Wood Badge Course Changes

[dancinfox]

Some answers from the 21st Century Admin Guide, 2005 printing.

Page 3, Future Service of Course Directors (Talking about 21st Century Course Directors):

A Wood Badge course director may serve on the staff of a subsequent Wood Badge course in either a required or optional support staff position (including mentor to the course director) only after their initial term of service is complete and their final follow-up report has been submitted.

A individual may serve only one time as a course director for Wood Badge for the 21st Century. No exeptions!

Note: In councils with sufficient resources and people who are qualified to be a course directors or potential staff members, serving many times as a staff member denies others the opportunity to serve. A course director should be developing the future leadership on the staff as it is developed and as the course is run.

 

Diveristy is still a presentation on the second weekend. A new presentation called inclusiveness has been added on the first weekend. The troop meeting (Day One) is still there, just run after the Blue and Gold Banquet.

Hope this helps.

Dancin

[Fuzzy Bear]

I realize that things change and there are a variety of needs from many different WB'ers. I served under the "old guard" and I was happy to see it end. I experienced some unnecessary actions by those that pretended to be protecting the sanctity of WB past. At the time I left, my decision was to leave it to those that were less knowing but more excited about just being part of it. I haven't returned.

 

I worked my Ticket, obtained my third bead and have confidence in doing an adequate job as a leader in Scouting. I write a new Ticket for myself on a yearly basis and give myself a little praise when it is completed. I don't intend on returning to the new program but I feel like there is an intentional gulf being drawn by the new ruling on giving up what one has earned to be part of the New. This is an act that would make the "old guard" proud. It was the type of act that they loved to institute but they were less demonstrative, more subtle but just as effective.

 

It is a punitive act that is unnecessary. We all know where that kind of behavior leads one, no matter what the intention. It is a way of telling a person that what they have learned, what they know, what they have put into actual experience is no longer valid. Few will accept that belief because WB past was from a book and from experience. You knew it worked and you saw the results. The problems came with the abuses of power and not with the material itself.

 

Bringing people together is more difficult than using a rule to further separate them. The new order in WB has been established but I disagree with the continuance of driving home the separation by being punitive. It compounds the behavior behind the change and exposes the true motive. That is not being Kind and does not speak well for the "New Guard".

 

FB

 

[OldGreyEagle]

I have to say that the way Wood Badge was handled pre 21rstWB would have done any Good Ol' Boy network proud. Virtually never talked about except in in terms of what was done for the ticket and that you had to be invited to attend the next course and that it was only for "true scouters". So, if you werent invited, then you knew you werent a real scouter. With the 21rst Wood Badge, that attitude seemed to have changed. Yes, you still are invited, but you request an invitation and all qualified are taken. There is some grumbling about how the course has changed, but those who grumble pretty much still camp in canvas tents with two wool blankets wrapped around them fastened by those huge safety pins. And then complain how cold it was last night.

 

I have to ask, who was it that decided these issues? Was anyone amoung us asked to participate in the process? I know we have COurse directors here and others with plenty of bead experience, who decides who is going to decide what we all must do? If there was animosity before, is this the way to allay it?

[emb021]

"You wrote, "Also, as to CDs coming back on staff. My understanding is that with 21CWB, Powder Horn, and NYLT, once you have been a CD, that's it." Do you have a reference for this information? "

 

Someone answered this questions re: Wood Badge. This NOT in the WB Syllabus, but the separate WB Admin Guide, which is the source of information on ADMINISTRATING WB. That gives info on staff qualifications, need to have a percentage of newbies on staff, etc.

 

The PH syllabus says the same thing about the PH CD.

 

The NYLT syllabus (in the Admin Guide section) says the same thing about NYLT CD.

 

[emb021]

""I have to say that the way Wood Badge was handled pre 21rstWB would have done any Good Ol' Boy network proud. Virtually never talked about except in in terms of what was done for the ticket and that you had to be invited to attend the next course and that it was only for "true scouters". So, if you werent invited, then you knew you werent a real scouter. With the 21rst Wood Badge, that attitude seemed to have changed. Yes, you still are invited, but you request an invitation and all qualified are taken. ""

 

To a great extent, how some of this was done varied from council to council in the 'old days'.

 

I took Boy Scout Leader Wood Badge back in 1988. Per the Admin Guide of the time (which I finally got a copy of), it was near impossible to get on staff (a council had to really work to justify 'allowing' someone new on staff), and past CD many times came back on staff, sometimes as a CD. And yes, you had to be 'invited' to be on the course. My council ran a course every 3 years.

 

HOWEVER, when a course was coming up, they made it clear that 'yes, you need an invite', BUT, if you wanted an invite, you could ASK. So it wasn't impossible to get on a course.

 

Now, things have changed.

