Jay K 15 Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Go to Wood Badge because you aren't afraid to try something new, because it is part of the training continuum, and because it was started by RSS Baden-Powell. It's not about you, it's about the betterment of Scouting. It's a little odd to hear what amounts to " I'm too good for Wood Badge." In another thread, one asked, "IS Scouting becoming too prissy?" Not if the people in it aren't prissy. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Basementdweller 608 Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 So is Woodbadge responsible for the Prissy Troops????? I think it is at least partly responsible.... I am an advocate for Advance Outdoor skills course AOS...... To be an SM you are required to take this course....To be an ASM you must take IOLS..... Because in this day and age.....More and More gals and inexperience men are stepping up to be SM and simply don't have a clue. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
qwazse 4342 Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Had a long conversation with the Jambo contigent SM, He is also the SM for the local NYLT training. as you can imagine most of the boys in the Jambo Troop had also attended NYLT in his troop. Well much to his dismay, NONE of the NYLT attendees volunteered for Senior positions of leadership in the Jambo troop. His the Jambo ASM is more cynical of NYLT calling it a waste of time and only the privileged scouts can go........ I went to the course 30 something years ago.....I found it helpful and had a good time. I was going to try and send a couple of boys summer 2014. Not sure why anyone would expect NYLT to be a slam-dunk qualification for SPL. I'm also not sure why it's a problem if all of your trained kids take non-SPL positions. If the non-SPLs truly have NYLT koolaid in their blood, they ought a be servant-leaders regardless of the patch on their sleave. They will help the SPL be successful. Maybe the one kid who was not NYLT trained was busy being a den chief, going to camp with the troop and the pack, and being a camp counselor at his church. Son #2 and a buddy wound up taking the VLST (yes, the adult leader course for venturers, long story) earlier this year. Then his buddy wound up being SPL and chose him for an assistant. Neiher had any other position-specific training and they really did a bang-up job at camp this week. At closing campfire, the SPL (last year with e troop) thanked me for steadily pushing him into leadership. None of our boys are NYLT trained because it is always held on our summer camp week. They just get it into their heads that the SM and I don't give a rodent's burro about patches on their sleeves. We expect them to lead at all times, and command respect of their peers. That way, any contingent leader can see their unit # and 1st class rank and know they are looking at the right stuff. Link to post Share on other sites
Stosh 3452 Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Had a long conversation with the Jambo contigent SM, He is also the SM for the local NYLT training. as you can imagine most of the boys in the Jambo Troop had also attended NYLT in his troop. Well much to his dismay, NONE of the NYLT attendees volunteered for Senior positions of leadership in the Jambo troop. His the Jambo ASM is more cynical of NYLT calling it a waste of time and only the privileged scouts can go........ I went to the course 30 something years ago.....I found it helpful and had a good time. I was going to try and send a couple of boys summer 2014. This is what happens when people make stupid rules. Unless you have NYLT you can't lead. Unless you have 21st Century WB you can't lead. It always makes me chuckle when I see rules like this and people pass on the wisdom of the elders. Like the company who hires the young person right out of college because they have all the latest and greatest knowledge offered on the market today. And yet they pass on the older worker who in fact made the market what it is today. Instead of the latest fad floating around, the older person can pick and chose from their mega years of experience what will work best in this situation. While over 50 years of hunting I have always only used one shot for every deer I have brought down. That doesn't mean I don't carry extra ammo. Link to post Share on other sites
Nike 94 Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 I'm going to agree with Basement on this. One reason we don't have a lot of outdoor oriented troops in GS is because we lost all our die-hard campers to retirement. Many of our new GS leaders don't have outdoor skills or even experiences from being Scouts, outdoor enthusiasts, or in the military. We have weak and inconsistent outdoor training. Many people don't feel competent and they don't want to take the risk. IOLS, or whatever it's called now, is asked to do too much. If an SM doesn't have solid first year skills, how can he model and teach them? Link to post Share on other sites
Stosh 3452 Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 The gal I married was a Daisy GSUSA scout. She grew up in the Twin Cities. However, she chose a life dedicated to nature. She holds a degree in Forestry, spent many years in Alaska working for US Forestry Service, and is a Master Gardener. She is an avid kayaker and looks her best in blue jeans, flannel shirt and hiking boots. We got married in Wisconsin in January and her only complaint was it wasn't snowing for our outdoor wedding. All outdoor skill, love and preferences are all learned along the way in one's life journey. I was fortunate to have an outdoorsy family growing up. But that is not a prerequisite for scouting. I have enjoyed sun-baked afternoons in a canoe fishing the BWCA and I have had to learn how to run a chainsaw to cut the roads clear at the campground after the tornado rolled through. I wouldn't trade the journey for anything in the world. The outdoor program of BSA (as it once was) isn't for the faint-hearted, but it could be. Sometimes dragging a kid out of the video game room in the basement out into the sunshine is an adventure in itself. Not all parents are convinced it's what's best for their mush-brained kids. Give me a Philmont contingent of what BP calls Real Scouts and I'll show you a trip of a lifetime. Even if a future SM has AOS and IOLS, it doesn't mean he/she's ready. One has to have the heart for adventure to make it work. Link to post Share on other sites
