Who pays for Wood Badge?

[DanKroh]

SueM and Beaver,

 

As I said, I am partial to the beaver as my college mascot (Nature's Engineer), so maybe I can be an honorary beaver no matter what our patrol mascot (is that the right word? or is it totem?). I'm assuming that the patrol members get to pick, yes?

 

As far as other advice, no, I'm not in an LDS unit. And no, I'm not in a union, as I am self-employed in the health care profession. And while paying out of pocket would not be an outrageous burden to me, the feeling of the committee was that "well, we pay for everyone else's training, shouldn't we pay for this, too". I like the idea of splitting it 50/50, since I do think of it as an investment for the pack, since I will probably remain Cubmaster for another 3 years or so until my Wolf crosses over (assuming someone else isn't dying to do it in the meantime). Our pack is well enough off that even paying the full cost would not be a strain, either.

 

I have not heard of our Council having any sort of WB scholarship fund, but then again, I would feel strange applying for such a thing when there are probably others out there who could use it more than I. There are some towns in our Council that are much, much less affluent than our pack's, and I'm sure there are other packs that could not afford to pay for their leaders to go.

 

Thanks again for all your thoughts.

[scoutldr]

A lot depends on the unit's financial situation. In my unit, we make enough money to cover operating costs (badges, camp site deposits, etc), and that's it. Some Cub Packs make $20,000 from popcorn sales and they should be paying all training fees for their leaders. If the unit does pay, there should be some "payback" commitment from the leader, such as agreeing to serve two more years.

[SueM]

Dan,

 

Perhaps you could "request" that you get in the Beaver patrol..it would depend on your Course Director though and how he/she feels about allowing people to pick what patrol they're in. Some will try to honor those requests while others don't. It can't hurt to ask though if that's what you want.

 

sue m.

[eagle-pete]

SueM

 

This is off topic. I apologize. Feel free to split this off to another topic if necessary.

 

Some thoughts to consider...

 

Although you are correct that it doesn't hurt to ask, requesting a specific patrol change may not be in Dan's best interest. I am sure you are aware that much goes into the patrol assignments for participants. Considerations of personality balance, talents, scouting experience, etc., all come into play. I am a firm believer that patrol assignments are generally well planned and much foresight goes into these assignments (yes, there are exceptions). Even, in many cases, divine intervention comes into play. Making changes to the assignments based on a participants request may not be in their interest. The participant simply doesn't have enough information available to them to have this kind of foresight. Consider what experience the participant may miss out on by changing patrols.

 

I am an eagle and would not have it any other way. I have treasured experiences with my patrol, both positive and negative, which all added to my Wood Badge experience. You could not offer me anything to change my patrol or give up any of the experiences I had.

 

I would not request this if I were Dan, unless there was a very good reason to do so. He may sacrifice life-changing experiences by having his patrol changed.

 

Eagle Pete

[DanKroh]

Actually, what I meant was does the patrol group get to choose their patrol symbol/name, or is that assigned to them?

 

Honestly, the desire to be a Beaver is not so strong that I would buck what appears to be a well working system, judging from the enthusiasm of (almost all) Woodbadgers I have seen. I'm sure that I will be happy no matter what our patrol name; as someone said, it's the people in the patrol who matter most.

[eagle-pete]

Hey DanKroh

 

My advise... go, have fun, enjoy... You're going to have a Great time!

 

Eagle Pete

[Lisabob]

Hi Dan,

 

No you don't get to choose your "critter." There is a set list of critters that current WB courses use and even a "critter order" that you'll become quite accustomed to, esp every time you sing the Gilwell song. You can google it if you're interested.

 

I don't think it really matters which particular "critter" you are, though of course Bobwhites rule (by stealth more often than not - we're not flashy like some I could mention). I think, as others have said, what matters most is the composition of your patrol and that you "gel" with your patrol mates. And I think the overwhelming majority of people do, thus are rightly proud of "their" patrol and patrol critter at the end.