 

Most councils are running 1 OR MORE courses a year! They need to get people on board, so there is usually no problem getting on a course. Also, staff selection has changed. You now MUST have a percentage of new people on staff (this helped me finally get on a course). And as we've noted, the CD needs to 'move on' and allow new people the change to be a CD.

 

We're lucky, actually. I've heard told that in England (no less) that they got rid of 3 & 4 bead necklaces! they did it to get rid of the WB 'old boy network' over there.

 

[Eamonn]

It has been a tiny pet peeve of mine that before the 21st Century course, when people talked about Wood Badge they didn't seem to remember that there was also a Cub Scout course.

A participants ticket had to be all about training and was to my thinking the most difficult ticket to work.

I admit that I do check out how many beads a person wears!! But if we were to do away with the third and forth bead, I wouldn't be upset. You can't wear Wood Badge beads on Sea Scout uniforms anyway.

Shooting the breeze with some of the good old boys in our Council, they seem unhappy that we are not spending enough time on teaching outdoor skills. Much as I hate to say it they may have a point. Of course they want to see the Boy Scout come back. I think that we might need to add another Boy Scout outdoor skills training, something like Powder Horn but for Troop leaders.

I am not for mandatory training and while I do think that training and training's go a long way to improve what we serve and how we serve the people we serve, it seems to me that everyone has a different reason for taking training. Some get shamed into attending, some go at it full speed ahead and want to get everything done ASAP. Some just want the recognition and some go for what might be termed all the right reasons.

The Wood Badge course we have now is a good course on Leadership. I think that District and Council Training teams could do a better job with skill training and making people aware of other non-BSA training's that are out there. This might mean better lines of communication between the District Training Team and the R/T Commissioner Staff.

Eamonn. (This message has been edited by a staff member.)

[emb021]

"It has been a tiny pet peeve of mine that before the 21st Century course, when people talked about Wood Badge they didn't seem to remember that there was also a Cub Scout course. "

 

There wasn't a Cub Scout course. It was a Cub Scout Trainer course.

 

Also, there was an Explorer course back in the 50s. And a Varsity Scout course in the 80s/90. the Explorer leaders out west felt left out, and created their own course.

 

"You can wear Wood Badge beads on some Sea Scout uniforms anyway. "

 

No, you can't. This is expressly forbidden in the Sea Scout Uniform policy stated in their manual.

 

"Shooting the breeze with some of the good old boys in our Council, they seem unhappy that we are not spending enough time on teaching outdoor skills. Much as I hate to say it they may have a point. Of course they want to see the Boy Scout come back. I think that we might need to add another Boy Scout outdoor skills training, something like Powder Horn but for Troop leaders."

 

Well, realize that Troop leaders CAN take Powder Horn. But I do understand the sentiement.

 

"I am not for mandatory training and while I do think that training and training's go a long way to improve what we serve and how we serve the people we serve, it seems to me that everyone has a different reason for taking training. Some get shamed into attending, some go at it full speed ahead and want to get everything done ASAP. Some just want the recognition and some go for what might be termed all the right reasons. "

 

Why do we do anything?

 

"The Wood Badge course we have now is a good course on Leadership. I think that District and Council Training teams could do a better job with skill training and making people aware of other non-BSA training's that are out there. This might mean better lines of communication between the District Training Team and the R/T Commissioner Staff."

 

Agree. Many council's have a University of Scouting program. This could be a great venue for such training. Nothing says you can bring in Red Cross First Aid training here, or those 'missing' scoutcraft skills, etc.

 

And some RT people need to understand what RT is all about. I was at one recent RT and the guy running it seems to think RT is just a place to announce news and not a forum for supplemental training.

 

You also have the excellent training at Philmont. Wonder how many people are missing out on this because they don't know about it (or some idiot didn't get them an invite)

 

 

[StormingBuffalo]

Ill try to make this short, as some points have already been made by others. It is my opinion that requiring someone to give up their beads and take the new course to qualify to serve on the staff again will certainly be seen as insulting, however well-intentioned it is. Putting together a weekend experience for graduates of the older Wood Badge programs that parallels the new course objectives and activities would seem a worthwhile compromise. If a potential staffer from the old course didnt want to invest the time in learning the new course procedures and how tickets are currently structured, so be it. If, on the other hand, they chose to learn the new approach scouting is taking (and doesnt every training experience evolve over time?) then you have a staff member with an even broader experience in Wood Badge, and a strong demonstrated commitment to the current program. In other words, everybody wins.

 

In addition, when you take into account the fact that there are only a few years worth of eligible potential staff members who have otherwise taken or served on the staff of the 21st Century course, I wonder if were throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

 

StormingBuffalo

 

C-16-03

 

[Eamonn]

emb021

Much as I would hate to be seen to split hairs.

But the Cub Scout leader Trainer course was a course for Cub Scouter's and as such was a Cub Scout course.

