Woodbadge as Scouter Reserve or as MBC?

[Treflienne]

Did any of you do woodbadge while your primary position was "Unit Scouter Reserve" or "Merit Badge Counselor"?  Or are you familiar with people who have done so?  What sort of ticket items?

I attended the woodbadge course last year. But prior to completing all my ticket items I resigned from my troop position. (I'd rather not go into details, but unresolved disputes between troop adults - disputes exacerbated by covid - were a major factor.)

I am glad I attended woodbadge, whether or not I complete my ticket. I am wondering whether to attempt completing my ticket, despite the change in position.  Woodbadge counselor is willing to consider changes to ticket.  Some of my orginal ticket ideas were really only relevant to my old position or not doable currently due to covid.

My kid is still actively involved in the troop.

 

[Eagledad]

The ticket is the most educational part of WB because it's On the job training. As the WB ticket counselor (Troop Guide ASM), I would guide you to write the ticket toward getting experiences in your position. And, it's a lot more fun too.

Barry

[MattR]

What position do you see yourself having in the future? I agree with Barry that the ticket can make all the difference. Unfortunately for me my counselor couldn't care less.

[qwazse]

Sorry for the contested circumstances that lead to your moving on. But, this is a unique opportunity. It sounds like you started to work your ticket and came up against things you couldn't control. So you got some real-world experience in writing tickets! And you have an encouraging counselor.

What would you like to accomplish in the next six months? What stuff did you start doing in this new position that you'd really like to give a boost? Answer those questions and you'll probably have enough ticket items for four MBC's. or 92U's. Hopefully your counselor will help you prioritize.

[SSScout]

Well, like a lot of things Scouty, "It Depends" . . . 

When I took WB,  my Scout was bridging into Boy Scouts, my good wife was the CSDC Director  ( I served as her First Assistant Everything Else) and I became an ASM in my Scout's  Troop ( which had been my original Troop many moon ago. Another story).  Having helped with CSDC alot (ALOT !) many of my developed tickets were Cub Scout directed.  "No, no, you can't do that" my Patrol Guides said, "You are registered as a Boy Scout Leader, therefore, your tickets  MUST be connected with Boy, NOT Cub Scouting...."   "but, but, but..."         What to do?  They were good, approvable tickets.   The WB folks conferred.  "You should be a COMMISSIONER !"  "great ! What's a Commissioner?  "  I'd never heard of them.   Well, two days later, I was registered as a Commissioner (They Can Do Anything !  In Any Part Of Scouting!)   , my tickets were accepted, and I was off.  

Perhaps, Treflienne,  you might consider reregistering with your District leadership as a Commisher.  MBC is great, but Commissishers are privy to alot,  your experience can be lent to many others.   

Just a thought.   

Good Scouting to you and yours, see you on the trail.....

[jr56]

Great idea.

[Treflienne]

On 1/27/2021 at 5:25 PM, SSScout said:

Perhaps, Treflienne,  you might consider reregistering with your District leadership as a Commisher.  MBC is great, but Commissishers are privy to alot,  your experience can be lent to many others.   

 

14 hours ago, jr56 said:

Great idea.

 

I gave the idea some serious thought.  But I really have too little BSA experience.  And I am simply not that interested in the district level.  I have also now seen that @Eagledad has advised in a different thread: https://www.scouter.com/topic/32568-ticket-help/?tab=comments#comment-524199

 

On 4/13/2021 at 3:51 PM, Eagledad said:

Stick to your unit. A lot of adults tend to get into district and even council stuff. Unless you plan to spend most of your time in those areas, stick with your unit.

 

It is currently looking like I will not complete a ticket.

I am interested in a great all-girls troop for the girls.  Unfortunately there are those in the local troop(s) who are pulling hard to (in effect) run our CO's two troops as a single coed troop.

I see advancement as but one of the eight methods of scouting -- some others locally seem to see it as the absolute most important one.

I'm very keen on the patrol as the community-in-miniature in which scouts get to practise practical good citizenship -- as they work together to accomplish their goals.  Others locally do not seem to share my view of the importance of the patrol.

I liked a lot of what I heard at Woodbadge about scouting, and found it very encouraging.  However, the vision displayed there (and in the BSA literature) does not seem to be what the troop committee, SM, and ASMs want.

[MattR]

13 hours ago, Treflienne said:

However, the vision displayed there (and in the BSA literature) does not seem to be what the troop committee, SM, and ASMs want.

That sounds like a challenging ticket

This is mostly in jest, but if you figure out a way to slowly move adults in the right direction I think it would be great. At the same time I understand your reluctance.

