I have mentioned many times that Wood Badgers come from different places and experiences on their way to day 1 of a Wood Badge course. Some people have never been scouts and their only experience is leading a cub scout unit. Others may have only served at the district or council level and never led a group of boys. Needless to say, the “Patrol System” is a mystery to a lot of scouters and probably the most important thing in running a successful troop.
BP said it best; “The Patrol System is the one essential feature in which Scout training differs from that of all other organizations, and where the System is properly applied, it is absolutely bound to bring success, It cannot help itself!” You can read more in his Aids to Scoutmastership.
I was reminded of the Patrol Method, as it is better known, when I was reading the Bryan on Scouting blog post “How to keep your troop out of the death spiral.” The post makes the argument that the patrol method is what separates a successful Boy Scout troop from a foundering one.
But what if you hadn’t grown up in scouts? What is all your time was spent leading a group of cub scouts? Where does a leader learn about the Patrol Method from more than a book?
Wood Badge.
The Wood Badge curriculum is based around a practical application of the Patrol Method. Instead of reading about it, participants live it for six days.
Are you a Cub Scout leader getting ready to cross over to a troop? Are you an assistant scoutmaster and don’t quite know how the Patrol Method works. Have you taken over a troop and its time to implement the patrol method? Its time for a crash course and the best place to take it is Wood Badge S9-113 this September and October.
Click on the “Sign Up Now” button on the right side of this page and sign up for this course. The course is filling up and you don’t want to wait until next year.
