To staff woodbadge or not

[Mom2a]

I recently finished being a first time staffer as a troop guide. I loved it. It was very worth the pre-course staff development time. My family's initial reaction was not extremely supportive but after we talked and they saw how much it would mean to me they agreed to work with me on the scheduling. My kids are young enough that husband and I both had to take vacation time in order for me to be on staff.

[blw2]

so really the only training that remains for me (that I need or that I'm interested in doing) are the big weekend evolutions....

I want to take IOLS

and wouldn't mind taking Woodbadge too some day as a student (even though I'd be much more excited about the old program as I understand it...)

oh and wilderness 1st aid too.

 

but I'm up against the exact same issue.

Weekends are just so valuable

And all the effort and time I already do put into scouting is but just for 1/3 of my kids in my wife's eyes.  The other 2/3 being girls...

If I could count me as one of the kids, I'd be up to 1/2..... but that's still only half, and the less important one to boot

[SSScout]

Yep,  time investment is significant.  Family has to "take up the slack".  Time is taken from work.  From family stuff.

 

Family is important.   But so is one's self satisfaction and respect.  Woodbadge?   Why not Lions?  Or Kiwanis?   Or Church Choir?  Or Local Activity Of Your Choice?   You can stay in the bosom of the family or convince the rest of the family (!) that you will come back a happier camper. 

 

Does wife have "outside interests"?    Good wife has painting classes, and they take a significant amount of time.  Do I complain?  No, I do the laundry.  Her "time away"  helps her decompress from work and gives her much satisfaction, especially when I can say (honestly!) that she has developed her latent talent considerably.  She painted me a Barn Owl!  And then there is the time in our various Meeting (church to you) committees.   Tonight I will be driving a bus for our camping program.  I could say "no", I have to stay home and clean the kitchen, but that dirt and grease will be there when I get back, and hey, son may clean it up. It is his turn, come to think of it....

 When I go off for IOLS or RoundTable,  good wife understands.  My talent and experience needs to be shared with others than my son and wife.  I earned  WB and then staffed WB (QM corps).  It was fun, rewarding and I met many good folks. Some of whom I still work with in Scouting.   I know they took away some of me, and I gained some of them. Cross fertilization?  

Now, one must realize that if you DON"T participate, you will have NO effect on those folks.   If you DO participate,  you will leave a wake (to be nautical in my metaphor) and  more will benefit from your life experience.  Therefore, if they go ahead with WB without you,  "it ain't your fault".   If you DO participate,  you will have at least some  say in making sure the WBers go away smiling, not  thinking "what a waste!".   

 

"All feedback is a gift".   

 

See you on the trail!

Edited June 23, 2016 by SSScout

[qwazse]

...

And all the effort and time I already do put into scouting is but just for 1/3 of my kids in my wife's eyes.  The other 2/3 being girls...

If I could count me as one of the kids, I'd be up to 1/2..... but that's still only half, and the less important one to boot

Tangent #1: So, what you are saying, @@blw2 is that if BSA were fully co-ed, they might have a better trained scouter?

 

Tangent #2: What are you doing (organization participation wise) to be a better father-of-girls? For me, scouting helped a lot. That's partly because the fellowship involved time with a lot of dads and moms with daughters. as well as GS leaders and Venturing moms. Most all of the formal training was as relevant for my daughter (and, later, daughter-in-law) as it was for the sons.

 

Edited to add: And a lot of the boys who might have thought of dating daughter knew how well I sharpened my knives and axes.

Edited June 23, 2016 by qwazse

[blw2]

I don't disagree SSSCout, but at the same time there is a balance to be found.

and that tipping point is different for different folks.  In my case, as I suspect also for @@mashmaster, the tipping point we're getting at is as defined by our wives & is much closer to the family than WE might define it....

Tangent #1: So, what you are saying, @@blw2 is that if BSA were fully co-ed, they might have a better trained scouter?

 

Tangent #2: What are you doing (organization participation wise) to be a better father-of-girls? For me, scouting helped a lot. That's partly because the fellowship involved time with a lot of dads and moms with daughters. as well as GS leaders and Venturing moms. Most all of the formal training was as relevant for my daughter (and, later, daughter-in-law) as it was for the sons.

 

Edited to add: And a lot of the boys who might have thought of dating daughter knew how well I sharpened my knives and axes.

Tangent #1:  Better?  well that opens up a subjective tangent #3 .... but perhaps, yes.  My DW would likely re-position that tipping point on her scale if she thought I was doing something with ALL of the kids.

 

Tangent #2:  Don't disagree..... but it's not my opinion at question here.... it's my DW's.  You know how it is, no doubt.  Several times when she has felt distanced (which isn't always), she has said things that make it clear that she forgets all the things I do with and for the girls.  In those times, her focus is on BOY scouts, and why I'm there and not HERE.  It's her emotional perspective.  She's not concerned at those times, with what "wake" I might leave in others' lives.  At these times, she's looking inward to herself, and outward only to our kids. 

 

Same I suppose for @@mashmaster too.

[cchoat]

I must be one of the lucky one's.  After 25 years of marriage, the wife understands that when we got married, I was a scouter, and that Iit was apart of my life.  So, if I go to a scouting function, she'd find something to do to also get out of the house.  Lately, the wife goes to visit our grandchildren.  So I guess, in my house, the problem is solved.  And thanks to my daughter and son-in-law having grandkids, I have two additional scouting oppertunities already lined up after my last son ages out.

 

So I am waiting for the invite to work as a staffer. 

[SSScout]

""Whooo Do You Love
((with apologies to Bo Didley)):

I walk 47 miles of Philmont, I

             use a cobra snake for a woggle,
got new Scout Hut on the roadside

             made outta Antelope hide,
it's got a little bitty chimney right on top made outta a Buffalo skull.

