bethkatz17582

As a woman, wearing my 3 Wood Badge beads (signifying that I have served on Wood Badge staff) seems to work to establish that I'm more than a parent. They came in handy when we did summer camp out of council a few years ago. I'm not a fan of rows of knots, but if you have earned the position or training ones, fill out the paperwork yourself and get it to your training chair or district executive. Many times, no one else is paying attention to what you've earned or whether you want it. I'll put in a plug here for acknowledging your fellow leaders. While someone above mentioned that you can earn District Award of Merit by being hung ho for a few years, someone needs to nominate you and sing your praises. Same goes for Scoutmaster and Cubmaster of the Year. Maybe those leaders are "just doing their job", but doing it well and consistently takes time, effort, and scouting spirit. It's nice to acknowledge that a little more publicly even if there isn't a knot.

I'm a district training chair. Our council required direct contact leader training last year, so we did multiple extra sessions of SM Specific and IOLS. We also did a test-out day for IOLS. Almost everybody who tried passed, but it wasn't easy. We're doing another one this month. I encourage people to take IOLS, but we have the test-out option. Our council also has an exemption for college students and those in the military below 21. They had been required to do Fast Start and This is Scouting, but now those aren't required. But I think this 92U position will work well for our young adults heading off to college as well as the college student who sometimes meets with us and told me about it.

I have yet to manage to follow the provided syllabus. I aim to hit on all the points, but the time schedule is unrealistic given that people want to share experiences and have questions answered. None of the other trainers I work with manage to follow the syllabus exactly either. Then again, I only have twenty years experience teaching at the university level. But in that case, I decide on what I present and how. That makes a huge difference. Nevertheless, I was pleased to see that there *was* a syllabus, and I do try to follow it. I felt much better about what I supposed to cover and how. Giving the training is far more than play the tape, do this activity, and say these words. You share what you know, answer questions, fill in, expand, elaborate, and run out of time. The syllabus gives you a plan and provides some standardization. I wouldn't have been happy to do the training without it. I just can't quite follow it. If you don't have the syllabus, get it. If you have an opportunity, take "Train the Trainer". That polished some of my skills. By the way, we expected 5 people Saturday and had 19 show up. Always make sure you have enough handouts or a way to make more.

I'm teaching Den Leader Specific tomorrow morning. The support CD I have has the supporting handouts and the Powerpoint slides. But it doesn't have the syllabus. I have those step-by-step pages, but they were given to me on paper when I first did this.

I have 3 of the 4 boys who started with my son in Tigers in my Webelos I (soon to be II) den. We've added 3 more along the way. In looking back at what worked and what didn't, having parents involved helped. We each chose achievements and electives to prepare. We rotated around to each other's houses for the meetings. It was a time for us to get to know each other as families as well as the boys to get to know each other and the Cub Scout program. I coordinated the meetings but we spread the work load around. Our pack almost evaporated those first two years because the older boys graduated to Boy Scouts. The pack had lost two years worth of dens before we arrived. But now it's strong due to a lot of parental involvement and fun pack activities. We doubled our pack size from 20 to 42 at recruiting night last September. We think that this success was because we have an active pack program with adventures like snow tubing, rock climbing (at a climbing center with parents along), caroling at the nursing home, and May games. Those are all family events. The Tiger den is in the rotation for doing opening/closing, skit/song, set-up, and clean-up at pack meetings. I'm not sure how many we'll retain long term, but I think we've only lost a couple out of a dozen. That involvement with the other boys in the pack seems essential for retention. Getting as many of the parents involved in organizing the Tiger den activities will help balance the load and hopefully identify who can best serve as den leaders. There are more ways to help the pack than being a den leader. Letting parents find where they can use their talents best could be a goal for this first year. Encourage them to choose some activities that are in their area of interest. Let them see the various jobs that keep the pack moving smoothly. Let them see that many hands make light work. And looking at my Webelos and Junior Girl Scouts, don't make it too much like school. Have fun!