Can Someone Explain Woodbadge to Me

[Eamonn]

Maybe, just maybe trying to explain Wood Badge is like trying to explain the game of cricket to an American?

There are times when I look at the course and the course syllabus and it does seem that in an effort to try and include everyone (All sections) and keep everyone happy, that the end result misses the mark by a long shot.

 

This "New Course" really isn't new any more. It's been around for almost ten years. (Maybe eleven? I need to check.)

This is long enough that some of the stuff that wasn't working could be taken out and stuff that wasn't maybe in the right place could be moved.

It's also long enough that some things that shouldn't be there, never were intended to be there and have no place being there have at the local level managed to creep in and become part of the course.

A lot of this kind of stuff starts out as great fun and is enjoyable ad over time gets added too until somehow it just gets expected to be there even though it may have lost the edge it might have once had.

It's also worth remembering that when it comes down to the delivery of the course a lot depends on the Course Director. Sure he or she signs a pledge that he is going to stick to the syllabus, but even with that his interpretation of the syllabus can alter the course.

 

What Wood Badge means to you?

I have no idea.

What did you want to come away with?

Most people, no matter how they end up at the course want to think that after it they will be more prepared and better able to do the job that they are doing already.

If you are not doing such a great job and are totally overwhelmed you might come away with a new outlook and feel that you got just what you needed.

If on the other hand you are doing an outstanding job, have got some time in and have developed a good understanding of the program and how it works, then maybe your not going to take home as much as the guy who isn't as fortunate as you?

 

Back in the day when I was staffing the old Boy Scout Wood Badge course, we'd cover the leadership skills and I had a handout which only had a headline printed on it that read.

"I'm going to use the skill of ....... Blank fill in the skill. To better my Troop by ......"

Maybe if as you go through the course you look at the presentations with an eye as how you will use the tools/skills that are being presented to do your job better or improve what your doing. The course will start to make more sense.

Of course on the other hand you can sit there and pick everything apart saying that this is a load of old cods wallop and come away a couple of hundred bucks worse off, having got nothing and your grass will still mowed!

You only ever get out of anything, what you put into it.

The more you try to understand it the better you will.

Ea

 

[Kudu]

The purpose of BSA Wood Badge is to screw American Boy Scouts out of Bill Hillcourt's position-specific Patrol Leader Training (Intensive Training in the Green Bar Patrol), and replace it with generic POR "leadership skills."

 

Everything else is just commentary.

 

Yours at 300 feet,

 

Kudu

http://kudu.net

 

[Eagle92]

I am not a WBer, but went thought BA22 and staffed JLT. Both had a more outdoor oriented focus than NYLT and WB21C. Yes leadership was taught, but it was more hands on. It seem as as if it was designed to get leaders comfortable with their outdoor skills, so that they would be confident enough to go back to their units, and lead by their example. Classes were taught out in the open, or under shelters. No rooms were needed, no projectors and laptops, no smartboards. Only needed to lash a tripod together, grab your markers and pad, and teach the class.

 

But my understanding is that WB21C, and hence NYLT, had a lot of professional management consultants involved in the process of making the course. Folks who are use to doign this with the latest, greatest, state of the art equipment that a company can buy and train their managers with. While technology is nice, it has taken something away from WB21C from what I've been told, and read online.

 

As for why changes cannot be made, it's my understanding that some type of contract with the consultants is involved. Maybe the 4 beaders can elaborate?

[skeptic]

Wow Kudu; it took you 2 whole days to chime in with your standard opinion. Thought you had gone on vacation.

[ScoutBox]

Just another reason why I think my Council's Curse is tops. Once a year, all of the course material is located in a the same location. Very experienced Staff. The 6 day version of the Course, not the broken weekend version. And, the people attending the course are serious Scouters. Never heard anyone who completed the course and completed their ticket complain. But have seen people attend the course who shouldn't have. None of them finished their Ticket. You get out of it what you put into it. GO there with not expectations, and don't try to read up on the course too much before going. That way you get the best experience possible. Keep a good attitude, and remember why you went there. If you have no vision you'll find out soon enough.

