What happens when you finish your Wood Badge ticket but are not beaded?

[HtownScouter]

I am glad I went to Wood Badge, wish I would have gone years ago (20 year leader)

Finished my ticket last month.  My Troop Guide would appear to prefer me to beaded at a Troop Court of Honor to reinforce Wood Badge.  I agree, but I am not a member of a troop (District Member at Large, and I am new to this District and Council). 

If I joined a local troop, it would be awkward for me to have my beading a part of Court of Honor.  I think I would wait until I was a known, established entity (that would take months or longer).  And what if I were to join the troop, but then later discover its program wasn't for me or time/circumstances prevented significant participation? I would look selfish and silly.

 

Same for a District or Council event, if that is even possible. 

 

Suggestions?  This Council heavily promotes Wood Badge and I sometimes think I am the only one at District and Council events not wearing beads. On the other hand, I am a scout leader so I can work with scouts, not focus on my own uniform.  Am I overthinking the importance of wearing Wood Badge beads. 

[MattR]

Welcome to the forum, @HtownScouter

[RememberSchiff]

@HtownScouter  welcome to scouter.com.

[HtownScouter]

3 minutes ago, MattR said:

Welcome to the forum, @HtownScouter

Thanks

[elitts]

I don't mind beadings at a Court of Honor (or other youth events) as long as it's kept to a very brief 1-3 minutes, but often times the overzealous beador drags things out to 5-10 minutes with songs and all that jazz and it really isn't appropriate at a ceremony designed to celebrate youth accomplishments.  I watched one (unwillingly) at a Scouting University that dragged on for nearly 15 minutes and you could tell that every scout and pretty much every non-WB adult was bored out of their minds.

If you don't have a current troop, I wouldn't worry about waiting for a CoH.  Beading ceremonies should be about celebrating the awardee, not advertising; and if it were me, the obligatory clapping of people I barely knew wouldn't mean very much.

[Eagledad]

I can assure you that the creators and early graduates of Woodbadge never imagined doing beadings at scout functions. I'm not sure why Woodbadge should be promoted at Scout functions. It has  the appearances of being Ego thing. What exactly is Woodbadge promoting to the scouts that the other adult leader courses aren't promoting. I have lots of stories of fun scout lead functions being pulled down by the adult WB Beading. It's just plain boring. The adult simply completed an ADULT training course. That is it from the scout perspective and their parents is they are attending. Is that adult recognized at a scout function after completing each of their other adult training courses? If the unit wants to recognize an adult for completing a training course, have the SPL bring him up at the closing of a troop meeting and shake his hand, and then move on to the next agenda item.. That is it. 

Do the beading at an adult training course. I did mine at Scout Leader Basic with my Bob White Patrol there to stand with me.

Barry

[qwazse]

Welcome to the forum. Tell your guide that some strangers on the internet think he/she is making an inappropriate suggestion. It might be appropriate if, while working your ticket, a patrol of scouts pitched in and they invited you personally to get your beads at their CoH. Troops should be youth lead, and any troop that lets any adult pile on their agenda is not a troop, and therefore not one where a reasonable scouter would want to be recognized.

You're a district volunteer. Get beaded at a roundtable, an adult cracker-barrel at a camporee, or some other activity geared towards scouters.

[SSScout]

Congrats... Hoot Hoot.   

Wood Badge is as much for the adult as for the Scouts they will help... I am sure the folks/Scouts that benefited from your ticket(s)  will know to "pass it on".

Beading...   It is appropriate to celebrate your success, and it is altogether appropriate that YOU decide how it should be done.  I know folks that have said, don't need the hoo hah, just send me the regalia.  And it is sent.    

Not a Troop /Pack/Crew person?   Then your beading should be where you feel you belong. Roundtable,  Camporee, where ever.  My friend received his at the District Award dinner.  He and thirteen others all had their beads and woggles awarded (I did my friend's). A "mass beading", took all of about 6 minutes, song and all.  I had mine at my home Troop CoH. It snowed alot and unfortunately most of my Patrol could not attend, but my WB SM and Patrol Guide managed.  Punch and cookies (obligatory) afterward.  

