SueM

Absolutely agree on the networking benefit of Wood Badge! It has been really wonderful for me. I am naturally very shy and had a very hard time not being intimidated by many of the staff...but through getting to know them as they rotated through having meals with us, etc. I was able to start to relax and have gotten to be friends with many of them. It always surprises me though that they seem to not only remember me, but also seem to respect me!!! Even among the participants...as we all got to know each other during the down time, it was really fun. The whole group came together as a family. We watched out for one another if there were any issues (and there were a couple!) and tried to support those who were having difficulty,no matter what patrol they were in. It is still wonderful to run into the others here and there and see what they are accomplishing!! We have a local Wood Badge Association, so I do keep up to date as much as possible with what the others are doing and who is completing their tickets.

sue m.

I would suggest that you go to (or call) the council office and request a print out of his record to make -sure- that he has the MB's not only completed but recorded. We have started doing this routinely when boys are close to Eagle because we have found that sometimes even though we KNOW the advancement forms have been turned in, somehow they don't get recorded!! If there is a question then we also have the boys bring their MB Cards (or copies of them) in so that we can verify things. It's better to get this straightened out before he starts the Eagle Application process!

sue m.

eagle-pete,

I think our course was designed to make us think for ourselves...by that I mean that things were presented in a very adult manner. The staff was not condescending in any way and it was apparent from the first day that they expected us to think our way through any issue them and come up with the "solutions" if you will for how they expected things to be done.

Many of the attendees had said that they had been through similar leadership training either in the military (since this is a big military area) or on their jobs, so for them, much of the course was review work. The trick then was to apply that knowledge to scouting. Most had a general understand of what was expected of us as far as the team building and scout spirit goes. We (the beaver patrol) were able to come together immediately though we were all total strangers, with different backgrounds and talents and personalities, and form a cohesive team within the first 2 hours of the course and we stayed that way.

For me personally it was just challenging enough...It made you think every step of the way. I took the course to challenge myself to grow..to help overcome some obstacles in my own life self confidence wise, as well as to help better the troop for the long term, so for me, it was a wonderful experience.

My second patrol mate just got his beads last night and we were all there to support him, the 3rd member is getting his next week..and I am getting mine in December.

sue m.(This message has been edited by SueM)

Eagle Pete,

I think it's interesting to hear about how courses in other places are presented. Our course director and SPL set very high standards of expectations for us in everything we did, which is not a bad thing...they made us earn our beads, for sure!!

Though we donated our project board to the District to use at other events, I eventually gained custody of it and I take it with me when the boys do district events and put it up somewhere on display. We had fun putting it together. Did you know that there was once a boy scout doll???? That was one of the interesting finds that I came up with in my research!

sue m.

anarchist,

Exactly! We are taught(and teach) at BSLT "If it ain't broken, don't try to fix it!...meaning that many well functioning troops have been ruined by well meaning, newly trained adult leaders who come in and want to immediately "fix" thing that they think are wrong or that are "not by the book"! While there's nothing wrong with opening up the discussion of perceived issues within troops, most times it's not a good idea IMO, to make mass -immediate- changes.

Sue M.

>But I continuely get a kick out of folks "newly arrived" into

>on going programs who don't like something, someone and stamp >their feet and want it immediately changed to meet their >expectations...and when it doesn't happen the BSA AIMS AND >METHODS MANTRA begins....and its always the twits fault for not >following the methods...And trust me, I have been there, done >that and bought the tee shirt! I have spent the last nine years >helping in a major effort turning a program, not around maybe, >but certainly into a new direction. We rolled up our sleves and >went to work from the inside and helped drag our troop into the >20th century (maybe soon we will enter the 21st?).

You know.. this doesn't answers any questions, but the older I've gotten, the more I've come to realize that life is not strictly Black & White anymore! We sometimes have to be flexible with things and make some consessions at times too. Every week, when we recite the Scout oath, we say "On my honor I will -DO MY BEST-" to follow those principles...doesn't mean that neither I nor the boys have to be perfect, or that we'll never make a personal misjudgment or mistake..we're all human after all, but we still try to do the best that we can and learn from those mistakes and do better next time.

I believe that we all do our best to TRY to deliver the program as closely as possible, but sometimes things just don't work as they should no matter how hard you try..I don't think that makes anyone a bad scouter any more than making a personal mistake does!!

sue m.

