jhankins

You should be placed in two separate patrols, but you'll have the chance to develop meaningful relationships with a whole new group of people both as a couple and as individuals. If you've got the child care worked out, I recommend you go. It's one of the best things I've ever done.

The minimum amount of time from Webelos to AoL is 9 months, isn't it? Three for rank and 6 months for AoL... Den/Patrol camping doesn't have to be just rjscout mentioned, it can be even backyard camping. In my neck of the woods, it's not uncommon for parents to have 1+ acres of desert land that can be modified into a campsite for the boys. For every month there isn't a council/pack campout or an outing, boys in my son's patrol will be camping in someone's backyard -- every month. Local museums offer great field trips for ABs. Council camps and Webelos Woods offer the chance to start partials on ABs in the field. Getting the boys "out," and exposed to other adult leadership in the community will start to open doors for them. We follow a 3 meeting/month format with one outing-- either camping, hiking, or to an AB. Sometimes the outing is just for fun, too! We took the boys on an EAA Young Eagle Flight for this month's cub scout theme. They didn't "earn" anything, but the interest in flying has sparked new enthusiasm in other areas. Hope that helps.

I've only seen parts of it. The gist of the message was: too many layers of management, no need for regional offices, divisions not talking to each other appropriately. Most of the peer surveys came from grass-roots professionals, but in the end, the biggest changes seemed to come at the national level.

I don't know about other councils and districts, but after running my district-wide survey, only 3% of my WDLs are trained. No wonder they have issues with crossing boys into Boy Scouts, using the activity badge program, and having boys earn AoL. Training is a first step, but also selecting WDLs who get the program. I agree that your WDLs should be of a different breed than your regular Cub Leaders. The emphasis on boy achievement outside parental involvement is key. Getting the boys to pack for themselves, camp in their own tents, etc... It all helps build the "Big Three" we're trying to teach Boy Scouts. I think the program is fine as written, it's the implementation by the Charter Orgs that lacks.

Maybe that's for the people with the National Hall of Leadership nominations?

The reviewers *should* have told the boy why his project didn't pass muster, and offers suggestions to make it an outstanding project, and how to rectify any issues. A simple conversation such as this could even challenge the boy to think outside the box and add to or change an aspect of his project. We do this in my council to great success. One boy realized while we talked that he himself wasn't dreaming and planning as big as he could physically take on with his available helpers, and his project in turn reached 100 more kids than it normally would have.

Thanks for the synopsis and posting. My only problem is the emphasis on "National Leadership" training for adults being PLC and SLC -- both incredibly demanding physically. There are some leaders that are dedicated to the point of being "national caliber" leaders, but wouldn't be able to partcipate in the physical rigors of the courses.

I use nylon thread. It's clear and quite thin. I double it up and it works really well, and I don't have to re-thread to sew on new patches. I also use a little Elmer's glue to anchor all the patches in place so I know where they're all going.

The Charter Organization's own personal liability insurance through National can be put at risk for this kind of thing. Ignorance is no excuse when it comes to insurance claims and the GSS. We've had 2 claims denied in our council because of two different tour permit issues, so when this canoe decision situation comes to light after an accident, I would hate to be a member of the Chartered Org. Each person could be held liable for damages. That's not a chance I would be willing to take. So, the committee wouldn't be able to put this on their tour permit, and they'd be leaving out a sanctioned part of their program. Bad idea.

Adult leaders who aren't staffing NYLT or Wood Badge shouldn't have to to go TE to do their jobs, though. We've done EDGE as a breakout at a Boy Scout RoundTable to a great success in teaching direct contact leaders what it is and how to use it to instruct the boys, then offer a chance to attend Wood Badge to get the "big picture."

I thought the unit numbers were insignia and not uniforming, therefor the change for the centennial effects everyone?

I'm a bit confused... When is your second weekend? According to the syllabus, all ticket items must be approved before leaving the course, I'm hoping I'm just not understand the process your council uses.

Your camping chair at the council level should also know what courses are being offered that aren't on the lnt.org website.

Scoutreach is a Division inside the scouting movement. Scoutreach in my council has its own Division Chair, Division Commissioner, as well as a Division Executive (Same pay as a District Exec).

We did something new this year. We had a COR training before the council annual business meeting. For the first time, we had 24 CORs show up for training. I wish you all could have seen the "Deer in the headlights" look on their faces as we taught them what their jobs were. What really helped get their attention was the fact that indeed, yes, they own their units, and they can ask their units for help in their mission as the CO. Every COR in the room had no idea about this. We're planning on doing this COR training more often in that kind of scenario. The more information a COR has, the better the chance they're going to want to help at the unit level.

All councils are chartered and allowed to exist by the national council. All councils have to follow the by-laws given at the national level. Those bylaws state that all districts are allowed to vote for a District Chairman, and those chairman are approved by the council board. Call national supply and ask for a copy. Every District and every charter org rep should have a copy in hand.

