What made your course special?

[eagle-pete]

jr56

 

I don't get it. As a participant, I took the new (Wood Badge for the 21st Century) course and never had any sense of elitism from our staff. I am now on staff for a course coming up this September and we are so far from the elitists it isn't even worth bringing up. Elitism is one of the things Wood Badge for the 21st Century wants to get rid of.

 

Either your council is still presenting Wood Badge with an elitist air, or maybe I just don't get your comments.

 

Eagle Pete

[SueM]

Unfortunately for jr56...last year was the final opportunity for an "old" WB'ers had not yet served on staff for WB21, that they could do it. Now, in order for them to be on staff in the future, they have to go through the new course again and work another ticket...we had several on our staff last fall who fell into that category...who were specifically chosen to give them the opportunity to be on staff before the deadline so that they did not have to go through the course and ticket process again.

[SR540Beaver]

eagle-pete,

 

I'll ditto what Sue said. The elitism he speaks of is not the staffs attitude, but that BSA will not allow pre-21st Century participants to staff now. Imagine if you wanted to staff 5 or 6 years from now and were told that you'd have to re-attend the course and re-earn your beads to be worthy of staffing. It smacks of elitism to those who have served for years and earned beads years ago to be told thanks, but no thanks unless you do a re-do.

 

I have two scouting buddies who are both Silver Beavers. They are both heavily involved in scouting at the unit, district and council level. They took the old course. They both want to staff a WB course. They can not without taking the course and earning new beads. They find it highly insulting and hurtful. They both refuse to do it again just for the opportunity to staff.

[John-in-KC]

Whatever happened to Tom Peter's management concept "Train and retrain constantly?"

 

Advantages to re-taking WB:

 

- New friends.

- Different perspectives

- Chance to revisit leadership skills

 

We all have to make choices; sometimes they are tough choices. Allocating time amongst family, work, and Scouting is one of those sets of choices.

 

To me, the two (silver) Beavers are asking for some cheese with their whine.

 

Life isn't always fair. Deal with it. Some, perhaps most of us may never get a chance to staff a WB cycle. Each course, 48 ideally enter, hopefully 48 leave, give service to Scouting, and get beaded. Is there room the next cycle for 48 Scouters to work staff? Don't think so.

[SueM]

I think that the "elitism" that people talk about comes more from the old system of staffing, where it was more or less a "good old boys" network and no one new ever got on staff. That and the fact that it used to be promoted in somewhat more that way too..kind of like being an Eagle Scout..not everyone was "worthy" to be a WB'er so if you did go through the course and got your beads, it was a symbol that you were more worthy than other leaders.

 

One of the participants at the last course was a pre-WB21st and was a 3 beader to boot..he has basically refused to not wear his beads even though he's not supposed to.

 

 

[SR540Beaver]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong since it was before my time. My understanding was that in the old course, you actually had to be invited to attend in many councils. There wasn't always an open sign-up like there is today. So, not only was the staff a "good old boys" club, so was getting to attend.

[John-in-KC]

Sue,

 

As I said in the other thread, if, downstream, I decide it's the right thing for me to re-take, I will, and I'll set my beads aside while I'm in the classroom.

 

That said, our ticket is really only our first ticket. That was fully set in my mind for a lifetime. After I'm back in the field, the necker and the beads would go back on. I'm working my ticket ... I'm being a servant leader to the greater good, the units I serve, and myself.

 

Sometimes the National Council gets it wrong.

[Eamonn]

During my Scouting career, I have been fortunate enough to be involved in Wood Badge in both the UK and in the US.

I have participated as a participant in the Boy Scout courses and the Cub Scouter, staffed the old Boy Scout and Cub Scout courses along with the new course.

Wood Badge is special and I hope will remain special.

When I think about what makes it special? That's easy - The people make it special. Not just the staff but everyone.

This of course doesn't mean that the course is good or is doing what is sets out to do.

Looking back to the course I directed I can now see the things that I wished I had not done.

I wish I hadn't asked the person who I did ask to take care of food to do that job. He did a terrible job! It was the big thing that stood out when I read the participants course evaluations. I wish I hadn't allowed a good friend to talk me into allowing his best friend to join the staff. Removing him wasn't a joy.

A couple of years before I directed a course I staffed a course, where the staff was made up of mainly people who had been involved with the old Boy Scout course, in fact there were if I remember correctly no less than five ex Wood Badge Scoutmasters. Sadly most of them were there just to see how the course had changed. Most didn't like the changes and just didn't "Get it".

My big fear when I read about the creativity and dare I say "Tweaks" is that if we are not careful we are going to return to a lot of what we tried so hard to get rid of!

I staffed courses where some of this stuff and nonsense had become bigger that the course itself.

The popcorn and movie posters are suggested in the syllabus.

I haven't kept up to date with any new changes, but making the opening lunch a B&G?

If I remember correctly? Haven't we already had the Bridging Ceremony and isn't this followed by a PLC done in the round? That doesn't seem to fit.( We added an extra "Gilwell Gazette a Cub Scout one which we gave to the participants as they arrived -They were at that time role playing being Webelos Scouts.)

Many parts of the course are open to a lot of good natured fun. However knowing that there is a time and place for everything is important. Standing on Gilwell Field watching the staff play around kinda gets old kinda quick.

There is time for some "Add ons" at some of the meals. We added Bushgunushaka Day, for lunch we served Kielbasa, kraut,pirogies and other Slovak treats and were entertained by the Dancing Babushka's (Very much like the Dancing Gumby's)

As a course director you have to deliver the syllabus as it is written. To not do so would be breaking the pledge that you took. However as the CD you develop the staff and the course. You can stress the material that you think is the most important and work with this with your staff.

