If WoodBadge is for Boy Scouts, what about the rest of us?

[SMEagle819]

I have been reading this thread hoping to get a feel for the WB program. I have been on the fence for some time about whether to take it or not. There are many points that have been discussed that I agree with, and some that I disagree with.

 

One of the points that I agree with was made on another recent thread about WB. A couple of posters said they would not take it because of some experience they had with another person who had completed the course. I have some of the same feelings. Some of the people I am familiar with in our district seem to think they are so much better than the people that have not taken it ("stuck up" as we called people like this when I was growing up). I'm not in scouting for myself; I'm here to help the boys learn something.

 

This takes me to my second point: how does WB make it better for an adult leader to teach the boys about what the scouting program has to offer? I have not really seen a direct answer to this on this thread (or any others) about how WB will help. Yes, I have seen mentions of better organization, more outdoors training, and working the dreaded ticket. I may have the incorrect view, but this seems like the adult version of Eagle.

 

My main point of disagreement is how this thread has turned into "my course was better than your course." If we want to look at WB this way, we could say the same about scouts who earned Eagle 25, 35, or even 50 years ago. The requirements change as society changes. This training has changed from what it was in the past (so I've gathered). So what? WBY2K still offers the framework of a course that helps those that want to take it.

 

I still haven't made up my mind to take it. I may go for it in a couple of years. I suppose what I really need to do is sit down and talk with someone who has taken it to get a better overview of the course.

[John-in-KC]

Following up on Lisa'Bob's comment, and then retiring from this field, I will simply say Tom Peters management principle of "train and retrain constantly" applies to Scouting as much as it does to any hard or soft skillset.

 

There are always new people to meet, new ideas to get, and new ways to get it (whatever it be) done. I've noticed, in my life, a fair bit of mis-information was once accurate, but has over time been supplanted by newer information.

 

Yes, I plan to re-visit the continuum of training, from Cubbing through Venturing, in the coming many years... more than once. If only for the people I meet, I've never found a day of training not worth the effort.

 

To answer Gern's question, yes, if there is a structural, fundamental change in WB, I'll opt to re-take it down the road. I'd better be in my grave when there are no longer new things to learn in this life.

[Kudu]

emb021 writes:

 

"University of Scouting is not a Nationally mandated training program. It varies greatly from council to council."

 

Moving an already-existing management program over to a Nationally upgraded University of Scouting setting should be a piece of cake for Kenneth Blanchard management experts. It is the equivalent of asking those of us who prefer Scoutcraft and the Patrol Method to move our packs back to Wood Badge.

 

"And again, why deny Cubmasters, Committee Chairs, Venturing Advisors, District Chairs, etc Wood Badge?"

 

And again why call indoor management skills "Wood Badge"?

 

Cubmasters, Committee Chairs, Venturing Advisers, District Chairs should take outdoor Patrol Method Wood Badge to understand that Boy Scouts is an outdoor Patrol program. Why should Committee Chairs and District types remain sheltered from the outdoor program if they intend to work in the Boy Scout division? This is how we get WEBLOS III cafeteria summer camps attended by Wood Badgers who believe that summer camp is a "vacation from the Patrol Method."

 

"B-P did NOT create Wood Badge as 'just for Scoutmasters'. He had WB for Cub Scout leaders, Boy Scout Leaders, Senior Scout/Rover leaders, etc."

 

Baden-Powell's Cub program requires 12 day hikes, 6 night hikes, and 14 nights of camping.

 

The Scoutcraft Skills of Scouts and Senior Scouts are tested with rigorous Scout Journeys.

 

Rovers is for adults who seek Scouting fellowship in adult outdoor Patrols with only short-term leadership associations with younger Scouts.

 

It should be obvious that such rugged outdoor Scout programs require very strong Patrols run by the very strongest Scouts: This is the exact opposite of Leadership Development Wood Badge which requires a weak outdoor Boy Scout program to accommodate a constant turnover of fresh Patrol Leaders recruited to learn abstract "leadership" formulas.

 

"As noted before, does a person who moved from program to program have to retake WB?"

 

Why not? Why dumb training down to the least common denominator? The big mistake here is to call everything "Wood Badge."

 

"The patrol method is still a big part of WB."

 

In the sense that Cub Scouts use the Patrol Method when they attend Den Meetings. This leads to Wood Badgers believing that they use the Patrol Method at summer camp when the Patrol Leaders wake up the boys in their Patrols or when they walk together to the cafeteria.

 

"WB was always meant to be an advanced leadership course, not so much an advanced outdoor course."

 

Yeah, if you just ignore the advanced outdoor content. In real Scouting leadership is a result of outdoor activities.

 

"If there is a need for an advanced outdoor course...develop one."

 

OK, let's call it "Wood Badge for the 22nd Century"!

 

Kudu

[kb6jra]

When BSA changed the training continuum at the turn of the Century, they moved outdoor leader skills to job specific and appropriate levels, that is to say, Cub Leaders needs in the area of outdoor leadership skills are different than Boy Scout Leaders needs, Venturing Leaders needs, etc...

 

Wood Badge today is a viable, effective adult leadership traning course, intensive in it's approach and application, that helps All Leaders in Scouting understand Team Building and it's phases, Communications and it's importance, and the Values, Mission and Vision of the Boy Scouts of America. There are a few other things tossed in there as well, but that's the gist.

 

We use the Patrol method during the course because...quite frankly it works. It's been working for nearly 100 years, and will continue to work well beyond our years to come. It's not a way to segregate the Boy Scout program folks from the Cub Scouters, from the Venturers, it just works to promote team building and leadership.

 

I laugh every time I hear or read the comments that the old course is better than the new course, the new course is better than the old...give me a break. Who are we trying to impress here. Why is it so important to break down what we don't have or won't accept. It's silly really.

 

Why is it required to have taken the WB21C in order to serve on staff? The course has changed, and to a degree that if you haven't been exposed to it, you'll need to be immersed in it before you can properly teach it. That's all, no mention of "your course wasn't good enough" or "those beads mean nothing". Just that if you're going to be an effective trainer, you should at a minimum be familiar with the content, and attending the course is a pretty effective way of becoming familiar IMHO.

 

What about the changes coming in the next year or two. What about when we get rid of Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing, and move on to EDGE? That's actually a big change in the team building paradigm.

 

And what about those beads you (me) all hold so dear? Did you know that within the next year that Adult NYLT staffers will be awarded a 3rd bead if they've been through WB previously? Will that cause some of us 3 and 4 beaders to give them the 'ol heave ho?

 

Change is innevitable, and we train our new leaders to accept it and use it to your advantage. I just wish we would take our own advice from time to time and embrace change as a gift.

 

oh, and SMeagle819, IMHO you would enjoy Wood Badge, you would have much to offer the course and it would have much to offer you. It's really up to you if you would like to listen to the "stuck up folks" regarding what Wood Badge means, it is a mark of distinction individually, not collectivly. The ticket you write is yours alone, and only you can work it. I would recommend you take the course and work your ticket. I know you won't regret it.