         Come on Troop Guide, take a walk with me,
                 tell me, whoooooo do you love oh honey, whoooooo do you love.......

 

I got a Boy Scout staff and a Woodbadge Mind,
             I'm just 42 and I don't mind Hiking.....
                      Whooooooo do you love…..

 

Come on B-P make me understand,
         let the boys LEAD ,
                           win all you CAN,

 

WHOOOOOOO do you love, oh Course Director, tell me, whoooooo do you love…......

[dreamwalkn]

I'm in training for my first-time staffing a WB course. It's been a bucket list item to staff a WB course. I jumped at the chance and I too had a bit of resistance from my family due to the time demands. I'm going to miss my niece's bat mitzva, which is a huge deal for my family. I would have such a small role in the whole day, but my being willing to skip it to staff WB is a big deal for them. We only have a WB course every other year here in VT, and my son is going to cross-over from AOL Den to Boy scouts this coming Fall, so I felt it's a really important time for me to be on staff. As a result of my being on staff I was able to leverage my sacrifice and convinced not only the guy who will be the new scoutmaster to take the WB course, I also lassoed the current (very long standing) ASM, the current Troop Org. Rep (who is also the current ACM, transitioning to Pack Com. Chair), and the guy who will replace me as CubMaster next year all to take the course too. 

 

This then opens up opportunities for me to step back from intimately running a unit and a den, which I've been doing for 4 years, to doing more work for the District and Council, which really could use the help. I plan on getting involved in leader training and possibly chairing the yearly University of Scouting training day. I will also become an ASM of my son's new troop and see if I can't finally get re-elected into the Order of the Arrow (I was elected as a boy but never got around to being bumped, too busy ski racing!) and work with that group of scouts. Ultimately staffing WB as a troop guide will open the possibility of working as council training chair down the road. Working WB staff as troop guide is a prerequisite for that role. 

 

Finally, I NEED to be on staff for WB now because I need a change. I need to work with other experienced scouting volunteers, at least for a bit. I need a break from the world of Cub Scouting. When I took the wheel at my Pack it was on the ropes. The Den leaders were also the Committee. We did everything. We never qualified for JTE because we never had time to get enough points in enough categories to get even bronze. Since I became ACM 3 years ago, and CM two years ago we have been JTE Gold each year. We now have an actual COMMITTEE, with a separate, monthly committee meeting. We have lots of boys, finally over 30 from the 6 when I started 5 years ago as the Tiger Den Leader. We have recruitment events. We have a website. We have a den of boys from Lion to AOL. We actually crossed boys over to the Troop last month! It's been a long road of hard work training and recruiting green leaders and eager young boys. I've met now for 5 full day monthly WB Staff training days and I'm feeling good. I'm associating with some really fine fellow staff members from all over the state. It's nice to be working with folks who get it. Who are Scouting lifers. I'm making friends who I will have for the rest of my life. It's truly a blessing. As I enter my last year as Cubmaster today, June 1st, I look forward to stepping back and just being on the Pack Committee, meeting once a month, maintaining the health of the Pack, something most Troops over-look. They need to keep a hand in the running of the Pack so there is a healthy river of boys coming to the Troop. Without this river the Troop will dry up...

[RememberSchiff]

@@dreamwalkn , welcome to scouter.com . Don't be afraid to speak your mind.

[pchadbo]

I Understand this issue, I both staffed Wood Badge, for the second time, as a Scribe, and got married last year. Both were incredibly rewarding experiences. The best advice I can give is some I got years ago: Sometimes, you have to be selfish in order to be a giving person. I f you are not taking care of yourself, physically, emotionally, and psychologically, you are  not going to be willing or able to be the person that your family needs you to be.  If that means missing an admittedly big deal in your niece's life, then you have that choice to make, I bet she will remember a day that you take her to the zoo, concert, lunch and a movie. . .you get the idea, way more than if you were among the crowd at the Bat Mitzvah.

[cchoat]

I must be one of the lucky one's.  After 25 years of marriage, the wife understands that when we got married, I was a scouter, and that Iit was apart of my life.  So, if I go to a scouting function, she'd find something to do to also get out of the house.  Lately, the wife goes to visit our grandchildren.  So I guess, in my house, the problem is solved.  And thanks to my daughter and son-in-law having grandkids, I have two additional scouting oppertunities already lined up after my last son ages out.

 

So I am waiting for the invite to work as a staffer. 

So, an update....

 

Since my last post, I was called to serve as a Troop Guide for S2-578-17-1, which took place over the months of March and April of this year. 

All I can say is that it was a lot of hard work, a lot of traveling between two councils (it was a multi-council course) several weekends away from home (due to distance) and lots of prep work, but it was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had in Scouting.

 

If you get an opportunity to staff, jump on it!

 

[MattR]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's nice to hear good news about scouting.

[The Blancmange]

but it was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had in Scouting.

 

 

 

That's too bad.  If your most rewarding experiences in Scouting don't involve working with Scouts, something went wrong.   

[Col. Flagg]

That's too bad.  If your most rewarding experiences in Scouting don't involve working with Scouts, something went wrong.   

 

Agree. Watching one of our autistic Scouts make Eagle after seven active years is Scouting was hands down my most rewarding. Time spent with my son is up there.

 

Cannot think of an adult-based moment that sticks out.

[MattR]

What's with the snarky replies? Someone enjoyed scouts in their own way and you guys tell him he's wrong because it isn't good enough? Cchoat said he had one of his best experiences. He didn't say he had one of the best experiences. If you don't think it would be your best experience then why not just be happy for him rather than tell him he's doing something wrong?

 

Friendly, courteous, or kind?