Fillable Merit Badge Counselor Information Form - Boy Scouts Of America (Page 2 of 2) in pdf

inStruCtionS for Merit BAdge CounSelorS

What’s it All About?

The merit badge counselor is a key player in the Boy Scout advancement program. Whatever your area of expertise or interest—

whether it is a special craft or hobby (basketry, leatherwork, coin collecting), a profession (veterinary medicine, aviation, engineering),

or perhaps a life skill (cooking, personal management, communication)—as a merit badge counselor, you play a vital role in stirring

a young man’s curiosity about it. By serving as a counselor, you offer your time, knowledge, and other resources so Scouts have the

opportunity to broaden their horizons. And in doing so, your mission is to combine fun with learning.

You are both teacher and mentor to the Scout as he learns by doing. By presenting opportunities for growth via engaging activities like

designing a Web page (Computers), performing an ollie and a wheelie (Snow Sports), or fabricating rope (Pioneering), you may pique a young

man’s interest and inspire a Scout to develop a lifelong hobby, pursue a particular career, or become an independent, self-supporting adult.

learning to Be a Merit Badge Counselor

All merit badge counselors should seek training. It is important that they have a full understanding of their responsibilities and also of the

recommended practices for quality counseling. The presentation “The Essentials of Merit Badge Counseling” has been designed for this

purpose and covers the following topics:

A Scouting overview: mission, aims, and methods

Merit badge program role and benefits

Merit badge counselor qualifications

How to become a counselor

The merit badge counseling process

Merit badge requirements

Effective counseling

Group instruction and camp settings

The session can be downloaded and viewed from

advancement_presentations.aspx.

Another resource is the Guide for Merit Badge Counseling, No. 34532. This resource can be found online at

GuideforMeritBadgeCounselors/MBCounselorGuide.aspx.

Processing this Application

Merit badge counselors must register as adult Scouters and be approved by the council advancement committee for each merit badge

listed on this Merit Badge Counselor Information form. A merit badge counselor does not have to pay a registration fee, but must

complete an Adult Application for position code 42, fill out this form, and complete BSA Youth Protection training. Counselors may wish

to associate with a particular unit but are encouraged to serve any Scout from any unit.

Special Qualifications and guidelines for Merit Badge Counselors

A number of merit badges involve activities that are restricted or require certification or special training for those supervising these

activities. See the

Guide to

Advancement, topic 7.0.1.1, “Qualifications of Counselors.” Merit badge counselors may personally

meet these required qualifications, or they may use others so qualified. Additionally, the BSA

Guide to Safe Scouting

has specific

requirements and procedures for shooting sports and for aquatics, winter, and other activities. These policies apply to all BSA activities,

including merit badge instruction. For other merit badges where specific BSA requirements do not exist, counselors should have

sufficient depth of knowledge and experience to understand how to safely present the material.

instructions to Counselors

• The unit leader (Scoutmaster, Varsity Coach, crew Advisor, or Skipper) recommends and provides the name and contact information

of at least one merit badge counselor to each Scout desiring to work on a merit badge. Before beginning to work with a youth,

counselors should check the boy’s merit badge application (blue card) to ensure it is signed by the unit leader.

• Every Scout must have a buddy with him at each meeting with a merit badge counselor. This buddy could be another Scout, a parent

or guardian, a brother or sister, or a relative or friend. There is no one-on-one contact allowed with Scouts and counselors—the

buddy requirement is mandatory.

• Counselors may not add to or delete any merit badge requirements. Group instruction is allowed where special facilities and

expert personnel make this most practical, or when Scouts are dependent on a few counselors for assistance. However, any group

experience must provide attention to every individual candidate’s projects and progress, and assure each has actually and personally

fulfilled all the requirements. If, for example, a requirement uses words like “show,” “demonstrate,” or “discuss,” then every Scout

must individually do so. It is unacceptable to award badges on the basis of Scouts sitting in classrooms and watching demonstrations

or remaining silent during discussions.

• When a Scout begins working on a merit badge, the current-year Boy Scout Requirements book lists the official requirements in

effect at that time. If requirements change after a Scout has started working on a merit badge, he may stay with the requirements in

effect when he started unless the BSA’s National Council places a specific timeline on the implementation of new requirements.

34405WEB

Revised February 2013

2013 Printing

Merit Badge Counselor Information Form - Boy Scouts Of America Page 2

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