Yesterday and Today are Linked

Baden-Powell was a man of vision. When he designed the first Wood Badge course, he was looking to train adults to become good leaders. It was titled Scoutmaster Training. The essentials included learning the Patrol method, troop organization and scout skills. The intent in B-P’s vision was to help the Scoutmasters to learn how to lead their troops.

Today’s course, Wood Badge for the 21^st Century is designed around this vision – helping adults become better leaders. I think the combination of the activities and the lectures strike the right note to accomplish this tone.

Last Saturday, I attended the NCAC annual planning conference. I dutifully brought the display board to advertise Wood Badge and plenty of brochures. Mainly, I was there because I’m on the NCAC Leadership Development Committee as the coordinator of Trainer’s EDGE for our Council. Trainer’s EDGE is the course that Scout leaders who are either District trainers, Unit trainers, or staffers for Wood Badge or NYLT must attend. NCAC conducts a really great course – not because of me, but because of the predecessors who developed the way we present the syllabus. The staffers are excellent trainers who Explain, Demonstrate, Guide and Enable (EDGE) how to conduct scout training (or any training for that matter).

Anyway, I was at the planning conference, at Camp Snyder in Haymarket, Virginia at 8:00am on a Saturday morning. Drinking my coffee… talking with scout leaders I know, some of whom I haven’t seen in awhile. I was wearing my “Ask Me About Wood Badge” pin that we made to help promote the course (and seems to work, because people ACTUALLY ask me about Wood Badge!). A fellow scout leader approached me to talk about how he would never set foot on a current Wood Badge course. An interesting way to begin a conversation, I knew this guy wanted to tell me his story. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear all the things wrong with the course. It’s a bit like having someone tell you all the things wrong with your children. You may know they’re all true, but you’re not sure you want someone actually tell you about it. Especially someone you don’t even know. Who was this guy anyway??

As it turned out, he didn’t even take the course in our council. And it was years ago. And it was the old syllabus. I’ve heard from others who took the pre 21^st Century course that the staff didn’t really interact with the participants and that participants were discouraged from talking to the scoutmaster at all (this I think was in an effort to illustrate the patrol method). Apparently, the course this scouter attended followed this plan and it came across as a very elitist staff. This guy was completely turned off by it.

Then, to add insult to injury (at least for him), the Wood Badge for the 21^st Century administration directives includes that staffers have to have attended the new course. This scouter saw it as a ruling by National that those who haven’t taken the 21^st Century course are not worthy to be staffers. (Which really isn’t the case, but this guy already had a negative attitude.)

One of my colleagues happened by when we were talking and he heard the conversation and stopped. He’s taken both courses. He’s staffed both courses. Previously we had talked about how he sees this syllabus as so much better because of the differences in the role of staffers interacting with the participants. So I knew he might have an impact with this guy, since he’s been in both camps.

Unfortunately, this scout leader’s injury runs pretty deep.

What a shame. I am hopeful that we at least gave him something to think about. That, circumstances can change. Mistakes can be corrected. Things can get better.

It also made me realize how careful we all must be – imagine if this was a youth who’s experience with a particularly gruff scoutmaster or patrol leader was similar. He’d just quit, most likely.

We have a responsibility to do our best and to live up to the Scout Oath and Law. The Cub Scout Core Values includes Compassion. The Boy Scout Law says a Scout is Kind. That includes the adults we work with in the program.

And the people we encounter every day.

It’s a lot to live up to. I hope folks will forgive me when I don’t always live up to it. I’ll try and do the same.