CBowers0766 10 Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 WOW, I guess I went through a different course than all of you did. I am a firm believer in the course, so much so that I am in the middle of Staffing my second course. True enough that they push it push it, push it, and yes the presentations at events where all involved are already beaded are tiresome at best. My Wood Badge Experience brought me a great many things, first among them was the guidance it gave me in transitioning from 24 years in the Military to Civilian life. In the realm of Scouting, all of my duties are now at the District and above level, but I have served as ASM and SM on more than one occasion, Wood Badge lets me go into a Unit and see what is wrong(if anything) and I can as a Commissioner GUIDE those Units to the correct path. Yes, it is based in Corporate Training, yes, Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing are stressed over and over, because they are important, even a Scouter with little experience in the program, should be able to recognize the Stages of Team Development and guide the rest to a satisfactory conclusion. Lastly, but certainly not leastly, I would point out the lasting and deep Network of friends I have acquired through Wood Badge, they have in many cases become extensions of my own family...:-D 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Basementdweller 608 Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Just last week..... The time is 10 PM at an unnamed scout camp after a day of rain and lightning. Picture an indoor Evening campfire program due to bad weather. Picture dining hall full of wet boy scouts numbering about 200 sitting on the floor.... picture their also wet leaders..... Picture outdoor temps in the mid 80s and 100% humidity light fog/mist hanging in the air. Picture no AC. Picture a Beading Ceremony that went 48 minutes long including calling all the woodbadger from the audience to the front for a round of Gilwell.....Yes I timed it..... WAY OUT OF LINE AGAIN. The boys could have cared less Link to post Share on other sites
packsaddle 753 Posted July 2, 2013 Author Share Posted July 2, 2013 Just last week..... The time is 10 PM at an unnamed scout camp after a day of rain and lightning. Picture an indoor Evening campfire program due to bad weather. Picture dining hall full of wet boy scouts numbering about 200 sitting on the floor.... picture their also wet leaders..... Picture outdoor temps in the mid 80s and 100% humidity light fog/mist hanging in the air. Picture no AC. Picture a Beading Ceremony that went 48 minutes long including calling all the woodbadger from the audience to the front for a round of Gilwell.....Yes I timed it..... WAY OUT OF LINE AGAIN. The boys could have cared less Wow. Mind-boggling. Link to post Share on other sites
King Ding Dong 540 Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Just last week..... The time is 10 PM at an unnamed scout camp after a day of rain and lightning. Picture an indoor Evening campfire program due to bad weather. Picture dining hall full of wet boy scouts numbering about 200 sitting on the floor.... picture their also wet leaders..... Picture outdoor temps in the mid 80s and 100% humidity light fog/mist hanging in the air. Picture no AC. Picture a Beading Ceremony that went 48 minutes long including calling all the woodbadger from the audience to the front for a round of Gilwell.....Yes I timed it..... WAY OUT OF LINE AGAIN. The boys could have cared less Unfortunately, Word Economics seems to have been left off the syllabus at Woodbadge. When a Woodbadger starts his speech it is time to excuse yourself for the restroom. Link to post Share on other sites
eaglewolfdad 37 Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 Just last week..... The time is 10 PM at an unnamed scout camp after a day of rain and lightning. Picture an indoor Evening campfire program due to bad weather. Picture dining hall full of wet boy scouts numbering about 200 sitting on the floor.... picture their also wet leaders..... Picture outdoor temps in the mid 80s and 100% humidity light fog/mist hanging in the air. Picture no AC. Picture a Beading Ceremony that went 48 minutes long including calling all the woodbadger from the audience to the front for a round of Gilwell.....Yes I timed it..... WAY OUT OF LINE AGAIN. The boys could have cared less Just had the same thing happen at our Cub Scout Day Camp. The after lunch speaker was delayed for a beading ceremony. The good news was that it only took 20 minutes, the bad news was that you had over 200 cubs of all ages sitting in the sun watching something that they knew nothing about nor cared. I still don't understand why someone would put on a uniform in the middle of the day and drive out to camp to receive beads in front of people they did not even know. Link to post Share on other sites
JoeBob 606 Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 Just last week..... The time is 10 PM at an unnamed scout camp after a day of rain and lightning. Picture an indoor Evening campfire program due to bad weather. Picture dining hall full of wet boy scouts numbering about 200 sitting on the floor.... picture their also wet leaders..... Picture outdoor temps in the mid 80s and 100% humidity light fog/mist hanging in the air. Picture no AC. Picture a Beading Ceremony that went 48 minutes long including calling all the woodbadger from the audience to the front for a round of Gilwell.....Yes I timed it..... WAY OUT OF LINE AGAIN. The boys could have cared less It's the old 'Lead by Example' thingie: 1- Don't know your audience. 2- Don't respect their time. Your parade is more important. 3- Feed them pablum that they won't understand and that doesn't apply to them. Link to post Share on other sites
Basementdweller 608 Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 The beading ceremony needs to go away..... The over blown equivelent to 5 eagle projects..... I will repeat again.......What adult worth his weight can't do 5 eagle projects in 18 months....... Oh then there are the really bad ticket items.....Attempt to lose weight.....Date night with the wife......Attempt to spend time with daughter...... I just don't get the over blown pomp and circumstance...... To me it is just marketing...... Link to post Share on other sites
King Ding Dong 540 Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 The beading ceremony needs to go away..... The over blown equivelent to 5 eagle projects..... I will repeat again.......What adult worth his weight can't do 5 eagle projects in 18 months....... Oh then there are the really bad ticket items.....Attempt to lose weight.....Date night with the wife......Attempt to spend time with daughter...... I just don't get the over blown pomp and circumstance...... To me it is just marketing...... I have seen so many of these things in the past few months I am starting to get the idea these guys bead them selves once for each ticket item. Oh, and I have news for you. We already know what a Turks knot is, I don't need a five minute explanation ! Link to post Share on other sites
packsaddle 753 Posted July 3, 2013 Author Share Posted July 3, 2013 In my best imitation of Father Guido Sarducci, "I blama myselfa". I knew there was a risk that starting this thread would just bring the complaints and I have to admit my amusement at the dark humor of a lot of this so I'm not saying you guys need to stop it necessarily. BUT in the spirit of rekindling the original intent of the thread, ...thinking.....oh, what the heck, just carry on. Link to post Share on other sites
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