Scouting, Volume 48, Number 2, February 1960 Page: 42
80 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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FRONT
LINE
\>/y
leader seeks
s^/Ward, is there
a merit
By JAMES C. MOISE
Assistant Director, Visual Education
I
//_
know a Scoutmaster," the commissioner said as
he sipped his coffee, "who has seventy-six merit badges
— and he's still earning them!"
"Pardon me," I said, "but it sounded like you said
you knew a Scoutmaster who has seventy-six merit
badges and he's still earning them."
"You hear very well," the commissioner said.
And here is the rest of what I heard:
ME: You mean, there really is such a man?
HIM: Absolutely.
ME: Well, why doesn't somebody do something about
him?
HIM: What do you mean, "do something about him?"
What's he doing, breaking a law?
ME: You mean you think it's a good thing for Scout-
masters to earn merit badges?
HIM: Why, sure—matter of fact I think it's great. Say,
you're looking pale all of a sudden. You feel O.K.?
ME: I—I'll be all right. Tell me about this—this man.
Why he is doing it?
HIM: Why? Well, for one thing to keep up with his
own boy. You know, set a good example, do the
things the boy does, be a real pal.
ME: I suppose he attends school with his boy and sets
a good example by getting a hundred in sixth
grade arithmetic and spelling?
HIM: That's ridiculous!
ME: And getting merit badges isn't?
HIM: That's different. Anyway, his boy isn't the only
reason he's doing it. He's also trying to inspire
the Scouts in his troop to advance.
ME: And do they advance?
HIM: Some of them do.
ME: Sure I know boys, and I knew some boys once
who had one of these advancement-happy Scout-
masters. He was so busy lining up merit badge
counselors he didn't have time to be Scoutmaster.
A lot of the Scouts just coasted along and did
nothing.
HIM: How do you know they did nothing?
ME: I was one of them.
HIM: Well, one swallow doesn't make a summer. It
seems to me that a Scoutmaster who goes in for
merit badge work can't help but become more
familiar with Scouting skills, and be better able
to help his boys.
ME: Become "familiar with them," sure — but why
does he have to actually have to pass them? These
requirements aren't for men — they're for boys.
HIM: Sure, but boys look up to a man who proves he
can do what he asks them to do.
ME: Do they look up to the man, or are they fascinated
by the weight of his merit badge sash?
HIM: Both, in my opinion. Besides, lots of leaders
haven't been Scouts themselves, and may want
to catch up on something they've missed. Maybe
they never had a chance.
ME: Yeah, and maybe they should spend their time
with boys who still do have a chance!
HIM: You don't seem to realize how the merit badge
program can broaden a man's outlook, and make
him a better leader.
ME: It may broaden his outlook, but it steals his time
— the time he should be giving to leading boys.
HIM: But with his greater knowledge he'll be more
effective in less time.
ME: Not if he's sweating out the next board of review,
he won't!
And so, over the coffee cups and around the
cracker barrels runs the argument. Should a
Scoutmaster personally go after merit badges
etc.? Or not? Do you agree with "me" — or
"him"? Write your views to Front Line Stuff,
Scouting Magazine, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
We'll run a resume soon. Watch Front Line Stuff
for frank discussions of real-life problems.
42
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 48, Number 2, February 1960, periodical, February 1960; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth329284/m1/44/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.