TDC and Trainer's EDGE are light years apart. I'm grateful for a class that includes how to make sure your audience is listening and how to use Powerpoint the right way instead of "How to make a Flannel Board." ... The NYLY syllabus has the requirement listed for Trainer's EDGE, but after reading the new 2010 admin guide and syllabus for WB, I didn't see it listed in there yet. However, the Area training committees are passing on the fact that it is mandatory to staff. I'd hate to see Course Directors or councils losing the right to hold courses over something so trivial as not taking training...

Staff itself is a large responsibility. Before I go on, just let me say, it's perfectly acceptable to ask the Course Director and his key staff what the time commitments are. There are 3 staff developments, usually 8-10 hours long, and one is usually an overnighter. In addition to that, some councils have special "Troop Guide Meetings" that are used for preparation for the TGs. There's also set-up days. In our council, it's just one day of set-up before each weekend of course. My ASM-P laid it on pretty thick last year: "As the Troop Guides for this course, you are the ones experiencing the syllabus and the stages of team development during the staff development. You are your own patrol as you go through this journey. When you get on course, you'll be representing the leadership of the course and you will be the face that communicates the goals, vision, and mission of Wood Badge to the participants." Uhm -- to me, those were big shoes to fill -- The Course Director's vision resting on the shoulder of the Troop Guides! The first weekend is really hectic for Troop Guides. Literally, you're "on" the entire 10-12 hour day without much of a break. Mentally, you've got to be prepared to guide your patrol through the days while keeping an eye on their development, looking for issues, as well as advising them on the entire process. The 2nd weekend is kind of a "skate" but there's still some work to be done in addition to approving ticket items. Don't be afraid to ask about time commitments in your council as well as how much the staff fee is. Those are all understanably sticking points for some of us.

For me, the patches represent a memory of the boys that I earned them with. I look at those Blue & Gold patches, or the camporees, and I recall my favorite memories from those events. When the boys see them on my patch blanket, they relive their favorite memories. My trained patches were hard-earned, and I'm proud to sew them on. It's like a rite of passage in some ways. It's not about the patch itself, really, it's just a way to recall all that it's about.

I went to Wood Badge one year after I started in Scouting. I had just finished my first year as a Tiger Den Leader and had moved up to Wolf Leader. Seeing the progression from Cubs to Boys to Venturing was incredibly beneficial for me. Being a woman, I was always viewing Scouting from the outside. Being in a patrol and doing the outdoor experience and the conservation project and having that camaraderie has been invaluable to my success. Now, two years after my course, I'm a 3 beader, District Training Chair, Pack Trainer, and a unit commissioner. I serve on the Eagle Board panel on occasion and have a better feeling for the program as a whole. Wood Badge not only taught me the core of Scouting and how to apply leadership to the youth we serve, but it filled in a lot of things I hadn't learned yet as a Cubber. Seeing how everything fits together as a Cubber really helps me feel like I can teach the boys better, knowing exactly what they'll be doing by experiencing it before I teach it.

What a shame, course directors choosing to add things to the syllabus and the ticket writing process. That's a whole other issue. Only the diversity ticket is required. The 360 is only offered as an option.

Do you have a copy of the membership committee book? You can request it at the scout store, or look for it online -- there's a new edition in pdf floating around somewhere. Our committee here is made up of: Venturing recruitment Webelos to Scout Transition School chairman (one for each area, we have 6) New Unit Transition Staff: NUTS -- haha Special Event Recruiter: Malls, Bass Pro, etc.. LDS Rep Catholic Rep Having people to help you tackle the many avenues of recruiting is important. Having your main organizations involved is helpful, too. In my district we're 70% LDS so having someone to help us with recruiting from within the church is important.

Our panel of board members are having lots of debate over scout spirit right now. It's becoming a huge issue. When an Eagle candidate walks into a board and insists there are only 11 points to the law, or doesn't even remember the oath as he states it in the board, some members wonder how the boy even got to Life when the requirements state they have to have it memorized... We're at a sort of impasse right now, and a few boys have been asked to return to board again for not having "scout spirit."

I don't think a commissioner has to have all of the answers, but should have a wealth of knowledge and wisdom of the program and share their enthusiasm with the units they serve. In my district we have a little of everything. We have LDS commissioners who work with all 4 programs in their wards. We have commissioners who work specifically with our traditional packs and troops, and we have chartered organizations that would like 1 commissioner for all 3 programs. I enjoy getting to work with a pack, troop and crew. I get to meet all sorts of parents, bridge the gaps in between to point each program back to helping the others, and it's a great way to see how issues within one program are affecting the success of the other.

Good for you! Would you be willing to share your notes? I'd love to pass them on to our troop's chaplain.