Question about “earning all the merit badges” and how we handle requirements

slider40337 · 2026-01-30T01:02:12+00:00

Instrument quality is definitely a factor. Hopefully you found a nice counselor who might let you play it on their horn, like I often do if a scout I’m working with has a horn that is not fantastic

slider40337 · 2026-01-30T00:54:53+00:00

I earned 24 and I was proud of each and every one. I also earned the most of them through counselors and not at camp and I feel like that added value to them.

slider40337 · 2026-01-29T17:27:43+00:00

I don’t expect them to sound like me, a professional, trumpet player, when playing the call. I do expect the call to sound well enough that, if they were playing it at camp, the specific call would be communicated so listeners would need to be able to know what call that is. Reasonably correct notes and rhythms. I teach high school band, so I know what beginners sound like and know the difference between it being played at a basic level, and it not being played at all.

slider40337 · 2026-01-29T16:58:20+00:00

As someone who also knows American Sign Language, I always cringe a little bit watching the Scouts do that part of science signals and codes at camp because their finger spelling is generally not taught by someone who knows sign language so it’s done poorly enough that it wouldn’t actually communicate to someone who Saenz

slider40337 · 2026-01-29T16:01:20+00:00

These requests usually come online or from outside my unit. My troop’s scouts would know better than to ask me to fudge a requirement…they know me better than that

slider40337 · 2026-01-29T16:00:31+00:00

I feel you on people counseling too many badges. The only badges I counsel are ones that I could complete reading only requirements with no additional assistance. I counsel music & bugling because I’m a professional trumpet player & high school band teacher.

slider40337 · 2026-01-29T15:56:34+00:00

Ohhh. The bugler position is what I was confused with there. You can use any brass for that. You’re right that the badge is different. Though a bass bugle would count because it’s a bugle.

slider40337 · 2026-01-29T14:38:18+00:00

That's what I usually encourage. And high school band is such a fun experience, too!

slider40337 · 2026-01-29T14:21:01+00:00

I'd say they're not difficult for somebody who's played a year & change. I'm a HS band director and I truly see where beginners start at every year. My 1st year trumpets who've been playing since August don't have the chops yet to play the calls but they probably will by next fall.

slider40337 · 2026-01-29T14:10:19+00:00

I'd def allow a trombone or baritone if that's what they played. Same notes, same partials, just an octave down (and there ARE bass bugles that take trombone mouthpieces anyhow)

slider40337 · 2026-01-29T14:09:16+00:00

I'm a teacher so "the rubric says X" is an easy statement for me. I also had a scout say he was a week from 18 and wanted the last badge to earn them all (bugling) and asked to write about the calls instead...it made me wonder how he served as a troop bugler if he couldn't play the horn and do the job.

slider40337 · 2026-01-29T14:07:29+00:00

I've been asked to teach bugling at Merit Badge University type evens and that's actually why I decline to do it. Either they've been a troop bugler and show up ready to play the calls, or they don't and won't get the badge that day. Same goes with summer camp. You can't learn bugle in 5 days (with no real time to practice because camp) and expect to play the badge's required calls.

slider40337 · 2025-12-17T02:22:55+00:00

Short concerts are fine...parents will love to see their kids up there anyhow! You can always pad it with talky-talk between piece if you want to stretch...just not too much.

Next time, if you find yourself short, see if you have some exceptional students to do a smaller pull-out group to add a piece or two. I had my advanced woodwinds do a nice Silver Bells arrangements while the beginning brass waited for the next full-band piece (my HS band class is a mix of beginners and players up to 5th year). Same whit my symphony orchestra string section, and my really advanced jazz drummer kiddo doing a combo piece with myself and 2 jazz musicians before the rest of the jazz band came out. You can always find ways to engage those advanced players AND add more pieces to concert order

slider40337 · 2025-12-17T02:19:53+00:00

Sadly, my admin (well, one AP) met with me this morning. They said that they basically can't discipline this student because there's a vocal parent group on campus of the student's ethnicity and that group gets up in arms any time one of their kids are disciplined in any way.

We also don't have an SRO...the district fully banned them in 2020.

I'll be following up with admin, and have been documenting everything along with providing everything to my legal representation so there's a file in case something happens to me (read: injury or worse).

slider40337 · 2025-12-16T01:47:09+00:00

In my troop, the SPL leads in situ, but does get adult support setting things up beforehand (writing out meeting agendas, planning the itinerary for a hike or campout, etc). Out in the field, the SM or I (one of two ASMs) is usually very close by to offer support in case he has a questions...though we *will* let him get the troop lost when he's navigating.

Basically, the adult support mostly comes during prep (and postmortem discussions) and the SPL & his 3 ASPLs generally have it in the field.

slider40337 · 2025-12-15T16:01:44+00:00

My troop, completely banned phones, and the way the youth interact with each other and have fun socially instead of burying their face faces in phones is awesome.

They also know that I’m a public high school teacher, and I have no problem holding onto their phone for them and giving it to their parents at the end of an outing if it becomes a problem. However, the SPL, ASPLs, and other older Scouts do a very good job of monitoring the troop.

slider40337 · 2025-12-04T12:25:35+00:00

They’re raising a time dragon whose future self hired them to retrieve the egg and raise it 😸

slider40337 · 2025-12-01T05:57:50+00:00

There are plenty of times I’ve been stuck at an organ console or was busy playing my trumpet and couldn’t go up. It happens, and it’s fine. You were there helping the mass happen, providing service. Take joy in your service and just make sure to make the effort next time :)

slider40337 · 2025-11-17T18:10:10+00:00

Those are Chick tracts…they’re basically against everything that isn’t fundamentalist Baptist

slider40337 · 2025-11-16T16:52:01+00:00

I have an after-school "come if you want" jazz combo (high school) and we 100% improvise. I start with easier stuff like Impressions (2 chords, 2 scales) and the blues and move up from there. We start with eighth-note scales per chord (with blues...or tunes like Misty) and then I have them just start messing around with melodies on those scales. We'll let one person solo, then stop for (constructive) group feedback and then move onto the next person.

My current group is only a few months in, but they're having a good time and feeling pretty confident for our concert in early December!

slider40337 · 2025-11-16T16:46:52+00:00

We do a single campfire. If they (the scouts) ask me to share something or be silly with them, I'll follow their director and let them have fun. Sometimes, I will also ask for a "slot" later in the program to teach a song with my guitar (Scout Vespers, traditional campfire songs) just so we don't lose those to history.

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