353Beaver

The bottom line in ALL of our training should be, All about the boys! (unless a venture guide... then subtitute youth) Our best reward is not wood, cloth, paper, or stone... it's seeing one of our youth move on, better prepared to meet the world!

Unfortunately, no amount of training will purge all of the "Renegades." Only vigilance from their peers will keep them from adding requirements. We must provide the best program possible and remember the focus is the young men (I prefer not to call them boys)... and not the adult leaders/staff. And encourage the "renegades" to shape up. Back to the WB21 issue, there are individuals (one of my Patrol mates, in fact) that have continued to focus on the program in various positions (in his case as a SM and OA advisor). Between that and work as a DoD contrator he could not afford the time to Staff a new course within the grace period. He ended up retaking the full course (and agreeing not to wear his hard-earned beads from the early WB) and paying all fees again. What reward is that for dedicated service. In order to serve as a SM or 1st ASM for Jamboree, one MUST have WB21. Thus, a fully engaged, compliant leader is punished for focusing on program over Staffing. National needs a short course if it's going to require WB21 for future leadership positions or they will shut out quality leaders.

The whole they/we old vs new course rift has been enhanced by the requirement to give up one's beads and go through WB21 to be "Woodbadge qualified". Instead, a Nationally sanctioned recurrency/update short course would be a better idea! As an 20-year USAF navigator, I did not have to re-earn my wings because they restructured Nav-school (changes were much larger in scope than Woodbadge)... but I did have to stay current with the latest changes. So why force a person to give up their hard-earned beads and retake the full program? Well, some other opportunities require (not just recommend) the new course... ie Jamboree Scoutmaster.

The Beads... Important, yes... however we must never forget they are a symbol of accomplishment, committment, etc... Without that they are just another trinket to buy on e-bay. In Baden Powell's original course the beads were awarded to highlight the added training and committment. He was looking for something to award his class and chose the his Zulu beads... early participants were awarded 1 bead and required to carve #2 themselves. Reaccomplishing the course... don't like it. But I am open minded to a means for a person to get another chance to earn their beads, maybe recurrency course and a complete new ticket. Instead, a Nationally sanctioned recurrency/update short course would be a wonderful idea! As an 20-year USAF navigator, I did not have to re-earn my wings because they restructured Nav-school (changes were much larger in scope than Woodbadge)... but I did have to stay current with the latest changes. So why force a person to give up their hard-earned beads and retake the full program? Well, some other opportunities require (not just recommend) the new course... ie Jamboree Scoutmaster. Be cautious that we don't push out Old Wisdom just to make way for New Ideas...

When WB for the 21st Century was first launched, National made a huge deal about the new grads being, rightly, accepted into the Woodbadge fraternity and not be looked at as completing a "lesser" program. Now, the tides seem to have changed and the Old Course grads are being excluded and essentially told that our beads are worthless! Of course we can just pay another fee and complete a new ticket... then we can join the reindeer games again! I staffed the 2nd iteration of WB21 in our council and our staff (which was carefully selected, to avoid the they/we crowd) did get the new program! Bottom line, the concepts of leadership haven't really changed (wow leadership as timeless!). The biggest difference, minus the number of ticket items and some new format was the addition of diversity. However, diversity is taught/stressed at all training and program events... thus not unique to WB. As to the requirement for Jambo 2010? What does WB21 really bring over old-WB to warrant a requirement vice a desired qualification? Is the new WB that much better at teaching the leadership of young men? I was SM for 2005. My SPL and I, along with a 1st/2nd/3rd ASM "dream team," successfully lead our troop on a wonderful 20-day adventure. We endured the "Bataan March" arena show without heat incident! Had zero discipline issues! And even had an ADHD scout excel as a Patrol Leader! However, by the current qualifications... neither myself or likely my 1st assistant are qualified to lead another contingent troop??? NICE!