Merit badges are part of scouting for two reasons. First, they encourage the Scout to increase skills in things they like to do. Second, they challenge the Scout to try new activities that may result in new interests or hobbies. They also give the Scout a brief overview of many career areas and may help plan the future.
http://usscouts.org/meritbadges.asp Web site devoted to scouting advancement
This is the merit badge organizer that I, Ben Lam, have made for all Scouts to be able to use. Here are instructions on how to get your own editable copy of the spreadsheet:
1: Make sure you are signed in to a Google account.
2: Once that is done, click on the link (light blue button under the post).
3: Click “File”
4: Click “Make a copy…”
5: Name it whatever you’d like!
6: Select the destination that you want the copy to be saved to.
7: Done! You can do whatever you’d like to the copy of the spreadsheet, so customize it to your liking. I hope this helps with your Merit Badge organization!
Sincerely,
Ben Lam
There are three methods under which scouts may earn merit badges:
A scout may work on any merit badge he wishes. However, do not choose a merit badge that you are already scheduled to take in a troop merit badge class (see Advancement Chairman). The procedure is as follows:
In some cases (e.g., Music, Sports, Home Repairs, Pets, etc.), with the prior approval of the counselor, a Scout may obtain a note/documentation supporting completion of a certain requirement signed by a teacher, coach, or parent. Anyone attesting to completion must have been shown the merit badge booklet so they are aware of the specific requirements. This note is brought to the approved Troop 174 counselor for that merit badge for his consideration of the scout’s progress. The approved troop counselor shall sign the merit badge card.
The strict requirements for those approved to sign rank and merit badge completion are not arbitrary. It is a National BSA required procedure and fully supported by Troop 174. The point is to provide uniform and fair treatment of all scouts passing a given merit badge and to ensure that the full requirements for the badge were completed. The Troop 174 list of Merit Badge counselors can be found in the annual printed Troop directory.
Merit Badge Counselors
The responsibilities of the merit badge counselor are briefly described here. Counselors for Troop 174 must be registered members of the Troop Committee (registered with National BSA including completion of Youth Protection Training), have filled out a merit badge counselor information form (which lists the merit badges to be counseled) and have read the BSA information packet (Guide to Advancement, see Sec. 7) for merit badge counselors. This packet is available from the Advancement Chairman. The merit badge counselor should be willing to teach any merit badge on his list at troop classes as scheduled by the Advancement Chairman, or as part of the independent study program. In the latter case, it is required that at least two scouts be in any class that is offered off-site from regular Monday night troop meetings. The offering of any merit badge for independent study must be announced at the Monday meeting so any scout can participate. If a scout comes to a counselor for independent study, the announcement should also be made to the other scouts. One-on-one counseling may only be done at the regular scout meetings on Monday nights. The requirements for any merit badge are listed in each merit badge booklet; these are the only requirements, not more and not less. The scout must have personally read the entire merit badge booklet. The object of all these requirements is to provide uniform instruction of merit badges to promote fair treatment to all scouts by providing them all with equal access to counselors, and to comply with BSA guidelines.
There are certain Merit Badges that must be earned in order to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. These Merit Badges are:
In list format, that is:
