Outdoor Webelos Leader Training

[CubsRgr8]

My council does not offer this course anymore. I'm told to sign up for Outdoor Leader Skills and that the instructor will differentiate for us Webelos Den Leaders. Yet, I find many other councils still offering the course when I do an internet search.

 

My experience last fall with Cub Scout Leader Non-specific Training causes my faith in the infallibility of council to quaver. What's the word out there?

 

Find OWL and take it cause it's worth the effort.

OR

Stop being a Doubting Thomas - your council (and their instructors) know what they're doing.

[Eamonn]

Here in our Council, we are still offering the Webelos Scout Outdoor Training.

In fact I think that is a training that must be taken before taking these little guys to camp.

I will need to check up on that one. It may be just something that our Council is doing because I may not be right - Ok, I might be wrong.

I don't think that the Outdoor Skills (If we are talking about the Introduction To Outdoor Skills for Scoutmasters)is such a great idea.

We are dealing with a different set of boys, who have different needs then the Boy Scouts have.

I'm not sure what: "Cub Scout Leader Non-specific Training" is?

Do you mean the New Leader Essentials ?

While I have no idea of how things work in your Council; If someone came to me wanting this course (Webelos Scout Den Leader Outdoor.) I would move heaven and earth to make sure that we got our act together and presented the training.

In fact I fail to see a reason why or how a Council would not offer it.

I have presented it five or six times, and it has always been a lot of fun, and boy the mess we adults made making volcano's!!

If I was in your position, I would talk to my District Training Chair. If you don't get any joy there, give the Council Training Chair. Or the Council Cub Scout Training Chair a call.

As our Council Training Chair. I would love to think that the Training Team, is always right and always knew what they were doing - We do try, but ......

[Bob White]

Webelos Leader Outdoor Training IS NOT replaced by the new Introduction to Outdoor Skills course.

 

Although they share a few common elements the WELOT program gives specific instructions on ways to present the outdoor Webelos Skill Award topics like, geologist, naturalist, readyman and others.

 

Here is what happened. When the new Cub Training came out we were told by National that a new WELOT program was coming as well. The current program syllabus was in the same book as the Cubleader training program. When those books were tosed as the new ones came in the WELOT syllabus went with.

 

THEN the new WELOT never got released. It is being designed to interlace with Intro to Outdoor Skills and there were some problems in the test program. It still has not been released.

 

Many councils were then caught with a program that Webelos leaders are required to take before taking their den camping, but few councils have a working syllabus. So as a bandage they have told the Webelos leaders to go to Intro to Outdoor Skills. Not a good substitute.

 

This may not help the situation but maybe you will now understand what has happened.

 

Bob White

[Twocubdad]

WLOT covers basic camping skills, health and safety issues and the four outdoor-oriented Webelos Activity Pins -- Outdoorsman, Naturalist, Geologist and Forester.

 

You need to bug your training committee to offer it. Our Council offers it fairly infrequently, too. Not that the courses are interchangable, but if you can't take WLOT, take Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation, or BALOO. You will miss the Webelos-specific elements, but BALOO goes in to a little more depth on health & safety and and basic outdoor skills.

 

 

[CubsRgr8]

Thanks for confirming my opinion - that I really, REALLY, want to take this training. BW, I especially appreciate knowing why it seemed to disappear from the training schedule. I will start bugging the Council training committee on a regular basis to offer the course this fall, but I'll also check with the other neighboring councils just in case.