[Eagledad]

2 hours ago, MattR said:

That sounds like a challenging ticket

This is mostly in jest, but if you figure out a way to slowly move adults in the right direction I think it would be great. At the same time I understand your reluctance.

MattR has something here. Most folks don’t realize that the SM is selected by the committee. I encouraged all the CC’s in our district, and in WB, to take the SM Fundamentals course so they would understand the Patrol Method vision and the SMs main objective. The CC has the power of the units program.

While I was the District Membership Chairman, I was tasked with counseling struggling Cub, troop, and Venturing units. In almost all cases, the common root problem was the committee did not know or understand the mission and vision of the program. As a result, adult leaders didn’t understand the tasks required to function as a team. If the committee does not pick a patrol method SM, they won’t get a patrol method program. By the way, learning to work as a team is the main objective of Woodbadge. Anyway, once they understood their objective, the adults stopped running around clueless and started working mainly on the tasks expected of them. And, they enjoyed the program more.

All this to say; work a ticket to be the CC. Then find adults who support your vision. Ticket items like visiting other unit committees to learn better habits.. Visit Scoutmasters with a good patrol method boy run reputation. Take SM Fundamentals and other courses. Become an expert of your vision and the skills to manage and support that program. If you become a trusted committee member, you will likely get asked to be the troop leader. Then the world is yours.

I know what you are thinking, that would take years, but I find that people with passion, vision, and know how, climb the ladder very fast. And it can be a lot of fun.

Barry

[mrjohns2]

On 4/16/2021 at 4:55 PM, Eagledad said:

SM is selected by the committee.

Do you have a reference for this? It is my understanding the SM is selected by the COR and/or CC. Not by the committee. 

[Eagledad]

59 minutes ago, mrjohns2 said:

Do you have a reference for this? It is my understanding the SM is selected by the COR and/or CC. Not by the committee. 

You are correct. 
 

Barry

[Owls_are_cool]

On 4/15/2021 at 10:29 PM, Treflienne said:

I liked a lot of what I heard at Woodbadge about scouting, and found it very encouraging.  However, the vision displayed there (and in the BSA literature) does not seem to be what the troop committee, SM, and ASMs want.

My troop guide in Woodbadge stressed that the ticket must be achievable and not rely on others to complete the ticket. I had the patrol method on one of my tickets, but that worked since I was (and still am) a scoutmaster and I was able to make the change. I'd talk with your committee chair and scoutmaster to see if the troop needs a task done for the benefit of the troop. Could be something as simple as improving parent communications or procuring  a piece of equipment that the troop needs. Then go back to your WB Troop Guide with a new ticket proposal. 

Tickets also need not be involved in scouting. Could be something you want to work on at work, that indirectly helps you become a better adult volunteer in Scouting. 

Changing the direction of a troop is not a good ticket, because odds are you will not be able to complete buy-in for change and if leadership goes for it, it usually takes several years for it to be implemented. When I worked on my troop's patrol method, I instantly got opposition from parents, so navigating that was a learning experience for me.

[mrjohns2]

On 4/15/2021 at 11:29 PM, Treflienne said:

It is currently looking like I will not complete a ticket.

I am interested in a great all-girls troop for the girls.  Unfortunately there are those in the local troop(s) who are pulling hard to (in effect) run our CO's two troops as a single coed troop.

I hope you keep working your ticket! It is worth figuring out how to get done within your new situation.

I really dislike the coed troop idea. At first, I was very upset at the BSA. After I have worked more and more with our girl troop, I see the reason why the BSA decided not to go co-ed. The Scouts take more risks when not around our boys troop. They speak up more, they laugh more, and they lead more. They have fund playing 9 square etc. with the boy troop, but really come back and learn about leadership when outside of the earshot of the boys. 

[qwazse]

So, I think the best way to implement your ticket is to lean into the patrol method and MB counseling. How about this for a goal:

• Develop and market patrol-oriented MB instruction. Develop an invite along the lines of “Mr/Miss Leader of the —— Patrol, You and the youth you lead are invited to schedule a weekend or set of evenings for my —— MB challenge.” Promote your program to the troop(s) you serve.

In other words, think of the MB’s you teach. Go over the requirements. Identify those that might best be performed as a patrol activity — especially if there is a convenient resource in your community where that activity could be done. Explain that you will only handle one patrol at a time. Ideally, there will be one patrol who will take the bait. But, if not, at least scouts will have met one adult who takes them as a patrol seriously.