Scouting magazine’s feature once called ‘Front Line Stuff’ has been renamed (I think) ‘What would you do?’
Here’s the current question;
Many Scouts start and finish merit badge requirements in a reasonable
amount of time, others do not. Often, at summer camp, boys begin badges
but return home with partial completions. Some of these partials have
remained on our advancement records for more than a year. What can I do
to make sure these Scouts complete the requirements?Merit Badge Counselor R.D.
Melbourne, Fla.
Thankfully merit badge requirements have no expiration date other than the Scout’s eighteenth birthday. Truthfully it is really nobody else’s business if a Scout doesn’t complete a merit badge. If a long-standing partially completed merit badge came to my attention I’d tell the Scout –
“Hey this is really none of my business but you may want to finish this up, is there any thing I can do to help?”
Most summer camp ‘partials’ can be avoided by looking at the requirements before hand and completing those that cannot be done at camp before you go. Bring along any work you completed or evidence that you have fulfilled the requirements towards the badge with you. (Ideally you should discuss this with the counselor before hand and many camps make provisions for this very thing.)