The Gimlet reports on completing the second half of his Woodbadge training. As you know, GimletBlog doesn’t usually refer to friends and family by their full names for privacy reasons, but occasionally we make an exception if necessary. Proper credit for the photos in this blog post must be given to Wally Kempe, who sent each participant home with a CD full of 1,600+ photos and a great slideshow covering both long weekends of Woodbadge — many thanks! And here’s a shout-out to the Kohagens, because The Gimlet was surprised and pleased to discover Nathan’s father attending Woodbadge as well.
Woodbadge has been described as a life changing experience. Time will tell if I take what I have learned and improve the way I approach things. The skills I learned certainly are applicable to more than just Scouting. The ticket requirement, essentially goals for improvement, should make me take the skills and start applying them. I hope to make it a habit.
The bottom line is that I had a wonderful time, and learned a lot. The cold and the rain are already fading from memory and only the great feelings and learning opportunities are remaining. Simply looking at the agenda does not put across the spirit of the experience.
I was told by one of the staff that National Youth Leader Training is essentially the same program as Woodbadge but for the boys. I am excited to think that Thing One will have a similar experience at the end of June. My only regret was that I did not go to Woodbadge sooner.
One explanation for the quality of the experience is that there is enough of a sacrifice of time to go to this training that only committed people come. A troop of committed Scouters are wonderful company to keep. (There did seem to be an abundance of Aggies in this troop. There were other schools represented, but there were quite a few Aggies.)
It is interesting to me that the 6 days spent at Woodbadge were so filled with activities and training that it is difficult to provide a timeline of activities. Each hour was something different, something useful, and something profound. We went to bed late and exhausted. I guess I am going to have to go on staff someday to really learn what I started to learn this time. The time sacrifice for staff is pretty intense however. They were there two days before us each weekend. So, a 10 day commitment instead of only 6 days. When you see the staff’s example of commitment, it was really hard to whine about 6 days.
Well, now I am back to taking care of my boys and the Scouts in my troop. I have to believe that the time I spent at Woodbadge will help me work with both groups. I have to work my ticket and then I will get the award. I am busy working it now.
More photos (all by Wally Kempe):
Related posts:
Thing One is tackling his busy summer schedule with one arm tied behind his back: the day his cast was put on his arm, we drove him to Youth Conference in time for dinner. He spent the next two days working on a service project and having fun, came home Saturday afternoon, and promptly headed out again that evening to a church dance.
