ON-LINE MERIT BADGE CLASSES

We have recently received inquiries about on-line merit badge classes that replace face to face counselor interactions with a Scout with on-line video conferencing and the completion and email exchange of written material in the form of workbooks and the like (often these webinar classes charge a fee.)  We asked the National Advancement Team for guidance on answering these questions and the following reflects that guidance:

1. Earning merit badges should be Scout initiated, Scout researched, and Scout learned. It should be hands-on and interactive, and should not be modeled after a typical school classroom setting. Instead, it is meant to be an active program so enticing to young men that they will want to take responsibility for their own full participation.  If subject matter relates to a counselor’s vocation, meetings with youth might take place at an office or work site. Hobby-related badges are usually counseled at home. For others like Rowing, Rifle Shooting, or Geocaching, learning could occur in the field where special facilities or an appropriate venue are available. Once a counselor has reviewed the signed Application for Merit Badge, he or she might begin with discussions about what the Scout already knows. This could be followed with coaching, guidance, and additional meetings, not only for passing the candidate on the requirements, but also to help him understand the subject.  The sort of hands-on interactive experience described here, with personal coaching and guidance, is hardly ever achieved in any setting except when one counselor works directly with one Scout and his buddy, or with a very small group. Thus, this small-scale approach is the recommended best practice for merit badge instruction and requirement fulfillment. Units, districts, and councils should focus on providing the most direct merit badge experiences possible. Large group and Web-based instruction, while perhaps efficient, do not measure up in terms of the desired outcomes with regard to learning and positive association with adults.  See section 7.0.3.0 of the Guide to Advancement, This gives you our recommended best practices. The intent is for the Scout to meet face to face (following YPT policies) with a counselor (adult association ).
2. Keep in mind it is against BSA policy for anyone outside of the National Advancement Team to add, subtract or change any Boy Scout or Merit Badge requirement.  (see page 2 of the Guide to Advancement.)  With that in mind, a Scout cannot be signed off on any merit badge requirement unless they do what is stated in the requirement, no less is required.
3. Worksheets and other materials that may be of assistance in earning merit badges are available from a variety of places including unofficial sources on the Internet and even troop libraries. Use of these aids is permissible as long as the materials can be correlated with the current requirements that Scouts must fulfill. Completing “worksheets” may suffice where a requirement calls for something in writing, but this would not work for a requirement where the Scout must discuss, tell, show, or demonstrate, etc. Note that Scouts shall not be required to use these learning aids in order to complete a merit badge. (see the Guide to Advancement 7.0.4.8 Unofficial Worksheets and Learning Aids)
4. Keep in mind that the mission of the Boy Scouts of America is NOT to get a boy to Eagle as quickly as possible, but instead to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.  Parents do their children a disservice when they attempt to short cut the process for the sake of obtaining a badge.  See the Introduction and the chapter on Mechanics of Advancement: In Boy Scouting and Varsity Scouting in the Guide to Advancement.