100 Days of Scouting: Day 77, Troop Meeting

Day 77, Monday, April 25th.

Tonight was our weekly Troop meeting.

We did something that we haven't done since the first year that I took the Troop over. We did a Merit Badge class during the Troop meeting.

I just recently read the thoughts and comments from a couple other Scoutmasters on doing Merit Badges during the Troop meeting. One said that they never did them during the meetings, and the other said that they never have, and never will.

I really debated on this one.

The boys decided that they wanted to do the Cooking Merit Badge during a Troop meeting at the last PLC meeting. They asked me if they could do it, and I really didn't know how to answer them at that time, but told them I would let them know by the next meeting. One of our adults is a Cooking Merit Badge Counselor, and had already agreed to teach the class, so I decided to go ahead and let them do it. There are a couple of reasons that I decided to let them do it. One is the fact that out of our 21 boys in the Troop, only 3 have earned the Merit Badge. Another reason I decided to let them do it is because it was their idea, and their decision. As Scoutmaster I have the final say so on what we do, but I couldn't really think of any good reason to go against their wishes. If it were for a safety reason then yes I would go against it, but there is really no safety issue here. In fact, 2 of the 3 boys that have already earned the Merit Badge are on the PLC, and they voted to do it during the Troop meeting. How could I tell them no.

I realize that this goes against the thinking of some Scoutmasters, but I really think that each Troop has it's own unique situation and what works for one Troop won't always work for another. While I really respect the thinking of the other 2 Scoutmasters that said that they won't do Merit Badges during a Troop meeting, I have to think that our situation is very different than theirs and that our Troop is just different enough from theirs that it's the right thing for us to do at this time.

After all, it's supposed to be "boy led" and if we're going to follow that way of doing things I have to let them lead as they wish, so long as all rules and regulations are followed and there is not a safety hazard associated with what they are doing.

So, for my 100 Days of Scouting today:

I watched as my Scouts started the Cooking Merit Badge at our Troop wide Cooking Merit Badge Class.

Have a great day today, and remember to keep your Scouting fun!