After Training. WHat Now?

[wagionvigil]

Ok I have had Fast Start,Fundamentals,Wood Badge,Powder Horn, Commissioner Traing Etc. What do I do Now? I have heard it all. This is a question alot of leaders ask. WHat are your suggestions?

[RWSmith]

My 2 cents...

If you're the new kid on the block, sit back; relax. Get involved, but don't volunteer for too much, too fast. Attend a few Troop funtions, i.e., campouts/backpacking, attend at least one district or council event. Why? What your looking for is a mentor. If you're new, you need a mentor. If you've been around a while, you still need a mentor; but, you can also be a mentor, too. Get it?

As the song goes, 'That's what it's all about!' <Warning: Ear Worm>

[optimist]

Roundtable! It's one evening a month and it's definitely not the most thrilling of programs but you never know when you're going to walk away with a piece of information that's a gem to behold. And the fellow leaders that you meet there are also great resources.

Have a question or a problem? Don't feel like you have to stand up and ask everyone about it as part of the meeting. Just bring it up in conversation before or after the meeting. So much business occurs after our meetings that the Roundtable Commissioner starts kicking us out after 30 minutes so he can close up the building

[commish3]

For me that question is answered in the content of Wood Badge.

Training isn't something you do and put behind you. Good leaders are good students, learning is a continueing process.

What do you do with the training you have have taken so far? What do you want? What will be your legacy? What you do....what any of us do...is dependent on our own unique values and vision.

Whatever you choose to do now, I hope you will find the leadership skills and methods that you have learned through scouting beneficial in fulfilling your persional mission.

[cballman]

now that you have been TRAINED then you need to teach people how to be better leaders. because "every scout deserves a TRAINED leader" wow I must be going crazy because YOU have been helping me to become a better leader so see you are doing something with your training.

[ThunderingWind]

I must agree with the original post. Now what? All OLS did for me was show me that I know nothing of the things that I should know to be ready to help guide the boys in learning, adn that there is no BSA certification in the areas I want to "master."

So how do I get this training in the middle of no where with no real university or college to speak of with any real classes?

[wagionvigil]

get the Field book and Scout Handbook PRACTICE THE SKILLS that are there. Read Backpacker Magazine ,Mountaineering Freedom of the Hills, REsearch things from the web.

[ThunderingWind]

Those are all good suggestions.

However, I do not learn well enough that way. I need hands on training and class room time.

So where does one get certified in Pioneer skills (ie Rope Making the BSA way) and walk away with a nationally recognized certification?

[vpalango]

Those are all good suggestions.

However, I do not learn well enough that way. I need hands on training and class room time.

So where does one get certified in Pioneer skills (ie Rope Making the BSA way) and walk away with a nationally recognized certification?

I'm a little confused about why you're seeking "certification". This may be a difference in learning styles between individuals, but now that you've had some basics, and you have a number of resources available to you, why not just try it, and allow yourself to "fail" as a tool of learning?

One of the influential mentors in my life had a saying he'd use, "If you want to learn fast, fail fast. Learn to fail gracefully."

This to me is much of what scouting is about. It's a labratory, where we teach via experiences, and failure is one of those experiences. In the patrol method, we are expected to allow the patrol leaders to lead thier patrols, and suffer the consequences of failure if they don't plan well. This is part of the learning experience and we need to be prepared for this. It's the job of the scoutmaster to provide enough guidence so that those failures are "graceful" (i.e. - not dangerous), and to make sure that those failures provide a positive learning experience, rather than act as a negative event.

So as you look to learn new things, put into practice what you will be taching the boys. Allow yourself to "fail" if needed, but don't let that stop you from trying. Go ahead, build a rope making machine from the book, and learn by doing. You don't need a class for that, just some time and effort.

Just my humble opinion, but take your basics, and set an example to your boys by trying, even when you aren't an "expert" at a skill. You might supprose yourself

Yours In Scouting,

[Lynda J]

Training is a tool for you to use. Pass on the information you have learned. The biggest waste I see in scouting is someone that takes all the training and then sits on their fanny and never passes it on.
I love training. Take them over and over. Mainly because each training I have taken has always been with a new group of people and I learn something new every time.

[ThunderingWind]

I'm a little confused about why you're seeking "certification". This may be a difference in learning styles between individuals, but now that you've had some basics, and you have a number of resources available to you, why not just try it, and allow yourself to "fail" as a tool of learning?

If it is not BSA certified, it is not BSA certified. All I need is a list of recognized training and I'll go get it. NAUI and PADI for SCUBA for example, NRA for rifle, Red Cross for First Aid and CPR.....Where do you get Rope Making, Orienteering, Cooking?

And to me failure is not an option when providing training to any youth. Either I can provide the proper training to the 100% BSA Certified standard or I do not try. I should never try to teach a youth something I can not do.

I do not ask my Doctor about my oil leak, so why should a youth expect me to know about Backpacking if I ma not certified?

[optimist]

For the few subjects where certifications are required, they are mentioned in the Guide to Safe Scouting. For the rest, it doesn't work that way. If you don't feel qualified, you can either find a way to learn more or leave it up to others.

[Lynda J]

As far as cooking, rope making and the such I don't know of any certification classes out there. There are outdoor skills training. Our district has one called 4 Winds. As far as certifications. Just take the training and get the cards. So much of this type of stuff is doing it.
I have been camping for 50 years. So outdoor cooking is just natural for me. When I got married the first time my dad told my new husband
"Lynda can cook anything you want over a campfire but she doesn't know how to turn the stove in the kitchen on." Funny thing is he wasn't far from right.

[Eamonn]

There is a big temptation to say "Been there, Done that, Got the T-shirt"
I found that it wasn't until I was asked to present some of the things that I thought I knew and had mastered, that I found out how much I had missed.
I remember vividly back in the 70's there was a bunch of "Old Guys" (We at the time weren't very kind and used another term in place of guys!) They were busy setting up for some sort of training, I'm not sure if it was a Wood Badge course or a Brownsea Double two?? I remember thinking how old these guys were.
Some of them are still around and are still active, but now I'm sure that there are young leaders who look at me and think that I'm an old "Guy".
I really hope that I have not became so old that I'm out of touch and past it? I do try and keep current with what is happening and what changes have been made.
I like to think that I do keep an open mind and do give everyone a fair hearing.
I think that the day I stop learning something new, will be the day that I hang up my Wood Badge beads and call it a day. I hope and pray that I never become one of them old Scouter's who do nothing but complain that things aren't what they used to be and how rotten the kids of today are. If that ever happens I would hope that someone reminds me what a rotten kid I was.

[Mick Scouter]

Good Reply. I'm going to Scoutmaster Weekend next weekend. I am certain I will come away with some good stuff.

[ynotquilt]

A good place to learn many of these other skills would be at an annual Pow Wow or University of Scouting. Our district holds one each year, and i know that a number of other councils nearby do too. You are usually welcome at ones outside of your own council. Several of my friends traveled down 4 hours to a larger one in the Cleveland area last fall. If things go right, I'm hopint to go with them this year as well as attend our own.

I also second the idea of teaching what you "know". I am the Cub Leader Training Director for our district and have learned far more from running the program. Before being asked to take this position, I had gone through the training and then came back a few times for the SAME position break-out session. I learned something new all the time. Also, by getting involved at this level, I have met and gotten to know a very broad group of people that I can count on for assistance/advice whenever I need it