Making the course special -Means making it special for the participants. You might need to "Bash them over the head with a 2X4" in order to make them understand that the course isn't about them or for them -It is for the participants. Along with that I would add that it isn't about you (the CD). My screen saver on my laptop has a WB photo of me, sitting around doing nothing!! My real work at the actual course was very minimal, that is the way it is supposed to be. I had done my work in developing the staff.

I do think it's a shame that I can't return and try and fix the things that I didn't get right, it's a shame that you only get one bite of the cherry. But that's the rule.

I think many Councils have a Mr. Woodbadge. In fact one of my best pals seems to have become one. Sadly he is so busy doing and attending courses that he doesn't really know what is going on in the field. He argues that the BSA hasn't changed that much since he was a SM in the early 70's. I argue that many of the Cub Scouters who attend the course weren't born then!! They see things very differently than he does!! (He hates anything that might be called technology . To him it's the root of all evil!! But the younger participants grew up with this and are open to it.)

As a CD you can make the course special by reading the syllabus over and over and then read it a few more times. Look at what it is really saying, get a real grasp and understanding of it. I think you will find that nothing is in there by accident, everything is there for a reason.

Stress to everyone that this is just a leadership course, it isn't going to make you proficient in outdoor skills or first aid. After the course is when the participants will have a better idea of what their vision and mission really is and they need to take whatever training's they need to reach their Vision and Mission. It might be learning to tie knots or maybe becoming a Scuba instructor.

Scouter's are by nature a nice bunch, all sorts of different things can make something special.

Some years back I went to the Training Center at Philmont to take Delivering Commissioner Service. As a smoker I went for a smoke in the designated smoking area,over the week of course the same people who had the same dirty habit were there about the same times as I was. I met some of the most interesting people and learned as much from them as I did at the conference. I still keep in contact with some of them.

We don't know what anyone will take away from a training. We can do our best to set the best example possible in every way.

A good place to start if you are the CD is by taking a long hard look at your values and the Scout Oath and Law. With these as your compass it's really hard to not make it special.

Eamonn.

 

 

[SR540Beaver]

E,

 

As you may recall, I staffed this past fall. I went thru WB in the fall of 2003. When I went thru, the briding was done early in day one. It seems like it was almost immediately after the assembly on Gilwell field. If I recall correctly, the thinking was that the Cub side was getting short shrift and needed to be expanded on. The participants now spend half of the first day as Cubs and do the bridging at the end of the B&G. The B&G is lunch.

 

Our CD put a ton of emphasis on recruiting Cub leaders. The thinking is that they have been around less time and have not had as much of a chance to learn the leadership ropes. It was an effort to get them on board long term in scouting and to help combat Packs having to reinvent the wheel every few years. Stronger Cubbing means stronger Scouting.

[Ms. Eagle 515]

Thank you SR540Beaver, as you stated is correct. The recent changed expanded on the cub portion. Had I not seen a program for a B&G from a differnet course OOC, I would have kind of been at a loss. Instead, I worked with what I saw and added a different flair which was well recieved.

 

Thanks to all you have suggested either here or through PM some of which include

 

Starting the second weekend on Saturday to avoid conflict with Venturing youth.

 

Making a diverse menu the entire second weekend that covers the globe.

 

Having an actual theme for your blue and gold

 

Looking OOC for participants as well as staff

 

This will be our Council's 4th 21st century experience and I've had the pleasure of experiencing all of them and each one while following the syllabus had it's own character traits that made them fun. As CD I may not be responsible for that, but I need to communicate some ideas to the staff members recruited so that everyone gets the most they can out of the experience.

 

During the second course someone suggested after a lack luster first weekend that we needed to get the participants blood flowing so a songmeister (me) was appointed and either at the beginning or end of the breaks, we sang. I found regional songs got a bigger response then most scouting songs and current tunes with the words changed to reflect a scouting tone got a huge response because of a familiarity.

 

I'm not trying to change the syllabus, just looking for personal touches that I can share with the staff so we can maybe incorporate them into the program.

 

True and almost terrifying(for the presenter and the CD)while the rest of us chuckled story. Remember Leaving a Legacy, what's the first thing done. If you don't remember dust off your syllabus. Well wouldn't you know it but during the participants interfaith service which took place earlier that same day they not knowing what was to be expected later on, did that same thing. The presenter and CD were stunned. The presenter was trying to figure out how he would be able to recover which he did nicely when at the time his presentation was up, he finished things off with a cherry on top. When the participant who did that during the interfaith realized what was happening he was stunned. He came over and asked me if we were horrified. I told him no, we didn't know the premise of his portion of the service when it was accepted because it was titled differently and we just rolled with it. No harm no foul and everyone got a kick out of it in the end.

 

Thanks for the suggestions and I'm still open to any additional either here or in private.

 

 

[orennoah]

Ms. Eagle 515 wrote:

 

"True and almost terrifying(for the presenter and the CD)while the rest of us chuckled story. Remember Leaving a Legacy, what's the first thing done. If you don't remember dust off your syllabus. Well wouldn't you know it but during the participants interfaith service which took place earlier that same day they not knowing what was to be expected later on, did that same thing. The presenter and CD were stunned. The presenter was trying to figure out how he would be able to recover which he did nicely when at the time his presentation was up, he finished things off with a cherry on top. When the participant who did that during the interfaith realized what was happening he was stunned. He came over and asked me if we were horrified. I told him no, we didn't know the premise of his portion of the service when it was accepted because it was titled differently and we just rolled with it. No harm no foul and everyone got a kick out of it in the end."

 

My Bear Patrol did the SAME THING! The CD handled it really well. She teared up, not through embarassment or frustration that we'd "screwed up" her presentation. But, that we "got it."

 

It was a great moment for all of us, because we, too, realized that we'd gotten it.(This message has been edited by orennoah)