WB ticket design

[KoreaScouter]

Okay, I wanted to split this from the curriculum question in my other topic.

 

Most training I've had involves some practicum, internship, application period, or performance evaluation that's linked to the curriculum. The WB ticket requirement gives BSA councils and districts an opportunity to do that, too. But, we don't, really. Although the staff scrutinizes WB students' ticket items, redirecting their focus if necessary, they're still largely (if not exclusively) the product of the students' minds, and reflects what they think is important and/or needed.

 

What if the ticket items had to be in certain categories that would compel the student to do things his unit, district, or council needed? Categories like, for example:

 

-Financial:

-- Serve as a unit Popcorn Kernel

-- Head a unit or District FOS campaign

-- Lead a District fund raising event

 

-Training:

-- Serve as a District-level trainer for NLE or a position fundamentals course

-- Serve on staff for a JLTC

-- Offer MB counselor training

 

-Administration:

-- Serve as a unit commissioner

-- Serve in another District-level position

 

-Advancement:

-- Serve on X boards of review

-- Recruit X MB counselors, or increase # of MB counselors by X percent.

 

 

-Program:

-- Take the lead role in organizing X District-level events.

 

I'm running out of time for this one, but I'm sure you get the idea. Basically, what do our units, districts, and councils need the most? Make those things the WB ticket "buffet"; every WB student selects one item from each area -- appetizer, main course, vegetable, bread, dessert, based on local needs. Also gets the student out of his "comfort zone" and into areas he wouldn't have without prodding.

 

This isn't a "white paper", I'm just thinking out loud...

 

Your thoughts?

 

KS

 

 

[fotoscout]

I'm probably not the most qualified one to answer this but I'll take a stab at it.

 

The ticket process is designed to help develop the individual scouter. I think that there is great integrity within the ticket writing process to avoid having the participants "work for the council", as they complete their tickets.

 

If the scouter does a ticket item at the unit/district/council level, the unit/district/council will reap the benefit. Thats great and everyone wins, but in this process it is what was gained by the individual that is most important.

 

[johnsned]

KoreaScouter,

I see where you are comming from, and I think it is a good idea, but that

exact model doesn't fit all Scouting Positions.

 

The Scoutmaster should be incharge of Fundraisers, and probably shouldn't

be on too many District committees. He should focus on the boys in his troop.

The ticket should reflect his position and shouldn't contain items that are

outside is principle scouting role.

 

The ticket is to help them internalize the lessons taught in the course and

give them a tool to reach achieve their vision.

 

The ticket contains four parts according to the syllabus

1. A list of the participants personal values

 

2. A description of his or her role in Scouting

 

3. A statement of his or her vision

 

4. a mission composed of 5 significant goals that can be attained within 18

months

 

So the ticket is something personal, in the Past Wood Badge had categories.

You used to have 9 ticket items, 3 for each category.

 

1. Serving others trough your troop

 

2. Service to your troop or Stregthen your Troop

 

3. Personal Growth

(This message has been edited by johnsned)

[KoreaScouter]

I'm pretty familiar with the current ticket philosophy/intent -- had my beading ceremony at District earlier this month. What I'm suggesting is something...a little different. Depending on how you look at it, we all "work for the council" at least to some extent.

 

Many of the things I suggested in my initial post are focused on the unit level, and I think there should be a balance between unit, district, and council service.

 

I disagree that the SM should be in charge of fund-raisers. I see that as a Troop Committee function, to determine the need for them, find the opportunities, secure the applications/approvals, coordinate the timing with the SM to deconflict from program activities, and then the SM, through the PLC, promotes the fund-raiser to the Troop and gets the Scouts out there.

 

I also don't think that a ticket item has to be unit-focused in order to allow the Scouter to internalize the lessons. For example, if I personally believe that volunteers in my district are under-trained, and my vision is to enhance the overall level of volunteer expertise, I can instruct NLE and/or other courses throughout the district as a ticket item. It's personal, tied in with my vision, helps my unit because those volunteers are helping to run district events that my Scouts are attending, and helps the district for obvious reasons.

 

I guess my point is that we seem to define the ticket process as some sort of personal epiphany, like Peter being smitten on the road to Damascus. Meanwhile, our units, districts, and councils have specific needs that WB'ers could fill -- as ticket items.

 

Consider it a "sing for your supper" approach...sort of like National Camp School grads required to serve as camp directors.

 

C'mon, is such a notion that outlandish?

 

KS

[johnsned]

Hello KoreaScouter,

 

You are right about the SM fundraiser issue, I meant to right that The Scoutmaster should not be in charge of Fundraisers. So a ticket item on fundraising isn't particularly relevant to a SM.

 

I think you have valid points, I think the thought was if enough Scouters doing their job it would decrease the load on others. Ideally SM, ASM, Roundtable Chairs, Commissioners etc... should go to Wood Badge. So if they all started doing their jobs

 

What I think would be a great idea, is to have WB Key staff talk to District and Council leaders and come up of a list of ideas or projects that could potentially be ticket items. Things like being on training staff, work with JLTC, Camporee, improvements to local camps etc

 

Having been on staff for several years I know that participants are always looking for ideas. This way we could have some ideas for them, instead of pulling ticket items out of thin air, have some that are actually needed.

 

I have to check myself. I have been reading too many messages on this site today and started taking myself way too seriously. While a ticket should be focused on their principle scouting position, I think it is a great idea to have them help and serve where it is needed.

 

[Eamonn]

Looked at this a few hours back. The idea was/is new to me, or so I thought.

I did try to think outside the box.

Then it hit me.

Hey !! This isn't new.

I did, done that.

Yes the Ticket for the old Cub Wood Badge.

Everything was focused on Training.

