Toby Weber

Create your own presentations. Using someone elses or the canned presentations is a great starting point, but your presentations should be personalized for you. There are many PowerPoint presentations in WB21. If you are presenting material that does not include video segments, and you can effectively NOT use PowerPoint, then dont. Be familiar with the whole syllabus. Sometimes a TG needs to pre-gather materials for an activity an hour or two later, because there will not be time to gather what you need when you need it. Remember you are modeling youth so have fun and use the proper chain of command (namely working through the SPL and ASM TG), just like a normal troop would.

I attended Seabadge Conference SR-33 and am very glad that I did. As was pointed out by several others, Seabadge is not a Sea Scouting version of Wood Badge and was not intended to be. Topics presented in both settings are covered in more detail in Wood Badge. If a learner wants to understand and experience team development and leadership, then I would recommend Wood Badge. However, the Seabadge conference did a good job of reviewing leadership principles as they relate to Venturing age youth. The value of Seabadge comes from the topics not covered in Wood Badge. Besides the formal presentations, which were very interactive, the syllabus enabled me to have about eight hours of one-on-one and small group conversations which enhanced my knowledge of both the Venturing and Sea Scouting programs. We all know that talking with someone who does it, is better than reading about how it should/could be done. Reflecting on my conference experience, I have identified several action items which could improve our Scouting Program and I have already had conversations with our Council Commissioner and Assistant Scout Executive about some of those items. I also now understand the usernames HawkUH60 and Buffalo Skipper .

Wood Badge patrols self-assess their performance each morning at breakfast. If the patrol members have an issue with the lack of duty rotation, then this would be a good time to discuss the issues and for someone in the patrol to mention duty rosters. If duty rosters were not discussed, this does not mean that the staff members are not aware of them and do not use them in their own units. The course does not teach everything a patrol should know. Part of team development is leveraging the diversity of its members. For example, cooking is not taught be the patrols someone manage to eat. As was pointed out, WB21 is not a Scoutcraft course, it is a leadership course. Stepping out on a limb here: One does not need to go to Wood Badge to learn about duty rosters, that should be learned at the Boy Scout Leader "Basic" level. (using the word basic as in fast start, basic, supplimental, and advanced levels and not at the name of the course). Side note: I have been involved with CSTWB, BSWB, and WB21.

I agree that the lack of Scouting knowledge in some WB21 participants can be frustrating. This situation can sure make a team storm. Imagine a missionary arriving in country one day attending a committee member-based training that same day, then the next day attending Wood Badge in a uniform borrowed from a Scoutmaster. Then imagine that the missionary did not know anything about the Scouting program and the uniform had numerous knots (including Scoutmaster Key and Silver Beaver). While this situation caused some frustration, it also enabled conversations about diversity and assumptions. On day four, Troop Guides are supposed to show a model campsite. This campsite should model the duty roster; three bucket cleanup; fire rings, clearing, and tent location; an axe yard, etc. Even if the model campsite lacked many of these elements, someone in the patrol should have had Scouting experience and should have share this information with the rest of the patrol.

A Wood Badge Ticket Counselor or Wood Badge Course Director can act as a mentor or guide, but most conversations would be about the Wood Badge Leadership principals and the completion of the ticket. The current Wood Badge curriculum focuses of self-evaluation. If the leader requests feedback as part of a 360 degree assessment, then he may discover the negative aspects of his perceived behavior. If no one has talked to this leader then he may not understand the issues. As a side note: This leader may automatically discount the words coming from a strongly biased source. The 360 degree assessment would provide balanced feedback.

PeteM Could you please expand on your post? I am not sure that I understood what you were trying to say.

The Whittling Chip is for Cub Scouts and not for Boy Scouts so OA should not enter into the picture. Parents are involved in the decision on whether or not a Bear can earn his Whittling Chip and carry a knife. As a leader, I have asked many boys (some using a knife safely, some not), if they have their Whittling Chip card on them. I did not remember ever getting a yes answer to that question.

We only have the three SD sessions before the practical course. We do this because the Administraive Guide says that is what to do. On the other hand, a fourth day, while not necessary, sure would be helpful. If the fourth day is needed the guide says that you can have one, but it is less than 30 days out. Another problem we have is that we never know if we are going to have a course until the 30-day point. We are a rural Council and only hold a course every 30 months and even so have problems meeting the 30-paid 30-days rule.

It is strange that the Scout Service Center sells a Whittling Chip patch, but that patch cannot be put on the uniform. National has this patch under the heading of "HOME >> UNIFORMS & INSIGNIA >> STANDARD EMBLEMS". During the purchasing process, the fact that this patch was not to be worn on the uniform was never mentioned.

Does anyone know if there are now plans for a green wool jac-shirt? My lovely bride washed my red one. Speaking of the bull: The jac-shirt shrunk, but the bull did not.

I attended CSTWB, but was forced to leave, because of work issues, before the practical course was over. I attended another CSTWB course a couple of months latter in a different region. On hindsight, I am glad that I attended two different courses. I was able to compare and contrast the traditions and presentation methods between the two courses, which broadened my knowledge base. This ability to attend another course still exists today. As BeaverIII mentioned, the Wood Badge for the 21st Century Administrative Guide states who may attend Wood Badge. Namely: (1) a Scouter who has not earned his or her beads to attend or (2) a Scouter who earned his or her beads through one of the pre-WB21 courses to attend (p. 1) We have had several Scouters want to attend Wood Badge, without writing a ticket, just for the leadership training. I have always told them, that they must write a ticket, since that is part of the program. I also told them that whether they actually completed that ticket or not was up to them. In every case (not counting the course that finished this last weekend), every one of them finished their tickets. One person had his regalia presentation this last weekend, more than a year after he finished his ticket. It is during the ticket writing process that a participant evaluated his or her Scouting involvement, vision, mission, goals, etc. As a side note: Our Council has never staffed a WB21 course with less than 50% new staff members.

I have seen flash powder used (by a licensed pyrotechnics person) at a Wood Badge beading. He went a little overboard, as he usually does. Too much show took away from the significance of the ashes. Now if everyone had just a little sparkle or colored smoke (Used to be an Owl and a Buffalo)

Perception is reality. Through the years, I have had several Scout Leader friends who have had inappropriate relationships with other adults. So I have been sensitized in this area. Excess displays of affection are out of place at any Scouting event, whether the two people involved are: (1) married to each other, (2) married to other people, or (3) single. One might view this issue like smoking. Smoking in front of Scouts is out of place. My advice to scoutingtexas would be to discuss the perception of inappropriate behavior with his friend the SM. Whether inappropriate behavior takes place or not is not important (and none of our business?). I had this conversation with a female friend once who was too friendly with a married man. They were mad at me at the time, but latter thanked me. I commented on what I saw, not what might be taking place elsewhere.