The application for Merit Badge AKA the “Blue Card, is a little piece of paper that will get even the most level-headed Scouts doing the dance of the blue card.
Just sit back and watch as a Scout realizes that he’ll be 18 in a few months. The line dance for a visit with the Troop secretary is reminiscent of scene from Urban Cowboy.
I was recently asked about the process of the Blue Card and how we do it in our Troop. The reader has asked to remain nameless, but I am glad that this question came up. I can not tell you how times I have had conversations about such a simple thing, but something that is sometimes more confusing than a rubics cube.
Our reader asks; “Anyway would you share how your Troop handles Blue Cards, from the time the Scout asks to start a merit badge and is give the Blue Card through completion and where the Blue Card goes and who handles what.”
So here it goes… I’ll let you behind the curtain of how Troop 664 does the Blue card dance. There are actually two ways that we do this. I will explain the regular way that we do it and then how we do it for summer camp.
First. The Scout expresses interest in a merit badge… He picks the merit badge and goes to the Troop Secretary and asks for a blue card.
Then, the Scout fills out the Blue card. He fills out the whole front of the card leaving only my signature space blank. He fills out the back of the card with his name and the name of the merit badge he is going to work. He can leave the name of the counselor blank.
The Scout then brings me the blue card and I sign the front of the blue card. This allows the Scout to start working on the merit badge. It also gives me an opportunity to talk with the Scout about the badge and answer any questions that he may have. If I know who the counselor for that merit badge is, I give the Scout the information, if I don’t I have the Scout return to the Troop secretary and she will look up the counselor and give the Scout the information, phone number etc.
The Scout then works the merit badge. The counselor fills out the card and confirms that the Scout met all of the requirements. Once the merit badge is complete, the counselor signs and dates it and gives it back to the Scout.
The Scout will then bring the completed blue card back to me. I then sign the card and have the Scout give the blue card to the Troop secretary. She records the completion date and merit badge into the Troop master software and takes the first part of the card and files it with the Troop records. The Scout gets the remainder of the card. Most counselors do not retain their copy.
The Applicants record is stapled to the merit badge certificate as is the actual merit badge. The Scout is presented the merit badge at the next court of honor.
That completes the Dance of the Blue card.
The only difference in this process for summer camp is this. I will pre sign a bunch of blue cards. I then hand them out on day 1 of summer camp. The Scout takes the blue card and fills it out and takes it to the first session of the merit badge class.
At the completion of summer camp, the blue cards are returned from the summer camp staff to the Scoutmasters. I sign all the completed merit badges and make a note of the partials.
During summer camp, I track the merit badges being worked daily. I keep a chart in my notebook of who is working what badge at what time. Then I follow-up daily at the “Scoutmaster cabin”. The camps in our council all make daily progress reports available. If by Wednesday, it does not look like progress is being made, I have a little chat with the Scout. It is the Scouts decision to work the badges and I will not force or push the Scout to complete the badges at camp. I do “Highly encourage” them to get them finished, but at the end of the week.. it will be up to him.
When we get home, I turn over all of the blue cards to the Troop Secretary and she records and goes through the same process as stated above.
So there it is.. The Dance of the Blue Card… I sure hope that helps.
Leave your questions, comments, and suggestions here on the blog or feel free to drop me an email.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
Tag Archives: Boy Scouts
Year in Review
It’s that time of the year when we all take a look back at our year and take stock in what we have learned, what we accomplished, and what we look forward to in the coming year. It is also that time of the year that all the “Lists” come out and WordPress sends us bloggers our report card.
So lets start with that. The blog is doing very well and it is all because of you the reader/viewer. Now I don’t claim to understand how blogs are rated and ranked, and I don’t know where the Scoutmasterminute.net rates among the really big blogs out there. I guess deep down inside I wish the blog was massive and only because then the world would see our Scouting world in the light in which we want it to be seen. I surf around at some of the blogs out there that are truly about nothing and see that they have thousands of followers, get millions of hits, and have what I consider sub par content. Scouting blogs seem to not get the views it should.
Resolve this coming year to tell a friend about a Scouting blog. It doesn’t have to be this one, but pick one. There are great Scouting blogs out there.
