Wood Badge Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Why go to Wood Badge?
A: The purpose of Wood Badge is to develop skilled leaders who can strengthen Scouting units in achieving the mission of the Boy Scouts of America:
The Mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them
the values of the Scout Oath and Law.
You go to Wood Badge to improve your leadership of small groups and your understanding of how teams develop. The heart of Wood Badge is small group leadership.
You can find most of the leadership lessons taught at Wood Badge in the self-help section of your local bookstore. But those books lack the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law, and they don’t include Scouting-specific connections that convert abstract leadership lessons into something you can actually use.
And unlike your office’s awkward team-building outings, everyone at Wood Badge actually wants to be there.
Oh – and it’s great fun too.
Q: Who should attend Wood Badge?
A: Wood Badge is for all leadership positions, both volunteer and professional, across all of Scouting’s programs; Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Varsity, Venturing, Exploring, and Sea Scouts. ALL leaders can benefit from Wood Badge!
This training is not only for Scouting. It also helps people at work, in school, church, with other groups, as well as in your family.
Q: I don’t have strong outdoor/camping skills and they are not required for my position. Will this be a problem?
A: While outdoor skills are always helpful, there will be others who can share their knowledge with you. You may learn some outdoor skills while at Wood Badge, but it is not the primary purpose of the course. The purpose of Wood Badge is to teach leadership and team building.
Q. What if I cannot afford the Course fee?
A. We want Wood Badge to be available to all Scouters. There are scholarship funds available through the Council’s Opportunity Fund and the Herbert Huffman Memorial Fund. Your unit, chartering organization, or employer may provide funds to assist your attendance. The VFW and AFL-CIO also offer scholarship funds. For more information on these funds, please contact Course Director Mrs. S. at W1.492.15@gmail.com
Q. How does Wood Badge training relate to the Council National Youth Leadership Course?
A. Wood Badge is designed to teach adult leaders Team Development. The youth program teaches the leadership skills at a youth level. Both teach through a combination of presentations and practice, using the patrol as the team to be developed.
Q. How can I find out what patrol I will be in? Can I choose?
A. Patrols will be assigned by the Course Director based on many criteria including balancing the experience and background of the participants, and distributing people from the same district or units to different patrols. Specific requests will rarely, if ever, be honored. It’s best not to get too concerned about which patrol you will join.
Q: You said that Wood Badge is for all Scout leaders. Why is the patrol method used?
A: The patrol method, devised by Scouting founder Robert Baden-Powell, organizes Scouts into small groups. But when was the last time you actually worked in a patrol-like group yourself? At your day job, perhaps, or in your own troop all those years ago?
Wood Badge doesn’t teach “Boy Scouting”. Wood Badge teaches leadership. In order to teach leadership skills, the patrol method is used as a vehicle for teaching leadership during most of the course. The key to learning to work together with a team is to leverage the diversity of the members of the team. Everyone has something to offer. Utilizing the strengths of each member contributes to the strength of the whole. Remember – the patrol method is simply the vehicle used to teach leadership and team development.
Q. Should I prepare anything before the course?
A. The less you know going in, the better. Ken Davis, a historian who has served on 30 Wood Badge staffs, says open-minded Scouters learn the most. “Even if you don’t much about it,” he says, “going to Wood Badge gives you probably the best preparation – better than any other thing we do – for completely understanding Scouting.”
Wood Badge is expertly designed to stress you out, tie you in knots and take you on the same emotional roller coaster we put our Scouts on as they advance in the program. You will realize that the bonds you form with these Scouters won’t end when the course does. It gives meaning to your time spent in Scouting and makes your job as a leader easier.