Merit Badges: Opportunities for Real-World Experiences
By Jacob Cuthbert, III ~ Life Scout, Troop 263 ~ Lake Mary, Florida
Merit badges are a part of the Boy Scouts of America’s advancement program. Earning merit badges, along with completing other requirements, is how a boy advances in rank. There are 137 merit badges. They range from American Business to Woodwork. They cover all sorts of subjects and careers. You only need 21 merit badges to become an Eagle Scout. Thirteen of those 21 merit badges are mandatory to make Eagle.
Just earning the 21 merit badges alone will not make you an Eagle Scout. There is a lot of work to do. You have to advance in rank from Scout to Tenderfoot to Second Class to First Class to Star to Life. Eagle is the last rank and it takes a lot of work. You have to do community service. You have to hold leadership positions within your troop. You have to write up what you want to do for your Eagle Scout project. You have to talk to a committee of really scary people about it. Then you have to complete the project. Most importantly, you have to remember to do your “Duty to God.” All the ranks require it.
I am a new Life Scout. It only took me a year and two months to move from Star Scout to Life Scout. I have 38 merit badges and I am working on a few more. I do not have all my Eagle merit badges yet. Some Scouts go on to earn all of the merit badges. Those are super scouts. I plan to earn as many as I can and have as much fun while earning them. You can still earn merit badges after you make Eagle if you are less than 18 years old. While working on a few merit badges, I had the opportunity to gain some real-world experience and work with some very cool people.
The first merit badge I want to tell you about is the Photography Merit Badge. My mommy bought me a Canon camera for me to take pictures. I started taking pictures around the house at first and then at church and different functions. Some of the pictures came out okay and some were “the bomb.” Uncle John (also known as the Rev. John D. Williams, Sr.) and Mr. Daniel Smart taught me how to adjust my focus and lighting to make my pictures better. I liked it so much that I kept taking pictures so that I would be good at it. I kept taking pictures and was given the opportunity to serve as the photographer for the 28thPlenary Session of the College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy (CPSP) in Oakland, California, March 19-21, 2018.
I was the only kid there. I felt like a very important person. Everyone wanted me to take their pictures. I met chaplains, counselors, therapists, and doctors from all over the world and country. I even met a nun named Sister Bernadette. I don’t know if she has a last name. Everyone just called her Sister Bernadette. Everyone encouraged me to keep up the good work.
The second merit badge I want to tell you about is a big one. It is the Emergency Preparedness Merit Badge. It is an Eagle Merit Badge. To fulfill the requirement for this merit badge, I was invited by Mr. Wayne Deel, Hazmat Specialist at Orlando Health – Health Central Hospital in Ocoee, Florida, to participate in an Emergency Mass Causality Drill Exercise with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Ocoee Police Department, Ocoee Fire & Rescue, and the Hazmat Team of Orlando Health – Health Central Hospital. I played the part of a victim and had to be decontaminated (with really cold water and soap). Man! I had so much fun that day. I got to skip school and eat pizza afterward. I was all wet but it was the best day ever! I saw some really cool stuff and got to do something most kids my age of almost 13-years do not.
Many Boy Scouts do not have the same opportunities that I have because sometimes there are not enough merit badge counselors with real-world experiences where they live. You can help by signing up with your local Boy Scout Council to become a merit badge counselor in your field. Go to https://www.scouting.org/programs/boy-scouts/advancement-and-awards/merit-badges/to review the list of merit badges.
To learn how to start a Boy Scout or Girl Scout Unit at your church, please contact Clarence Crayton at ccrayton@amescouts.orgfor Boy Scouts or Vivianne Frye-Perry at vfrye-perry@amescouts.orgfor Girl Scouts. Also, please visit us on Facebook at AAMES Scouting Connection.