You can start with Bryan on Scouting. The official Blog of the BSA (Scouting Magazine). In typical well produced fashion the BSA has a nice product in this blog. I like that it is pretty interactive and does a nice job of telling Scouting’s story.
Then you need to check out the blogs of my Scouting friends. Scouter Adam for the Cub Scout folks out there, mixes up his personal touch as well as telling a great Scouting story. A stop in at the Boy Scout Trial is a nice site for resources, stories, and fun stuff. No list of Scouting blogs could be complete without Clarke Green’s Blog. That is a site that every Scouter should have bookmarked and visit often. Doug Metz has a nice blog out there also. I wish he would put more out there. He has a great story and I love to hear about his journey. Bobwhites Blather is another good site. I like blogs that stay current, are on topic, have fun, and speak to not only their Scouting world, but the writers other interests also.
I could list site after site that I am sure do not get enough visits and would love to see more. You can get a great idea of the Scouting blogs that are out there by visiting my friend Gregg’s Half Eagle.com. I would be remiss if I did not give a shout out to the guy that pretty much got me interested and encouraged me to keep it going. Steve. His Blog has been out there for a long time. Steve has a unique take on Scouting from the perspective of a small town and small troop that has been there and done that. Steve was a Scoutmaster for 30 years and just can’t walk away. And for that we are all better.
If I left you off the list it is not intended to slight you or say that you do not have a great story. The list I just named was pretty much in the order they appear on my favorites list.. which is pretty random at best. There are great blogs out there.. but google Scouting blogs and see what you get. We need to be up on the top of that list.
The point is we need to get better at supporting one another. We need to tell Scouting’s story and get Scouting out front in a positive light.
Today I did receive my “Year in review” from WordPress. They give an option to share, but the numbers really do not mean anything unless they are placed in context. So I thought I would share, but in the context of you the great reader.
This blog was visited 52,000 times this last year. That to me is pretty darn good. But once again, I think it is to the Choir that we preach. And yep, the Choir needs to hear the sermon, but telling Scouting’s story and sharing tips and tricks for the trail is something that I want more to see. Believe me when I say that my ego does not this blog. I do it cause I like it and it is helping I am sure. In some small way 52,000 views lended a hand in someones Scouting life or life as a camper.
I was surprised to see that I only posted (as of yesterday) 133 new posts to the blog. And then upon further review I noticed that there were some real thin months for blogging out there.
So for 2013 I resolve to write more and post more to the blog.
2013 saw a major increase in feedback to the blog also and I want to thank everyone that made a contribution to the conversation. I especially want to thank Allan Green. Allan was the top contributor to the blog, lending his comments and feedback more than anyone else. Thanks Allan. Send me your address and I have something for you.
This year in Scouting for me took me to Philmont. Scouting’s paradise and I fell in love with the trails, the mountains, the canyon country that is the Sange de Christo range. The trip to Philmont for me was extremely special in many ways. Taking 2 crews from our Troop on an adventure of that magnitude was a challenge and an experience of a life time. It was not a once in a life time adventure, but a mountain top experience that touched me spiritually, physically, and mentally. I got to see the very best in Scouts and Scouting while watching our crew grow and develop and have a lot of fun. Philmont was the Scouting high light of the year for me.
Our grew again this year, and we lost some boys along the way. But in the end, the program got stronger and the Scouts got better. Youth leadership met many challenges this year and came out better for it. With a great plan going into 2013 I look forward to the many adventures that lay ahead.
Personally I grew this year. My relationships and my friendships are stronger.
And then there is the obsession with my backpack.
I have set a goal to reduce volume and weight from my pack. This is going to be a lengthy project and one that I will have fun doing. Playing with gear, testing new items and ideas and developing a lighter philosophy when it comes to hitting the trail. I look forward to that and sharing that with you here on the blog.
2012 was a good year. 2013 is going to be better.
Resolve to make changes in your life. Resolve to make your world better, your self better, and those around you better.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
More Scouting Blogs that I failed to add to the post:
Scouter Mom’s Blog
Scoutmaster Shawn’s Blog
Phil Pecks blog
Nick from across the pond
Bryan Spellman’s blog
John Scout
Arlen Ward.com
Kevin Devin’s Blog of his interest!
And there are a bunch more.. make sure you visit them. Hit the like button and share them!