[juggerwubba]

Sounds like we were on the same course T2Eagle.

I am still trying to work out what I gained from this course apart from paranoid distrust of other scouters

 

[juggerwubba]

....and I can explain cricket to Americans.

 

But only if they will explain football to me first.

[moosetracker]

Wow.. two whole pages and no one (in my opinion), "got it". Of course, many comments from people who have not taken the course, or are pro-old WoodBadge, and anti-new Woodbadge.

 

First off, that I saw wrong was a pre-meeting on what was to be part of day one of the syllabus. Question: T2 Did you have this pre-meeting, and then still a 3 day weekend, then another 3 day weekend?? The full course should be 6 days long either run all together, or 2 Fri-Sat-Sunday weekends.. (This year we are also having for LDS churches 3 weekends of Fri-Sat each, but this may be chopping it up Too much, and they might not see the pattern either)..

 

It is all a simulation of you starting out as a cubby, and arriving with no idea of what you are doing.. Blue & Gold is at lunch time, because training does not happen until after you cross over to Boy Scouts.

 

You are now newbie just crossed over Boy Scouts, still not knowing anything.. Note the positions of your staff.. Many simulate position also held by the youth in Boy Scouts except for the SM, who is not directing much of the course.

 

You form new patrols, but since you are new scouts a Troop Guide (youth position) is assigned to you. All though the course it is about you learning more, initially with their guidence, and little by little them stepping back and allowing your patrol to take on more and more by itself, as you form a cohesive group..

 

The first few days should be easy "summer camp" style camping, then later in the course it will be backpack style camping where you camp in your patrols with your own gear.. First the older scouts (Troop Guides, Scout Master etc) camp near you.. Later they when you become first class they should pack up and let you camp on your own..

 

Yes Kudu, even though it has been now removed from scouting as something they can do, Woodbadge shows though emulation that when the scouts are old enough and skilled enough, they should be allowed to camp on their own as patrols with no need for adult leadership..)

 

It is to show you "How" to empower the youth to take the lead.. That even in the beginning the more skilled youth have the charge of leading they younger youth, and how they are to slowly empower the new youth of the team until they are skilled enough to do for themselves..

 

Between all that, there are presentations on Leadership But it should all be based on how you can learn to guide others to lead for themselves. That includes not only your adult committees, which will have a stronger lead in cub scouts, but your adults (which should be support oriented) and your youth in boy scouts and Venturing..

 

I would say that they did a dis-service to you making the Blue & Gold a pre-meeting. With them breaking that piece up as not part of the chain of the process, you never "got" the implication of the fact that you were new youth being guided by older youth, and have yet picked up on the fact that they are slowly empowering you to work as a patrol under your own steam, and that it is mainly other people who are representing the positions of youth within the troop that have the most impact on this phase of guidence.

[juggerwubba]

I think the problem is not that I "don't get it" but that the people running my course "don't get it".

From all the reading I have done, it would appear that the course I attended was not the course the syllabus outlines.

 

[juggerwubba]

I think the problem is not that I "don't get it" but that the people running my course "don't get it".

From all the reading I have done, it would appear that the course I attended was not the course the syllabus outlines.

 

[Basementdweller]

Moose, I got what was happening, far as the progression goes.

 

I got the themes on the tables at the banquet.....I got the cross/bridging ceremony.

 

I also believe that my poor experience was related to a poor staff and even worse patrol creation. How are you going to bond if you separated by 200 miles?

[ScoutBox]

Base, I find that that's one of the biggest problems with split weekend course. With the 6 day course you get to bond, and are forced to work harder I find. It does seem that the problem above was the Staff. I have never seen this problem before. But I'm staffing again next year, so one never knows?

[Eamonn]

juggerwubba

Hi, I had to look through your past posts to get what you were talking about when it came to cricket!

Nice to have another displaced Limy along for the ride.

