Is Wood Badge worth it?

[fred8033]

Worth it? Really really depends ....

 

I definitely don't think every part of Woodbadge is useful to everyone.

 

CLASS ROOM MATERIAL ... Insightful material. Very useful if you have never seen it. For me it was only a refresher as it was almost exactly the same stuff as business seminars I took a decade earlier for leading high performance teams. Also, huge overlap with business courses in college.

 

COURSE STRUCTURE, SONGS, MARCHING AND SKITS - For me, the most useful. Showed me how an "ideal" troop works. Not explicitly taught, but led to the most insight. I wish someone would have said "watch how we do it ... that's the ideal for how troops should work"

 

TICKETS - Hmmmm... Very inconsistent scope and content. Smart students wrote their tickets carefully to get them done quickly. Others wrote college degree tickets. If you already volunteer in scouting with multiple roles, tickets are overwhelming. If your not volunteering in scouting with multiple roles, your probably not going to take woodbadge anyway. The tickets did have some good results for me. Others were useless.

 

It was also frustrating that I had already just done several big scouting projects within a few months before the course. Couldn't count those as tickets though. Grrrrr..... So if your going to take Woodbadge, avoid volunteering to do anything else until after the course and avoid raising ideas and suggestions before the course. You might be able to use them as tickets.

 

OVERALL - I can't recommend or warn away. Each person is different. Each person gets out what they want.

 

I will say this. Woodbadge is definitely overhyped. It's just another training course, but better coordinated than others.

 

 

[eolesen]

I'd say overhyped by some, undervalued by others...

 

I have had to move three times in the past six years, so I rightly or wrongly, showing up to roundtable or a council event with beads has afforded me a little more credibility with the various cliques that exist within a council whenever I volunteered for something or spoke up on an issue.

 

And yes, I found some of the curriculum to be absolute tripe, but it gave me a much different view on Scouting (good and bad) as well as helped me forge some relationships which might have taken a lot longer to forge absent connections from my WB course and ticket work.

[Basementdweller]

thx moose.....Well I have spent a bunch of money on more training, Presented programs to other Packs and troops. and spent much time doing district level type presentations.

 

The District got a new Chair and he cleaned house......The old boy club is gone. So I am left looking at some empty district positions and wonder if I have enough heart and energy to get involved in that political world. The boys and program are the most important thing to me.....I worry about losing my way if I get involved at the district level and forgetting the reason for being in the position.

 

 

[mikecummings157]

There are a lot of strong feelings about WB. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I avoided WB for many years, for some of the same reaosns some folks post here. I was talked into reconsidering a few years ago and I'm glad I did. I picked up a few things and it affirmed a lot of things I have learned over many years.

 

Like a lot of others things, you get out of this what you put into it.

 

I used to be an Owl.......

[fireeagle29]

Maybe it was the staff? I'm certain it was my fellow "patrol" members. I just came off course this past Sunday and I had a great experience -- loved it. Good lessons, had some fun doing it all, and met some great people.

I do have an issue with taking the "easy road" on ticket goals. Oddly enough while I was serving on Eagle Scout BoRs last night I was asked if I was doing it for a ticket item. No. I don't find that doing BoRs is really something that pushes envelope nor does it take you out of your comfort zone. I have challenged myself with the ticket items I have before me for the next eighteen months -- I want to earn my beads, not have them handed to me.

 

Good ol' fox here...

[chaoman45]

The tickets are a joke. I can't believe such a big deal was made about them, considering it's possible to complete them in two months.

[ScoutBox]

chaoman45, it's obvious that you didn't push yourself to develop a strong ticket. We didn't let participants write easy tickets, but tickets that respected the vision of the participant, and that would help develope scouting in their area. I though my ticket was going to be easy when I wrote it, but it still took me 6 months to finish.

[dg98adams]

chaoman45,

Completing 1 ticket item in 2 months right after Wood Badge was probably in the works before the course, or "light" on responsibility.

[le Voyageur]

 

It depends...I've been through two woodbadge courses. One in Okinawa, and the other, State Side. Each had a different twist, and unlike the current Wood Badge, with much more emphasis on outdoor skills working as a patrol in a troop.

For my self, I wouldn't do the 21st Century Woodbadge course, nor would I recommend it for seasoned unit leaders.

The better course as I see it for these folks, is NOLS Wilderness Educator course which cover elements lacking in Wood Badge, and is conducted in a backcountry setting...

[BDPT00]

You used to be a Habu?

I've found that most seasoned Scouters typically check into WB with an attitude. For many, it changes, and they really enjoy it. For others, it's a waste of time, but I think they know that before they go. For the vast majority of those who go, it's much more than they'd expected, and they're very glad they went. This obviously varies across the country. A lousy staff can mess things up pretty well, and that's really unfortunate, but even then, most have a good time anyway. They don't learn as much, but they have fun, and to a lot of Scouters, that's what matters most.

If you're new to Scouting, go to Wood Badge. If you think you already know everything, check your attitude at the door.

BDPT00