Citizenship in Society Merit Badge -- A Few Thoughts

As I read the material the Boy Scouts of America has prepared for would-be counselors of its new Citizenship in Society merit badge, the biggest thing that struck me is that this merit badge above all others encourages the counselors to shut up.

And those calling it the Woke Merit Badge had better shut up and listen as well – unless they believe the tenets of the Scout Oath and Scout Law are “woke” as well.

“The counselor is to serve as a facilitator,” says the second point of the Key Considerations as the Citizenship in the Society Merit Badge Counselor instructions.

The key words are serve and facilitator. This is going to come hard to many in the BSA’s merit badge counseling world, where most are used to teaching, not listening. The instructions go on to say the counselor “draws out from the Scout what they have discovered and learned, and how they plan to put it into action.”

Again, a shift. This implies much learning and introspection on the part of the Scout before meeting with the counselor – thus the BSA’s desire that this merit badge not be taught in large groups or at merit badge events, where there’s little preparation or introspection beforehand.

And more: “The counselor is not to interject their own opinions and beliefs but instead should consider the Scout’s experience and journey into these topics. The role of the counselor is that of a skilled listener and discussion leader.”

Adding to that, from the third point: “The intent is for the true learning to be experienced through the Scout’s own research.” Not from listening to a counselor lecture.

This will be a challenging merit badge, but mostly a challenge for Scout leaders, who are used to the lecture model.

For those who regard the badge as the Woke Merit Badge, another challenge. Contineue din the guidelines, the BSA says it wants to promote “a sense of belonging and [to build] communities where every person feels respected and valued. Leading by example and encouraging each other to live by the values expressed by the Scout Oath and Scout Law.”

So if this is the Woke Merit Badge, which parts of the Scout Oath and Law are woke?

The secret to teaching this one is going to lie in the listening and in preparing the scouts to think and decide for themselves what the concepts in the badge mean to them. It’s probably the most metaphysical badge the BSA offers. Should be an interesting one to watch.