Scouting volunteers know that the Scouting program is all about youth. We are here specifically to support and provide a Scouting experience for the Scouts. And while we may have some fun along the way, the program isn’t in place just so the adults can enjoy themselves.
I heard a story this week on the NPR program Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me about a preschool that recently opened in Brooklyn, New York. (You can listen to the segment here.) It’s not an ordinary preschool – it’s a preschool for adults. The preschool takes grown-ups back to their inner child and lets them experience the things they either miss from their childhood or those experiences they might have missed out on. You may have learned everything you need to know in kindergarten, but not everyone did, and this could be their chance to catch up.
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was Scouting just for adults?
There actually is, in a way. It’s called Wood Badge.
Wood Badge is more than a training course. It’s a six-day exploration of leadership and personal development programmed by some of the best management training consultants in the business. But it’s conducted within the framework of a Boy Scout troop. Participants are members of a patrol. In addition to the lessons learned, they hike and camp together. They cook their own meals. They elect their own leaders. They work together on conservation projects, fun outdoor games and campfire programs. It’s an opportunity to experience Scouting from the youth perspective, or at least as much as possible as an adult.
If you’d like to be one of the Scouts, either again or for the first time, sign up for your council’s next Wood Badge course. You’ll be glad you unleashed your inner Scout!
This post first appeared on Bobwhite Blather.