 

Lisa'bob

 

 

[OldGreyEagle]

Way back in 1963 I was naught but a young child and a rabid football fan. I lived in the western suburbs of a little city located on the shores of Lake Michigan. Dem Bears did good that year and ended up the regular season 11-1-2. being 10 years old at the time, I had never heard about playoffs and championship games. So, on sunday 12/29/63 when my father came home after working that day he asked why I wasnt listening to the Bears game on the radio. (Since it was a home Bears game, the area was blacked out even though it was a sell out). I laughed at him and said the season was over and he wasnt going to get me to get all excited. Well, this went on for about 20 minutes until I decided to prove him wrong. I got to the radio just in time to hear the immortal Jack Brickhouse say "So that't the story from Wrigley Field, Bears 14 the New York Football Giants 10". I was devastated, I swore I would never miss another Bears Championship game. Of course at the time I didnt realize the next time the Bears would be in a championship game I would be holding my six month old son in 1986.

 

I did OK in scouting, earned Eagle in 1969 and life evolved. My son joined the troop and I became active and ended up signing up for Wood Badge. I had wanted to be an Eagle, since I was an Eagle in scouts. Imagine my surprise when I found out I was to be a Bear. Imagine my patrol members surprise when I pulled out of my duffel bag a shower sized Chicago bears beach towel. We folded down the "Chicago" part and left the snarling face and word "BEARS" visible. Then the SPL started putting together his seating chart and was going from table to table writing where the patrols were. He would ask each table, you are the? and the response would come "Angry Beavers", "Wandering Buffaloes" etc. When he got to us, he asked, "You are the.. oh Bears" because he saw the towel and then he said how did you know? My answer, Fate! We became Da Minsi Bears and are still writing our history 5 years later.

 

Now, to the point. When I took Wood Badge, I paid for the whole deal. This past September 4 members of the troop adult leadership took Woode Badge. Since the troop has establsihed a tradition of paying half of a youth's cost to attend the Council NYLT program, I suggested at the Troop Committee meeting the Troop do the same for the Wood Badgers. The motion carried.

 

So, do you remember Supercrunch Dick Butkus? The Kansas Comet Gale Sayers? Sweetness Walter Payton? Iron Mike Ditka? All Bears and so am I

[John-in-KC]

Dan,

 

I truly, truly wish for you that no matter the Patrol you enter, you will end up with a broad network of Scouters you can call on ... for Scouting assistance and for more mundane assistance.

 

Have fun. This is a worthy experience

 

John

[tcherven]

In the end, your patrol is the name of a critter. While everyone argues about which critter is best, it was always in fun (at least with my fellow Wood Badgers) and we knew that working with your patrol, whatever critter you were, was the most important.

 

I was fortunate enough to be placed into a group in which we moved through storming to performing quite quickly. We came from completely different backgrounds, had different scouting positions, and our homes were not in the same area as each other. Where each of us had a weakness, someone else had that same area as a strength.

 

You'll create a new group of friends, no matter what critter you become. Just enjoy the experience, and if you're lucky, you'll be a fox (or a beaver, bobwhite, eagle, owl, bear, buffalo, or antelope).

 

Tom

C-44-06 (Shining brightly for the future)

Fox Patrol

[Sandyt888]

in our troop we will pay a portion of the fee. The yr i took wb, we had $200 in the adult training budget. 3 of us took wb same yr and we split it 3 ways. When our current SM took wb, 3 yrs later, we paid half. Reimbursement is after the course is completed.

 

Our council has scholarships available up to 1/3 of cost. Our course directors feel strongly that the participant needs to have some financial stake in the matter.

 

Used to be a bear

SR517

[orennoah]

Dan:

 

You might, like I did, simply get lucky.

 

As a Cal grad, I was already a Golden Bear and had a nice collection of bear images, stuffed animals and other items.

 

Then, I became a member of the Bear patrol in Wood Badge. Halleluah!!

 

Now, I have even MORE Bear paraphenalia.

 

- Oren

Cal, Class of '81

WE3-41-03, Bear

WE3-41-05, QM

[StormingBuffalo]

Actually, I paid for Wood Badge from my office budget, as professional development. That was specifically suggested by our course director, and no one ever questioned it. In addition, I do believe my taking the course had a positive impact on the workplace, so it was an appropriate use of my professional development money.

 

On another matter addressed in this thread, I do agree that if the unit pays the fee for Wood Badge, there should be some kind of benefit to the unit. Having said that, I would hope that part of the participant's ticket (or much of it) would be of direct benefit the unit.

[MotherEagle]

In our Group the participant pays for Wood Badge training and the Group pays them back on completion of the course.