The general purpose of Cub Scout Trainer Wood Badge training is to develop Council and District trainers to provide effective administration and implementation of Cub Scout leadership training, thus ensuring a quality Cub Scout program.
Cub Scout Trainer Wood Badge is the advanced training program for trainers of Cub Scout leaders. This includes members of District and Council Cub Scout leader training teams, as well as Cub Scout Roundtable Commissioners and their staffs. Other volunteer and professional Scouters with Cub Scout leader training responsibilities may also be invited to attend.
Scouters with responsibilities not related to delivery of training should seek training more appropriate to their registered positions. It is important to recognize that Wood Badge is a training course, not an awards program or a fraternal organization. Scouters with no training responsibilities will not benefit from the Cub Scout Trainer Wood Badge experience.
Each Region may conduct one or more Cub Scout Trainer Wood Badge courses each year. Participants attend only by invitation from the Region, based on recommendations by their Council.
What's the Difference Between Cub Scout Trainer Wood Badge
and Boy Scout Wood Badge?
This is a common question, which deserves some attention here. The two courses share a common spirit and tradition, though the course content has some significant differences.
First and foremost, Wood Badgers are all created equal; one course is not more prestigious, or more difficult, or more important than the other. Wood Badge has a fine tradition of fellowship that should be shared between all of us who have worked our tickets, whether in Pack 1 or in Troop 1.
The traditions of Wood Badge apply equally to both Boy Scout and Cub Scout courses. Much of the symbolism is the same, and the regalia (beads, neckerchief, and woggle) for both courses are identical. We even sing the same song!
The fundamental difference between the two courses is in the audiences they serve. Boy Scout Wood Badge is designed to improve leadership in the Troop, while Cub Scout Trainer Wood Badge is meant to improve the performance of Cub Scout leader trainers. This results in different areas of concentration throughout the practical course (for example, outdoor skills are more important in the Boy Scout course than in the Cub Scout course) and different types of projects in the ticket (Boy Scout ticket projects often address personal and unit needs, while Cub Scout ticket projects are written for District or Council benefit).
Boy Scout courses are sponsored by Councils, while Cub Scout courses are conducted by Regions. As a result, Cub Scout courses are not as numerous, and the staff of a Cub Scout course contains Scouters from across the Region.
There are different staff positions in Boy Scout and Cub Scout courses, but for the most part, their functions are about the same. Also, aside from the obvious Pack vs. Troop organization, the Wood Badge units function in similar fashions.
I should note here that I have not participated in Boy Scout Wood Badge myself; the information above comes from discussions with Scouters who have. Therefore, if I have misstated or missed anything, please let me know!
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These pages are maintained by Keith Tilley and were last updated Sunday, September 25, 2005
Views expressed on these pages may not necessarily represent those of the Boy Scouts of
America.