit badges available to Scouts you wish to pursue. Everything from Swimming to Rocketry has a merit badge, and while earning a merit badge will not make you an expert on a subject, it will open your mind to something that you didn't think you wanted to know about before. It may even take you out of your comfort zone, and in some rare cases, it you may find yourself pursuing a career in something you got a taste of in a merit badge class.
Once you've determined which of the myriad of merit badges you wish to earn, your next step is approaching your Scoutmaster and asking for the item pictured above: a Blue Card. The blue card is called so for the obvious fact that it is blue, and it is much easier to say than "Application for Merit Badge" - but that is exactly what it is. This little card has three sections to it, printed on both sides, and it provides a record for the merit badge counselor, your troop, and your council. Despite everything being recorded electronically these days, you as a Scout are still required to bring all your blue cards to your Eagle Board of Review. You won't have what you see above - by the time everything is said and done, you will have a third (about the size of a baseball card) of the card above.
Let's break down the card:
• Upper left section: This section is just a few instructions for both the counselor and the applicant. There is nothing that really needs to be discussed about this section, but if you wish to take a closer look, read it off the actual blue card.
• Upper center section: This grid is for writing down the numbers of the requirements for the merit badge you are going for. The grid (which is turned 90 degrees counter-clockwise in this image) has three columns - the first for the number and/or letter of the requirement (i.e. 2, 3a, 3b, 4, etc.), the second is for the date which the requirement was completed, and the third is for the counselor's initials. (The other three columns are a repeat of the first three, as some merit badges have many numbers and letters for their requirements). As a show of respect for the counselor, Troop 101 requires our Scouts to fill in all the requirement numbers and letters in the first column.
• Upper right section: This section is essentially the basic info for any Scout. It asks for his name & address, if he is a Boy Scout, Varsity Scout or Venturer, his troop or crew, the troop number, district and council. The Scoutmaster then signs the bottom of this section and dates it, to indicate to the merit badge counselor that he has approved of this Scout earning this merit badge. There are cases where a Scout would not be able to earn a merit badge - for instance, in NY state where our summer camp is located, a youth is not allowed to shoot a rifle or shotgun until a certain age. If the Scoutmaster has signed the card on this section, he is indicating that this Scout is eligible to earn this merit badge.
• Lower left section: This is the reverse of the upper right panel. This section indicates to the Scout's council what merit badge he earned, the name of the counselor, where the badge was earned, and the signature of the counselor upon completion. The lower part is filled out once the troop has recorded it in the database, and the merit badge has been presented. Then this section is handed in to council and is placed in their records. If there is ever a question about the earning of a merit badge, there is always a copy at council.
• Lower center section: This section is initially filled out by the Scout with his name and the name of the merit badge. Once the badge is complete, the counselor signs and dates the card, and once that is completed, the Scoutmaster signs the card as well. If for some reason the Scoutmaster feels that the Scout did not truly "earn" the merit badge, the Scoutmaster has the option of not signing, indicating that either there was some trickery afoot, and he needs to investigate, and/or he can make the Scout re-take the merit badge. (As of this writing, I have yet to see a Scoutmaster do this. I have however seen a Scout ask that the Scoutmaster not sign, as the Scout felt that he did not earn the badge.) Once this section is completed, it is handed back to the Scout with the merit badge at a Court of Honor for his records.
• Lower right section: This section is to be filled out by the Scout with his name, unit and unit number. Once the merit badge is completed, the counselor will date the card, and then (s)he will keep the card for their records. So, when a Scout earns the merit badge, the card should already be 1/3 smaller.
In the image above, everything highlighted in yellow is the responsibility of the Scout to fill out before getting it signed by the Scoutmaster. What is not filled out in the image is the requirements grid. In T101, I check each card before I sign it to make sure that it is properly filled out. If something is missing, I hand it and a pen right back to the Scout. Once its filled out to my satisfaction (i.e. properly) I'll sign the front section, and then I give it to the Scout.
At this point, the Scout has to bring the card to the counselor, who will (or should) hold on to it until the boy completes the merit badge. Once the all the requirements have been completed to the satisfaction of the counselor, (s)he'll sign off and send the two sections back with the Scout to hand over to the Scoutmaster. I'll then sign, and hand it over to our records keeper, who will log the merit badge with council, get all the necessary paperwork in order and purchase the actual merit badge. At the next Court of Honor the Scout will receive his portion of the blue card and the merit badge itself.
As happens every so often, a Scout will get back a full blue card with some of the requirements initialed and dated in the grid. This is what we call a "partial" meaning that the Scout only finished some of the merit badge, and will either have to return to summer camp, or find a counselor to help them finish. Some merit badges - like shotgun - require the Scout to shoot so many targets out of so many targets. Sometimes, he doesn't hit enough, or the weather is too foul at camp to complete the badge. These thing happen.
In the cases of partials from summer camp, I hold on to the blue card itself (in order to make sure they aren't lost over the winter) and will bring it back for the Scout to complete the following year. If the Scout wishes to finish sooner than later, I can provide him with a list of counselors around his home for him to contact to see if they are available to finish. Even if he wishes to earn one that is not a partial, I'll provide him with a list of counselors in the area.
Can a Scout start a merit badge before filling out the blue card? That depends on the counselor. Some are real sticklers for the rules, and BSA policy does say that the Scout needs to arrive with the blue card in hand. Many though won't care either way, as the boy can't earn the badge without the proper application signed and filled out. While you would be wasting the time of the counselor, the only person being really hurt by not getting a blue card for a merit badge is the Scout himself - no record in the council database, then as far as everyone is concerned, the merit badge was never earned.
Pretty much that is the blue card in a nutshell. Whether you want to earn another merit badge, or whether you need to complete one from 2 years ago, see your Scoutmaster and ask for a blue card and a list of phone numbers. Merit badges are not earned only at summer camp - anyone looking to go all the way to Eagle should be earning merit badges all year long.
The blue card is the first step.
No comments:
Post a Comment