Junior Leader Training

[Eagledad]

>>To think that the BSA program is developed by suits with no unit experience is really just an emotional and ill-informed rant.

[Bob White]

If this was ever a secret it was poorly kept. When you look at the troop and see it is lead by voluntters, you see the district program is run by volunteers, you see that the council program is run by volunteers, what leads people to believe the structure stopped there?

 

When was the last time you asked anyone? Show of hands. How many people ever asked their local professional to explain the organization of Scouting beyond the part you can see in your council?

 

[T164Scoutmaster]

BW you said I would need to take the course in order to teach it. I disagree. I would only need to prepare my self for the course by reviewing the materials.

 

Week before last I went to our district cub speciffic training to take pack comm. As any good scout would do I read the sylabus and reviwed the ppt presentations prior to going. Upon arrival in the morning the district training staff was short handed. I ended up being the instructor and took the time while NLE was happening to prepare my teaching outline. We are not talking about rocket science here. We are talking about dissemenating information. I have enough personal expereinece to enlighten the basic curriculum and am not shy about being in front of people. One of the people taking the class was the District Chairman, his feed back was excellent.

 

Now I am not saying that wb21st is teh same as pack comm, but I also think that the end result is the same share the information and allow people to understand it.

 

WB21st easily could be treated as an update or a transisition program to bring old timers up to speed and allow them the current curriculum wihtout saying their old woodbadge has no merit any more. A TTT for 21st wood badge is the way to go. Just going through the course doesn't prepare you to be on staff i can tell you that. the Course prework and the mentoring of the staff and direction of the staff is what prepares you for being on staff for the course.

 

Yours in Scouting,

 

 

[Bob White]

I know you say you are not comparing reading a 2 hour course syllabus to a 6-day syllabus...but you did, and you are right, the two situations are not related in any way.

 

WB21 is not an update, it is not a transitional course.of the previous course, It is an entirely different course. You could not hold a class to update people who have taken the previous course train them to teach this course, it woulkd take days, so the orientation is to take the enrire course. Just as you did with the previous version before you were considered for staff.

 

No one is saying that the previous versions (and there have been more than 1) of Wood Badge have no value, like you I initially took an earlier course. The 11 skills of leadership served me very well in and out of scouting. But it is not the same course as WB for the 21st Century is. Just as I am sure that someday it wil be replaced by another version. At which time if we wanted to be on staff we will likely have to take that course as participants again as well.

 

You were required to take the previous course as a participant before being considered for staff, you are being asked to do no more than that with this new course.

 

 

 

 

[acco40]

Let's try to keep this topic on training junior leaders and if others want to discuss Wood Badge staffing requirements they can spin off a new thread.

 

I agree with the fact that the Scoutmaster's primary focus should be training the youth. However, if the SM does not get support and has to direct their energies elsewhere, this is one of the first things that seems to fall by the wayside.