Wear the beads?   Not necessary.  "By their fruits ye shall  know  them."   Folks don't so much care what you wear around your neck, only how you help our Scouts along the way. 

Back to Gilwell....

[Eagledad]

My apologies, I can see my post was more direct and emotional than it had to be. Woodbadge is an honor of itself. I am a graduate and staffed two courses. And it's just a lot of fun. I don't want to take away from that at all. Scouts, however, don't have the experience to understand the passion that can come from the experience, so elaborate ceremonies intrude on their program. Scouts should respect efforts by other scouts and adults that improve their program. The recognitions should be planned within the context of the general audience. 

I love this scouting stuff.

Barry

Edited November 10, 2021 by Eagledad

[HtownScouter]

Thanks for your thoughts.  I don't have any control outside when / where I am beaded.  I thought about it some more.  I have always felt if about the youth, so if never happens, so be it. 

[BAJ]

Interestingly, my WB scoutmaster actually discouraged doing beadings at a Scout COH just because it added time to the program and his view was that Scout attention spans were such that it would be a net negative to do it there.  He and my troop guide really left it up to me how to do it — I (and actually quite a few others in my class) went out to the camp where WB was held for our beading.  But as other posters have suggested too, I’ve seen headings at Roundtable as well.

[fred8033]

On 11/10/2021 at 9:40 AM, elitts said:

I don't mind beadings at a Court of Honor (or other youth events) as long as it's kept to a very brief 1-3 minutes, but often times the overzealous beador drags things out to 5-10 minutes with songs and all that jazz and it really isn't appropriate at a ceremony designed to celebrate youth accomplishments.  I watched one (unwillingly) at a Scouting University that dragged on for nearly 15 minutes and you could tell that every scout and pretty much every non-WB adult was bored out of their minds.

If you don't have a current troop, I wouldn't worry about waiting for a CoH.  Beading ceremonies should be about celebrating the awardee, not advertising; and if it were me, the obligatory clapping of people I barely knew wouldn't mean very much.

100% agreed.

Except I'm more on the mode of 30 to 60 seconds planned with the knowledge that people being told 30 seconds will take two minutes.

One of my biggest COH regrets was allowing a person five minutes at our COH thinking they would be done in 3 or 4.  Then, they took 25 to 30 minutes.  NOW, I would absolutely pulled them when they went over the time I gave.  Then, I did not know better.  I thought they knew what they were doing. 

[malraux]

I think its entirely appropriate to either say that you don't have time for a full ceremony now, just mail me the regalia. Alternatively, 5 minutes before or 5 minutes after a district roundtable, committee meeting, etc. would also be fine. Or lunch/break time at a university of scouting event, etc. A short thing a one's own unit is fine, but intruding into someone else's unit seems weird.

[SiouxRanger]

@ThenNow having captured (been imposed upon) the position of Forum Dunce, so I'll just claim "stupid."  I'll even answer to ":stupid and clueless."

So, as I understand it, we have a volunteer who has spent 2 full weekends, at their expense, and perhaps 18 MONTHS WORKING THEIR TICKET to improve scouting at their level of involvement, and y'all are debating whether their beading ceremony should take 30 to 60 SECONDS, but GRACIOUSLY allow them 2 or 5 minutes?

And, as one poster suggests, if the scouts, in the ideal "boy led troop" does not invite the beading ceremony into its COH, it should not be allowed (apparently as that would be some primal violation of that which is "Scouting.")

Am I missing something?

I guess we would not want an adult leader, Wood Badge awardee near recipient, to be honored before the scouts who look up to her or him. Why give scouts another reason to respect a mentor?

(And as to the "boy led troop," concept, the "boys" are children and need A LOT of guidance in "their" leadership of their troop. And boys who are not guided by adults, things resort to William Golding's Lord of the Flies.)

[mrjohns2]

If I wasn’t an adult in a troop, or their unit commissioner, I wouldn’t do it at a COH. Do it where you normally do Scouting. Keep it to 5 mins.