Proficiency Tests and Merit Badges 
1. INTRODUCTION 
A girl must be a Second Class Scout before receiving a Merit Badge 
in any subject. However, this does not mean that she cannot begin to 
study her subject and plan for passing the test at any time. 
Proficiency in these tests is to be determined by the Local Council, 
or by persons competent (in the opinion of the Council) to judge it. 
If no Local Council exists, certificates should be secured from persons 
competent to judge each subject, such as teachers of music, dancing 
or drawing, riding masters, motorists, electricians, milliners, dress- 
makers, artists, craftsmen, scientists and so forth... These certificates 
should be sent to National Headquarters or to the nearest District 
Headquarters for inspection. Headquarters will either pass on these, 
or indicate the nearest local body competent to deal with them. 
The tests as given are topical outlines of what a Scout should 
know about the subject rather than formal questions... Captains and 
others giving the tests will adapt the wording to the needs of the 
particular case. 
With many subjects a list of standard references is given. It is 
desirable that a girl should read at least one of these books, not in 
order to pass an examination but that she may be familiar with the 
general field and the great names and principles associated with it. 
Where a whole troop is working on a subject, portions of the books 
may be read at troop meeting, or several Scouts can read together 
and discuss their impressions. 
It is important that every Girl Scout should understand that the 
winning of any one of the following Merit Badges does not mean that 
she is a finished expert in the subject. 
What does it mean then? It means three things: 
1. She has an intelligent interest in the subject 
2 . She has a reasonable knowledge of its broad principles 
3. She is able to present some practical proofs of her knowledge, 
so that a competent examiner can see that she has not simply 
“crammed it up” from a book. Doing, not talking or writing* 
is the principle of the Girl Scouts 
One of the great things about these Merit Badges is that they 
require a definite amount of perseverance. This is a quality in which 
women are sometimes said to be lacking; if this is a fair criticism, the 
Merit Badges will certainly test it. 
Nobody compels any Scout to earn these Badges; she deliberately 
chooses to do so. Therefore, to fail in a task she has voluntarily set 
herself, comes straight back to her and shows her what stuff she is 
made of. For a while it is of no particular importance how many 
things you start in this life, it is of great importance how many 
things you finish! Out of goodness of heart, or quick interest, or 
sudden resolution, a girl will start out to master a subject, earn a 
certain sum of money, make something for herself or someone else, 
form some good habit or break some bad one: and after her first 
enthusiasm has died out, where is she? So that a great many people 
laugh at a girl’s plans — and with reason. 
Now while this may be merely amusing, so long as it affects only 
the girl herself, it becomes very annoying when other people’s affairs 
are involved, and may be positively dangerous if carried too far. 
If your life depended on a Girl Scout’s efforts to resuscitate you from 
drowning, you would be very glad if she stuck to it. But if she 
happened to be a girl who had started to win five different Merit 
Badges, and had given them all up, half way through, what sort of 
chance do you think you would have? 
Girl Scouts are slower to begin than other girls, perhaps, but they 
stick to it till they've made good. “She carried that through like a 
Girl Scout” out to become a common saying. 
498 