I wasn't on the team that put together the 21st Century course.

Many of us knew that it was coming, some participated in the trials that were held.

If I remember correctly there was a delay before it was rolled out.

In the area where I live we have a lot of old time Scouter's who live and die for Wood Badge.

Some of these guys at the time did little else other than Staff courses.

They didn't want anything to change and seen as changes as just being plain wrong.

I'd staffed a good many courses with these guys. They are all great guys and did their best to do what they thought was the right thing.

The problem was that over the years so much had been added to the course that no two courses were ever the same.

I seen a lot of the sillieness that was added. While some of it was great fun, for the most part it was a waste of time.

In the UK when they changed the course they didn't try to keep or preserve most of the traditions that many held so dearly. - No patrols, no singing silly songs, no lovable critters.

It was rolled out for what it was. A leadership course.

Here in the USA the team that did put the course together seem to have had differences of opinions.

This can be seen if you closely read and examine the syllabus.

I was on staff for one of the last Cub Scout courses that was held here in the US. Some of the team that were working on the new course came and watched the Cub Scout course to see what could or what worked that might be part of the 21st Century course.

If the truth be told the Cub Scout Leader Trainer Course never really was close to what a Wood Badge course was.

When the new course did come along. There was in the area where I live a rush of old time Wood Badge Staff members to be on staff.

The first 21st Century course I staffed had only three new faces on staff and five or six guys who had served as SM for the old course.

After they had served on the new course a good many just called it a day. They didn't like it and wanted no part of it.

Many felt that the new syllabus was too restrictive and didn't allow them to do their own thing as they had in the past.

I was selected to serve as the CD for the first new course in our Council. I think it was the 3rd year that the new course was available.

My mentor was a guy who I think the world of and is my best friend, a truly wonderful guy and outstanding Scouter.

I had a free hand in selecting my staff, other than one guy. The guy who was being groomed to be the next CD.

I really had to fight and stand my ground when it came to light that I'd only selected four returning staff members to serve on staff. I was told that it couldn't be done.

Things got worse when I let the guy who was being groomed as the next CD go!

I let him go because he just didn't get the new course. He hadn't bothered to read the syllabus. He wanted the course to be more about the staff and the staff being held up as being special than it being about the participants and meeting their needs.

The guy is a very big supporter of the Council and you can imagine my great surprise when four years later he served as CD and a lot of the old sillieness was allowed back into the course. -Yes the Scoutmaster's Chair was back, Staff carried staves and wore campaign hats!!

I wish that the course could be presented for what it is. - A Leadership Course. Without the need to try and include all the sectional stuff and the old traditions.

I think there is a need for a in-depth skill based course, where participants can immerse themselves in the workings of being a Den Leader, Cub Master or Boy Scouter. (The training's for Commissioners needs a good look at as well!)

Most of the problems that seem to arise from the 21st Century course come from people in a section feeling that their needs have not been met.

Ea.

 

[juggerwubba]

I would love to read the syllabus. It would appear that the only way I can get hold of the syllabus is to sign up to staff a course.

 

I asked a friend who was on staff if I could look at her syllabus. She checked with the CD, who said no, because of copyright.

 

Is this another Wood badge add on?

 

[moosetracker]

juggerwubba,

 

I did not find an on-line syllabus, but I did find a site with the Admin manual, and information that seems it was used to train the staff of a WB course..

 

I can not guarentee the quality of it, or if the one who put it together "got it".. But the small things I did see looked promising that maybe he had.

 

Maybe it will help you to understand, what the staff is suppose to understand.

 

http://www.people.vcu.edu/~albest/woodbadge/

 

Actually I am glad they did not post the syllabus, it would be a spoiler to go in knowing just as much or more then your staff.. But, I don't see the harm in allowing you to see the vision that the staff should be having while imparting the course to you. I feel bad that you are not seeing the vision by just being a part of the course.

 

Once you complete the course, see if you can find anyone who was on course, they may not have tossed their syllabus away, and may allow you to look it over.