Eagle Pete,

But how did you have the time and ability to research your project?? At our course, we had to first develop the idea for it and have it approved by the SPL. The subject had to include all areas of scouting. Our project was the history of scouting uniforms and their were 4 of us in the patrol, so each of us took a specific branch of scouting and we researched how the uniforms looked over the years, got pictures and put together a big presentation board with it all. (I did Exploring & Varsity) We then had to present it to the troop with an approx. 15 minute lecture on the second weekend. We could have never done that without the time in between at home to do the research..

sue

Maybe it was home made! In this age of technology, there are not a lot of things that you can't produce on a home computer yourself...or know of someone who can custom make something. We have a local private school that has a Fleur de Lis as their school symbol and you'll be driving around and see one on the back of a vehicle and immediately think it's scout related!

>One sign for sure that I have seen is the Wood >badge beads.

>Anyone that I have met with the beads has met my >expectations of what a Scouter is.

I was thinking about this statement again this morning and I'm not sure if I'll be able to explain it right but it occurred to me that maybe you have it backwards..it's possibly not that Wood Badger's are better Scouters because of taking the training...It could be that many dedicated Scouters just tend to take the Wood Badge training more readily..if that makes sense! And would you recognize the same contributions of these people without the visible sign of them wearing beads?? There are many dedicated scouters out there who get overlooked every day. We can't minimize the contribution that any of them make...large or small!

sue m.

I have a question about the week long courses...how do you have the time and materials needed to work on a patrol projects???

We run our local course over 2 weekends, with 3 weeks in between. They run from Friday morning through late Sunday afternoon for week one and Saturday - late Monday afternoon for week 2.

sue m.

My thought is very much the same as Ed's...to me a Scouter is someone who always keeps what is in the best interest of the boys first and foremost in everything they do!

sue m.

Answer to second question, yes..They can complete the Eagle project any time as a Life Scout and do not have to have all the Eagle required badges earned before they do it. As long as they get the other requirements done, the project signed off through the council level and the SM's conference done before the scout turns 18.

sue m.

Scoutnut

I'm not going to belabor the subject either because it is a bit off the original question (for which I apologize for the side track) but just a quick comment and then no more...I see those things as a -benefit- of becoming an Eagle and not the only reason to do it.

To the original question, I still would encourage the whole troop to participate as much as possible any time one comes up. I think that by helping at these projects, it helps the younger boys see both what work is involved in doing them and it may also start to help them form ideas for their own future projects.

Sue M.

You might also remind them that someday it will be THEIR turn to be asking for help on their

Eagle projects and if they don't support the others now, why should they expect support when their time comes!!!

I have an issue in my own troop with the attitude from the boys that when you ask them why they want to become an Eagle Scout, the only reason they give is that "it looks good on a college application (or job resume)" and this perception is promoted by a good many of the other adult male leaders too!! I sat down with my Life scouts about a month ago and we had an Eagle project workshop and I went over how to fill out the project books..what I expected to see in a presentation and to specifically talk about this but I started to address the perception of only doing it because it "looked good" with them and as I was trying to get the other points of it being a leadership thing, in walks an adult and says "and it really looks good on a college application!"....I could have SCREAMED!!

Sue M.

Congratulations!! You'll LOVE Wood Badge! It is one of the best experiences that you'll ever have in Scouting! It will help you to both define and reach your vision for your troop and help you learn how to build a better team! If you're -really- lucky, you'll also get to be in the Beaver patrol!!

sue m.

gwd-scouter,

I too am a female Scoutmaster...the first one in our district too! At least in my case, the district has been 100% behind me, as were most of the other adult leaders. I did meet with a bit of resistance from some boys, who did drop out, but that's their problem, not mine! I also just finished my first offical full year of being the Scoutmaster, in a troop that sounds very much the same situation that you face. I can attest that you can not expect overnight "miracles" when you're trying to make these major changes in the way a troop runs. In my case, while I'm slowly making progress with the remaining older boys, I am focusing on rebuilding from the bottom up. My new scout patrol is very strong..I have a wonderful adult leader who is helping to bring them along properly and setting the standard for the other boys to follow.and they're starting to understand, little by little. It took me the first whole year to begin to build a foundation for and with the boys and with the recent troop elections..they're now ready to try and start taking over. When I took over, a very wise friend told me "You don't have to be perfect to be a success" Hang in there...keep to your "vision" and if you haven't done it...please consider going to Wood Badge if you can. It will really help you learn how to make that vision come to life over time. It is tough to gain the respect of some of these "old school" people but just continue to do the job the best as you can and they'll soon have to accept things!

Sue M.

One thing that we teach in New Leaders Essential is that if you want to get more people involved, sometimes you have to -invent- simple jobs for them to do and then give them lots of praise and encouragement when they do the job. It also helps to just try and get to know your parents and their own areas of interest, so if something comes up in that area, you can tap into them for help. And the most important thing to do is to ask...ask...ask...if you keep asking, sooner or later they will do the job just to get you off their backs!!

