Wood Badge N6-82-11-2 - Fall 2011

Preparations are underway for the Fall 2011 NCAC Wood Badge course. I've begun selecting staff and making arrangements. I'm working on my vision and goals. Over and over, the skills I learned at Wood Badge as a participant are reinforced.

How do you select staffers for Wood Badge?

To begin with, a scout leader needs to have completed the course! A few years ago, the National council required that all Wood Badge staffers complete the Wood Badge for the 21st Century course. There have been other WB courses in the past and many fine leaders who have staffed these courses. But, I think it makes sense that a staffer needs to understand what it is like to take the current syllabus in order to lead it. Of course, it's not likely that a participant will see all the gems of the syllabus. Being a staffer increases the understanding immensely. Each time I have been on staff, I've learned something new and made a new connection.

Good staffers are good trainers. I've talked with fellow scout leaders about who in our council are part of their district training team, who have taught at Pow Wow and University of Scouting, are Roundtable Commissioners or lead a Council training team. These leaders need to be comfortable in front of a group and are willing to teach a syllabus and know how to make it interesting. Wood Badge is about leadership. It took me awhile to figure out why I was asked to be on staff and why I was eventually asked to be a Course Director. Becoming a good trainer has a lot to do with it.

Yes, it's a commitment. As part of the information staffers receive is a questionnaire that asks the leader to make the Wood Badge staff a top priority. That's no small request. Especially in an environment that generally sees leaders (especially good ones) wearing several hats. Development for the staff happens over six months. The course is two three-day weekends with a prep day for staff. Troop Guides for the course are required to meet with their patrols twice in between the two weekends of the course. It's better for a leader to say at the beginning, "it's too much to ask" then to say "I'll try and make it work." I respect someone much more for saying no because there are other important priorities in their life. It's better to say no at the onset, then to say no when we're in the middle of preparing for Day 1 of the course.

I'm grateful for those who tell me no as much as those who tell me yes they can be on staff. I know all things happen for a reason. God has a plan. I look forward to discovering God's plan for me on this journey and for helping the leaders who ultimately end up on staff and for the participants who take Wood Badge to discover God's plan for them as well.

“There is no teaching to compare with example.” Baden-Powell