Wood Badge
Wood Badge is a Scout leader training program, first implemented by The Boy Scouts Association in the United Kingdom in 1919 and subsequently adopted, with variations, by some other Scout organizations. Wood Badge courses teach Scout leadership skills and instil an ideological bond and commitment to the organizations. Courses generally have theory and practical phases followed by a practice project. Scouters who complete the course are awarded a pair of wood beads on each end of a leather thong, from a necklace of beads Robert Baden-Powell claimed to have taken from the African chief Dinizulu.
Insignia
The Wood Badge is worn around the neck as part of the Scouter's uniform. In some Scout organizations, the wood badge is presented together with a [|Gilwell scarf] and a [|Gilwell woggle], denoting membership of the notional [|1st Gilwell Scout Group].Beads
Early Wood Badge beads came from a necklace that Baden-Powell claimed to have taken from a deserted Zulu mountain stronghold while on a failed military campaign to capture Dinizulu in Zululand. Such necklaces of beads made from acacia, known as iziQu in Zulu, were presented to brave warrior leaders. In 1919, Baden-Powell threaded beads from the necklace he had taken onto leather thong he claimed had been given to him by an elderly South African in Mafeking and called it the Wood Badge.When produced, the thong is joined by a simple overhand knot but the two ends of the thong are often tied together with a decorative diamond knot. Various rituals are practiced in tying the diamond knot, such as having a fellow course member tie it, having a mentor or course leader tie it or having the recipient tie it after completing an additional activity that shows they have mastered training skills.
Additional beads
Additional beads are awarded for completion of training for different levels.| Number of beads | Explanation |
| 2 beads | Wood Badge |
| 3 beads | For trainers at managing, planning, and implementing level. Deputy Gilwell Course Leader. |
| 4 beads | For trainers at conceptualising, designing, and developing level. Gilwell Course Leader. |
| 5 beads | In some Scouting associations during some time periods, a senior training official wore five beads, for example, William Hillcourt. Holders were sometimes referred-to as a Deputy Camp Chief of Gilwell Park. |
| 6 beads | Baden-Powell wore six beads, as did his Deputy Chief Scout and right-hand man, Percy Everett. Baden-Powell's beads are on display at Baden-Powell House in London. Everett endowed his six beads to be worn by the Camp Chief of Gilwell Park as a badge of office. |
Gilwell scarf or neckerchief
The Gilwell scarf is a triangular scarf or neckerchief made of cotton or wool twill with a taupe face and red back, with a patch of Clan MacLaren tartan affixed near the point. The patch of Maclaren clan tartan honours William de Bois Maclaren, The Boy Scouts Association commissioner who donated £7000 to The Boy Scouts Association in 1919 to purchase Gilwell Park as a leader training centre and an additional £3000 for improvements to the house on the estate. The Maclaren tartan represents the Wood Badge and training ties to Gilwell Park. Originally, the scarf was made entirely of triangular pieces of the tartan but its expense forced the adoption of the current design.Gilwell woggle
The Gilwell woggle is a braided leather two strand Turk's head knot, which has no beginning and no end and symbolizes the commitment to the Scout Movement. In some countries, Wood Badge training is divided into parts and the Gilwell woggle is given for completion of part one. First designed in the early 1920s by British Scouter Bill Shankley, making a Turk's head knot woggle was part of the leader training scheme by 1926.Scout leader training course
History
The Boy Scouts Association conducted early Scoutmaster training camps in London and Yorkshire. The first Wood Badge training, with 18 participants, was organized by The Boy Scouts Association and held from 8 to 19 September 1919 at its newly acquired leader training centre, Gilwell Park, then just outside London. The training was led by The Boy Scouts Association's Gilwell Park Camp Chief, Francis Gidney and its Commissioner for Training Percy Everett, with lectures by Baden-Powell and others. Wood Badge training courses continued at Gilwell Park. Other sites providing Wood Badge training have taken the Gilwell name.Modern curriculum
The principles underpinning the Wood Badge Training Scheme are:- "Continuous Development": Emphasizes continuous adult development from both internal and external sources.
- "Essential Areas" Directed to include "Fundamentals of Scouting, Leadership and Team Management, Project management, Communication and Adult development."
- "Progressive With Multi-Entry Points" Adaptive to varying skill and knowledge levels.
- "Not Time-Bound"
- "Adaptable" Specifies that it be flexible, adaptable and responsive to the evolving needs of young people, adults and the scout organizations.
- "Recognizing and Using the Scout Method"
- Acceptance of the Principles and Practices of the "Safe from Harm" framework
- "Recognition of Individual Development" Direct that in each country establish a framework of skills to be attained and the participants be recognized when they are attained.
- Scouting essentials such as Essential Characteristics of Scouting, Youth Program Implementation, Vision and Growth, Safe from Harm, etc.
- Leadership and Management such as situational leadership, team management and development, taking initiative, leading change, learning organization, etc.
- Project management such as generating ideas, working on plans and solutions, achieving results, evaluating success etc.
- Communicating meaningfully, effectively and with cultural sensitivity.
- Adult development such as facilitating learning, organizing training, providing coaching and mentoring support etc.
Generally, a Wood Badge course consists of classroom work, a series of self-study modules, outdoor training and the Wood Badge "ticket" or "project". Classroom and outdoor training are often combined and taught together and occur over one or more weeks or weekends. As part of completing this portion of the course, participants must write their tickets.
The exact curriculum varies from country to country but the training generally includes both theoretical and experiential learning. All course participants are introduced to the 1st Gilwell Scout group or Gilwell Scout Troop 1. In the Boy Scouts of America, they are also assigned to one of the traditional Wood Badge "critter" patrols. Instructors deliver training designed to strengthen the patrols. One-on-one work with an assigned troop guide helps each participant to reflect on what they have learned, so that he can better prepare an individualized "ticket". This part of the training program gives the adult Scouter the opportunity to assume the role of a Scout joining the original "model" troop, to learn firsthand how a troop ideally operates. The locale of all initial training is referred to as Gilwell Field, no matter its geographical location.
Ticket
The phrase 'working your ticket' comes from a story attributed in Scouting legend to Baden-Powell: Upon completion of a British soldier's service in India, he had to pay the cost of his ticket home. The most affordable way for a soldier to return was to engineer a progression of assignments that were successively closer to home.Part of the transformative power of the Wood Badge experience is the effective use of metaphor and tradition to reach both heart and mind. In most Scout associations, "working your ticket" is the culmination of Wood Badge training. Participants apply themselves and their new knowledge and skills to the completion of items designed to strengthen the individual's leadership and the home unit's organizational resilience in a project or "ticket". The ticket consists of specific goals that must be accomplished within a specified time, often 18 months due to the large amount of work involved. Effective tickets require much planning and are approved by the Wood Badge course staff before the course phase ends. Upon completion of the ticket, a participant is said to have earned his way back to Gilwell.