Eamonn

 

[Fuzzy Bear]

I sometimes wonder about the reasons why people take WB. I wonder more often about the quality of work they produce after they have completed their Ticket. One of my Troops had four WB'ers as leaders. Their total lack of knowledge of the program was less than one would expect from one new leader. One ran off with the bank account, the other got angry because someone said something about the problem, so he quit. The last two were living together so they continued on with the same inadequate approach that lead to the initial problem. I am still scratching my head. The problem may be in the attitude one has after they get their beads. I am not sure what would happen if one were to take the beads away.

FB

 

[SR540Beaver]

I was sure glad to see this thread. I took WB for the 21st Century back in the fall of 2003. I got my beads this past spring. I was interested in staffing the spring course this year because my troop guide was the CD. But I had to use all of my vacation time for Jamboree, so it was not possible. We do a spring and fall course in our council. I was informed of who the CD will be for fall 2006 and it is a person I'm pretty friendly and familiar with. I dropped her an e-mail stating that while it is rude to invite yourself to someone's party, I'd be more than willing to serve if she could use me. She answered back that she has been reading the admin guide and is quite confused on just how to put her staff together. The up side is she is going to the CD conference in a week or two and hopes to have a better understanding of who she can recruit as staff. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

BTW Eamonn, our council does do an Outdoor Skills Training course in addition to the IOLS course. IOLS trains you for taking a boy up thru 1st Class. Out OST course goes beyond that into backpacking, pioneering, dutch ovens, etc. and runs two weekends. My understanding is that it is a continuation of an old discontinued course that carried on in our council by popular demand. They do two course a year and never hurt for participants. I was hoping to do the fall course coming up in a two weeks, but had a scheduling conflict.

[Eagledad]

In general, most in our council are happy to see the restrictions. The few adults who headed the old Wood Badge were so dug in, many felt it was easier getting the Silver Beaver than an invite to staff WB. The same adults started off with the 21st Centry WB and they did a good job. But there was the expectation of the same-ol club controlling and running the course. They were basically forced to loose their grip on the course and we are getting some really great fresh new staffs now.

 

On Another note, the group I've personally watched benefit a lot from the new WB are the Cubs. I have personally seen a couple of Packs advance their program to a level that I'm pretty sure wouldn't have happen without the course.

 

Barry

[SR540Beaver]

Barry and I are in the same council. I wasn't around before the new course and can't speak to the good old boy club.....but I do see it in other places around the council. Sometimes it appears that there is still a good old boy network in WB, but there really isn't. You'll see the same people staffing from course to course, but they are working their way up to CD. Each course also contains new staff. My course was in the fall of 2003. There have been four courses since then and three of those courses were Directed by people who had served as TG's in my course. In fact, the next two courses being held next year are Directed by people who staffed my course. So yeah, you see some of the same faces, but it is not a closed society with some grand keeper of the flame anymore.

 

Also, I'll agree with Barry about the effect on Cubbing. I was involved in Cubs when I went to WB. Our CM was WB trained and serving as a TG in my course. Besides me, there were 3 other leaders from our Pack that attended my course. In the end, we had 5 WB trained Cub Leaders. Not too shabby. Of course 4 of us are in Boy Scouts now though.

[orennoah]

I've heard that our council/cluster used to have an Old Boys' Network in Wood Badge, but I haven't heard much in the way of complaints about them. The courses had an excellent reputation.

 

I'm a 21st Century Wood Badger (WE3-41-03) and I just finished staffing my first course, as Quartermaster (WE3-41-05). My QM staff were all "newbie" staffers, as were quite a number of Troop Guides. The combination of 21st Cent. staffers and "old school" staffers, I think, was a benefit for all, participants and staffers included. We newbies learned a whole lot from the "old school" staffers, including the reverence for the opportunity to searve on a Wood Badge staff. The old schoolers felt and reciprocated our newbie enthusiam and desire to do things even better than they had ever been done before.

 

I can't imagine a better, more enthusiastic staff than we had.

 

I sure hope that these changes do not impact the dynamics of our staffing. I would HATE to have our cluster lose the wise, sage experience of the old school staffers. Personally, I do not see a need for the old schooler's to "lose" a bead and re-do a ticket to earn it back. Isn't it enough that they give up their time, effort, money and vacation days to pass along the Wood Badge experience to others? I think so.

 

As for the "refresher course" suggested above, we had many Staff Development sessions, including a weekend session, where we went over all aspects of the new course syllabus. So, basically, there already is such a course.

 

- Oren

Bear

WE3-41-03

Quartermaster

WE3-41-05

 

[FScouter]

Dancinfox - please make a clarification. It makes sense that to staff the new course that one must have attended the new course. What is confusing is your statement in your opening post that A prior 21st Century course director can go back on staff before 12/31/06 by giving up the fourth bead and going through the process of becoming a course director again. Are you really saying that one must give up a bead to move forward? A trainer from the old course must take the new course AND give up an old bead? Is that what the admin guide says??