Not enough participants.

[Eamonn 61]

Our Council is part of a Wood Badge cluster.

Along with six other Councils.

Back before the 21st Century course came along, we offered one course a year. (Back in them dark ages Cub Scout Trainer Wood Badge was a Regional course.) We now are supposed to offer two courses a year. Sadly this just isn't working.

 

We have a course planned for later this year.

Talking with the Staff Advisor this past Sunday, he says that they only have 22 people signed up and things don't look good. If they don't get 8 more by the end of this month the course will be canceled.

About the same time another Council in the cluster is also hosting a course (They are about 120 miles away from us.) They only have 15 people signed up.

While I'm not a rocket scientist, it would seem at this late date that one course has got to be canceled and participants invited to attend the other one.

I do feel bad for both staffs as both have worked hard on the course development. Some of them will have attended the Course Directors Conference, which isn't cheap and isn't a budget item.

Sadly so far it seems that neither course is willing to cancel. Both CD's feel that the 120 mile drive is just too far!!

Ea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gonzo1 10]

Hopefully, a compromise can be reached and hold the course somewhere between the two locations.

 

[local1400 10]

E, your header of "Not Enough Participants" has me a-wondering, is the pool of WB candidates thinned out? I am not a WBer, and don't ever plan on it, so I was thinking, because I don't know, would someone who has passed a WB course take it again? To me it seems that anyone who has taken a course is someone who has been/will be around the Scouting program awhile, while not many new Scouters are joining/staying/signing up.? (Sorry for the commas- each is a pause to think. I should have gone to sleep 3 hours ago, but no, I have to catch up).

[Gunny2862 11]

I'm still new here so forgive me if I am far afield on this but, here it seems to me that the Scouters around here think of Wood Badge as some kind of capstone course of training that only the oldest and wisest should attend. Only after you are fully trained for your position, for any position you previously held, only after you have served on the Committee, only when you are ready to quit being with the boys and start as a Commissioner should you attend Wood Badge. It's as though it is a recognition of service rather than a preparation for service.

[CrewMomma 10]

WOW Gunny2862, your post really threw me off!

 

I participated in a WB course last year and at the time I have been an adviser with my crew for only about 2 years. During my time on course I viewed Woodbadge as a great starting point for any adult leader that works with kids. It's a training course that teaches you principles on how to be a leader with both kids AND adults, they work with both groups! I would encourage any new leader to go through the training, not wait until they become an "old salt" in the program.

 

I'm training as a troop guide for this years program in our council, we are about 6 people short of having a full course for our September training session. We only hold one training session a year. We also work with another council whose course was too full, we took in their overflow!

[Gunny2862 11]

Don't get me wrong, but it is the attitude I am getting locally, not online, when I ask ask about what training is available and what sequence I should try to go to it.

[infoscouter 11]

Gunny,

 

Your council training committee needs to do some serious promotion and re-education.

 

"It is the goal of the BSA that every leader attend Wood Badge within two years of registering as an adult leader." (National Council web site)

 

Wood Badge used to be viewed as something for experienced Scouters. Wood Badge for the 21st Century is intended to be leadership training from which ALL leaders can benefit.

 

We have a local Pack that has FIVE Wood Badge trained leaders. Boy, are they going gangbusters! I'd love to see more Cub Leaders go, but we are still struggling with the mindset that it's a Boy Scout course, seven years into the 21st Century. I personally know a Cub Leader who was ostracized by the other leaders in her pack because she attended Wood Badge, and that's "a Boy Scout course, and not necessary for a Cub Scout Leader".

 

Our Council held three courses this year (including one in the winter - in Minnesota!) While they were not completely full, they all were well subscribed. Promotion is a big factor in getting people to sign up, but so is word of mouth. Leaders who talk about their Wood Badge experience to others are a greater factor in attendance than anything I know.

[Eamonn 61]

Please don't tell anyone,but I have to admit many of the best times I have had in Scouting have been when there isn't a kid in sight!!

Training and training's are a great place for adults to come out and play and have fun.

It seems I have now been "Promoted" to the rank of Old Codger?

I have been around Wood Badge and Wood Badge Training for a very long time -Over 30 years.

I have never attended a course that wasn't fun -Sure some were better than others.

I have never attended a course, no matter what position I held where I didn't come away with new ideas and having learned something. Again some courses gave me more than others.

Wood Badge Training is great and I'm a big fan.

I attended my first course back when I was very young (in my early twenties).

As I then lived not far from Chingford, I attended a course at Gilwell Park.

We were placed in Patrols and for the week played at being Boy Scouts (Scouts in the UK.)

Maybe I was just too young?

Maybe I was more focused on the Beads and the Cuckoo Patrol being the best and winning everything?

But looking back I'm not sure If I really "Got it".

The new course in not the old course.

Maybe it should never have kept the Wood Badge name?

It is a leadership course.

Many people who have attended these sort of courses before do complain that they have "Been there, done that".

You really don't have to be a grey beard or have vast Scouting skills to attend. The skills can help, but are not required.

If you haven't been.

Do give it a whirl.

If nothing else you are going to have a good time and you will learn as much from the people (Staff and participants) as you will from the course itself.

Ea.

 

 

 

[Gonzo1 10]

Eamonn,

You may have hit the nail on the head.

I took WB in '94, 3 weekends, 2 or 3 patrol meetings, it was more of an outdoors oriented course, sort of "advanced scoutmaster" type training. There was some touchy-feely stuff, some leadership and management, but not much.

 

 

[scoutldr 732]

In my case, the cost is off-putting. Units around here are on the small size and do not pay for WB, to my knowledge. So, just having spent over $1000 and a week of vacation time for the annual family "vacation", next week back at work and then another week of vacation time and $500 (camp fees, gas, and annual old codger physical) for summer camp. A third week off and $250 for WB just ain't in the cards.

[evmori 11]

I'm with Gonzo on this. I took WB in 1995 & it was structured the same way Gonzo described it. It seems the course has been made more of a management course with a Scouting feel.

 

The cost has always been high.

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[scoutldr 732]

With all due respect to those who work hard to put on a course, here at work over the past 20 years, I've suffered through Peters, Deming, Blanchard, Covey, Theory X, Theory Y, Kaizen, Cheese, and now "Lean Six Sigma", but they pay ME to do it. I don't see how it has affected our product one iota (since we're not a manufacturing company). Enough already. I suspect many of my middle manager/Scouter buds feel the same way.

[SueM 10]

Eamonn,

 

Don't give up hope yet..if it's like it is in our area, we hold our breath every time a course is offered and what I have seen both when I took the course in 2004 and when I staffed it last year (we only do it every 2 years due to having a hard time filling slots!) is that we're still not at that magic "30" number at 40 days out and then in that critical last week to 10 days, we start getting the applications in. Like everything else these days..it seems that people just wait until the last minute because they don't see the need to commit early!

 

Sue M.

[Eamonn 61]

Sue,

There is a set time that has to be met for the Region to give the green light for the course to go.

I would think if there were one or two open spaces, that permission would still be given, but with more than an entire Patrol? Who knows!!

Ea.

[SueM 10]

E,

 

Right..they have to have 30 -paid- participants, 30 days before the course. (It's the same "rule" with the NYLT too) And with my course..we were only at about 20 participants a week before that deadline and we were not sure that it was going to be a go up until that 30 day mark, when we got the notification that we had 32 participants! On the course last year then, we sweated it out again! We had lots of interest and even paid people, but they started dropping out for various reasons as the date approached for the course, so it was really close again and down to the wire. I think we ended up with 34 participants.

 

sue m.