I promise..I'll stop after this but something reminded me about it yesterday..I don't know if you all have seen these or not, but they gave them to us at our course..

sue

You might be a Wood Badger...

If you've ever suddenly slammed n the brakes because you thought you saw a patrol critter at a yard sale

If you've ever received a speeding ticket because you were running late and were afraid you'd miss the SONG

If you've ever found yourself spending ten dollars or more playing a game of chance at a carnival because the top prize was a stuffed Kudu

If you were ever late for work because you couldn't find your patrol flag

If you named one of your kids Baden

If you you raise your hand to the Scout sign at a heated business meeting

If you hang your totem on the doorknob of the Holiday Inn while on vacation

If the fountain at your wedding had bug juice in it

If your baby's first words were "Back to Gilwell"

If you don't understand why tuxedos don't come with beads and a woggle

If you walk the streets in broad daylight with a coffee cup and flashlight hanging from your belt

If your coat of arms features a Kudu

If your have a broken storm door, yet a perfectly good service patrol shovel

If your idea of a trip to the Holy Land means Gilwell Park in London

...You Might Just Be a Wood Badger!!!

aardvark,

Is this the really nice dark brown beaver hand puppet that you can use your fingers in the arms to make it scratch itself???? I saw one of those earlier in the summer but haven't picked it up yet. I have the finger puppet version though! I do have the Beaver Crossing sign too...and the 2 Beanie Babies and also a Beaver in a can that our troop guide gave us. One of my patrol mates took the sole off an old pair of shoes and made us all a beaver tail and attached it to a nametag!

Last weekend at our Fall Camporee, the boys had set up an ax yard and had a log in it. They weren't really using it so I took all my critters and put them out on the log and I have a picture of a standing Beaver that I printed out with the words "Beavers RULE!!" on it and I tacked that to the can.

One thing that I just did with my boys a couple of months ago was a butterfly house. I was just looking for some kind of project for them to do and I had the plans. Granted..they're not known to be terribly useful but they can be decorated and maybe used in a project somewhere else as a decoration. They were very simple and required only 2 boards, and a couple of hinges and some nails and screws.

sue m.

A friend of mine who went through the first WB for 21st Century course (our council only has it every 2 years) said that one of the people in his course threw all his stuff into the river as they took the ferry back after the course was over...thought it was a total waste of time!! I know that a lot of people have done similar courses and knew most of the stuff..including one of my patrol members, but they at least tried to put it into a scouting perspective and made an effort to get something more from it. We actually lost one of our patrol members who felt the rest of us were "not taking it seriously enough" because we had a lot of fun in the learning process.

As my ticket counselor and I were going over my ticket and signing things off last week, she asked me what I thought of the course and if I'd do it again and my answer was "In a heartbeat!!" It was one of the most memorable experiences I've had in my adult life!

sue

Ah...I see...we were never given a specific minimum time restriction but it was clear that they wanted real effort and no easy quick tickets. My big ticket item was taking over as scoutmaster for a year, so I knew that it was going to take me that period of time. The other stuff I could have had all complete within 3 1/2 months if I'd have really pushed it.

It would be cool if you could do the beading at the church! We had a surprise Eagle presentation once for a boy after church..he was insistant that he didn't want anything but I got together with the parents and the CC (we all go to the same church) and decided to just do a very simple thing for him...I think that he appreciated it in the end.

sue

On our last night, the Staff said they were going for their "special dinner" but it was obvious that they didn't leave and they were holed up in the main building. One of my patrol mates had brought a whole can of BS Popcorn and a popper and we had a troop campfire and had a blast! We told jokes, stories, etc. and popped nearly the whole darn can of popcorn...dumped it in a dish washing tub and passed it around until everyone was practically sick. Around 10:00 pm, the whole troop very quietly snuck down to the main building with our burner & Popcorn maker and popped a batch outside of the building while we sang just the Antelope verse of Gilwel. We had 2 antelopes on staff (including our SPL) and we thought that since they never got included in the song during the course that it might be a fun gesture. We left them with a tub of popcorn to share and went back to camp! They seemed highly appreciative of the gesture the following morning.

sue m.

Cool! That's the same one I have then! (Since the Bass Pro shop is part of Outdoor world!! I actually have mine on my instrument panel in my van..It sits very nicely in there!

sue

Ok Wood Badge'rs...how many critters do you have in your "collection" (we all know you can't pass up a new addition!!) and what is the most unusual?

I haven't really counted mine, but I think the most unusual would be the Beaver Bobblehead that I found recently at Outdoor World!!

sue m.