Some of the problems were:

Time. With only two years to complete the ticket, if you missed an event, you had your back against the wall, trying to make it in time.One of my Ticket items was to do Den Chief training, which we offer once a year at Pow Wow, something came up and I didn't make Pow Wow. If I hadn't managed to get the Ticket changed (Not as easy as it sounds, due to the Cubmaster moving to Germany.) My Ticket would have been un-workable.

Your Ticket Should be written for you primary position. We have so many different primary positions in Scouting. A list of categories just would not work. One thing that I think that we have to be very careful about is judging other Scouters by our commitment, to the program. We have no way of knowing what is going on in the other persons life. So the Ticket has to be in the ownership of the person who wrote it.

Lastly, I really would hate to play into the hands of the Anti-Wood Badge Brigade, who for years have professed, that the Ticket is just a way to get people to do more work for the District / Council.

They will never take my word, that the last thing that I want is for any Unit Leader to lose the focus of leading a unit. After all that is the most important job; Delivering the program to our youth.All the rest of us:District/Council,people are only here to support the units and help the program grow by bringing in more youth.

Still this did get the little gray cells working.

[KoreaScouter]

I think that in the end, we all want the same thing, for the Scouting movement to thrive. There are lots of ways to get there. I personally believe that a lot of our inefficiencies result from well-meaning people who have too small a picture and can't relate what they're doing to the world as a whole. Forcing them out of their comfort zone as part of WB can only help...

 

KS

[OldGreyEagle]

But if the prospect of being forced out of their comfort zone means they wont end up doing 5 wonderful things for their troop, has Woodbadge helped scouting thrive?

 

I am entering my seventh year as a scouter (joined when son was 11) he turns 18 in June. I took Woodbadge last September because I finally learned enough about it to know it wasnt some super secret society, and that you werent going to be a "slave" to Council for 2 years. And yes, that is what I was told about Woodbadge when I first started with the troop. That Woodbadge was a program to recognize diehard scouters who didnt have a life outside of scouting and was the Council's way of saving money on "real" employees. I have since learned nothing could be further from the truth, but that knowledge didnt come easily.

 

Every year our Council has an Eagle Recognition dinner where each scout who earned the previous year is honored. In the printed program is each scouts name,His District, troop number, home town and a three to four sentence description of his Eagle project. That program is often used as a reference for other scouts to get ideas. Not to copy them, but to understand the scope of what an Eagle project is.

 

At the Council Recognition Dinner when they hand out the year's Silver Beaver awards, they always have a description of the awardee's qualifications. In the same printed program it may not be a bad idea to also list all Woodbadge bead recipients from the previous year by District, Troop, and give a one sentence summation of each ticket item they accomplished. It would certainly take the secrecy out of the Woodbadge program. People could see what was done and may trigger other ideaa, but most of all people could look at it and say, "yeah, I could do something like that" and then scouting really could thrive.

[SR540Beaver]

I have a question for all you old goats who've been around awhile and have attended WB. I'm going to WB this September. My son will crossover from Webelos to Boy Scouts in February. Am I going to have a problem in designing a ticket since I will be leaving the pack within a few months of going to WB? I won't really be able to design a ticket revolving around my position in scouting since I have no idea what my position will be in a troop. Should I go to WB or wait until after being in the troop? Does it really matter where I'm at to be able to design and complete a ticket?

[dsteele]

I think you should definately go to Wood Badge (it really is two words, which it seems several posters don't know.)

 

I also think you should do some homework prior to attending that will help you write your ticket. Decide (if you haven't already) which troop you're going to join. Ask the leadership and parents about the needs/dreams of the troop. You can probably get a pretty good idea of the role you're going to take in the troop and have a good starting point.

 

Is Wood Badge missing something? I don't know. I can tell you that I staffed the old course three times and that syllabus was very good . . . but still had bugs in it.

 

Last October I attended the Course Director's Conference as staff advisor and was impressed with what I saw of Wood Badge for the 21st Century. I know a couple of the volunteers (there were many) that wrote the new syllabus and there's a lot of good stuff in there. It was, however, written by human beings and therefore will have some bugs in it.

 

I mean they found a typo in the King James Bible, didn't they?

 

DS

[buffalo2]

kwc: I too attended WB during my first year in the Troop after crossing over. Had some minor troubles with not trying to set the world on fire; but things worked out pretty well overall. Be a good time to connect with your new SM and see what his perceived needs are as opposed to what you might think should happen...

I was fortunate enough to use an 'OR' on my ticket to better follow the needs of our Troop as they changed and that worked out pretty well also.

Might be worth not putting too much thought into that Ticket until after your training has been completed; use those new insights and your accumulating experience to work out something really special. Best of luck and keep us posted

[OldGreyEagle]

Maybe this should go in the "things that Districts teach" thread,but just for kicks I Googled Woodbadge and got plenty of Scouting related subjects using the word Woodbadge. Maybe a memo from home office stating that it is Wood Badge would help

[dan]

 

If you do not know what the troop needs, your ticket is going to have to be written either for the council or the Cub Scout side. You would have to be in a troop for at least a year to see what needed to be improved.changed/fixed. I would suggest you wait.

[dsteele]

People always say it so fast, that I thought it was woodbadge unitl I became staff advisor and started reading the syllabus. I remember that it's two words because the Wood Badge is referring to the beads.

 

Either way, it's still a great course. The fact that a lot of people call it woodbadge, in the grand scheme of things important, one word or two really isn't on the radar.

 

DS

[Eagledad]

>>If you do not know what the troop needs, your ticket is going to have to be written either for the council or the Cub Scout side. You would have to be in a troop for at least a year to see what needed to be improved.changed/fixed. I would suggest you wait