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Tim's Takeover: How do we Provide Everyday Adventure?
Tim’s Takeover: How do we provide everyday adventure?
I have admitted a few things about myself in the previous two blogs – and perhaps it is therapeutic. In any case, I feel the urge to admit to a few more of my failings – so, be gentle with me. This week I consider how we can provide active Scouting and skills to our young people.
What do young people want from Scouting?
We know from our research that young people join Scouting to 'do things': in essence they join to take part in our very own brand of everyday adventure. Top of the list when young people were asked why they joined Scouting was camping and canoeing. It won’t surprise you to know that the main reason that young people leave Scouting is that they don’t get these activities.
Now it might be that, like me, you are not great at skills and activities. I remember as an 18-year-old Assistant Scout Leader that I spent an entire summer being taught how to canoe so that I would be able to take the Scouts canoeing later that year. I had many additional lessons splashing around the River Cherwell in Oxford and lots of the Scouts also joined in. The great day came and the British Canoe Union examiner came to test me and the Scouts for our BCU one star award. The Scouts all passed with flying colours and I failed (to be fair to the examiner he seemed more embarrassed about me failing than I was!). As a result of this, the Scouts had to take me canoeing rather than me take them. And, perhaps this is fine. Maybe sometimes it is good to accept that we can’t do it all and there is no need for us to be super human.
So what’s the problem?
It strikes me that we have to consider how we continue to give young people active Scouting. It’s part of our growth challenge that I mentioned last week. As we get more adults involved with Scouting to help deal with our increase in young people, how do we make sure that these adults feel confident with the basic skills of Scouting?
If we are truly open to lots of people – and our local Scouting really reflects the local community that it serves, then we will have adult volunteers with all sorts of new skills. But we may also have adult volunteers who feel unsure of the skills that many of us take for granted – and that might happen as we attract new volunteers from outside Scouting.
If, like me, you served a sort of apprenticeship with experienced leaders who were only too pleased to pass on their skills, then you are lucky (and you should do the same thing for the next generation of leaders!). But not everyone experiences that luxury. Indeed we should not take for granted that it might happen automatically – particularly where we are starting new Groups.
So what’s the solution?
Well, that’s where you come in. I am interested in your ideas on how we might keep Scouting active and help adult volunteers to become more confident with basic skills and activities.
I think that it is worth considering how we encourage leaders to use the skills of others – for example the parents or carers of the Beavers, Cubs, Scouts or Explorers. As a Scout Leader I ran a number of evenings where all I had to do was provide the coffee and biscuits for the parents who came along to teach cookery, plumbing, carpentry and electrical safety. Sometimes to do this our leaders may just need the confidence to realise that it is fine to use other people.
It might be worth considering how we use the skills that our young people already have. We don’t have to teach them everything. It might be just the confidence boost that a young person needs – the chance to show her or his skills to others (now then, what did Baden Powell say about 'learning by doing'?).
Maybe we should each of us invest the time to teach another leader just one skill that we have. If we all did that, can you imagine how easily the skills would spread? It might even be a bit of fun!
Over to you
So how might we get better at helping adults to be confident with skills? Let’s have some unusual and simple ideas – and preferably things that you do locally that actually work.
Comments
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By Mark Dick
on 26/08/2010 22:11 I have no special insight on how to help adults be confident with skills other than some observations from running First Response Courses where the bigger the variety of delivery methods the better.
Regarding PL Training though I have more to say. Self directed learning will become more important for young people and probably all of us in the future. So we intend to further encourage our PL at training opportunities to use modern technology to develop their own teaching and learning aids (we have called some of them PICTs - Patrol-in-Council Training Aids). I always suggest that they could do a lot worse than start looking at www.scouts.org.uk (surely one of the best websites anywhere) for good ideas. This is one modern version of B-Ps 'learning by doing'
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By Tony Knott
on 27/08/2010 14:10 Many Districts and Counties are now running practical skill sessions often in a camping or an outdoor environment.
The new module 38 Skills for residential experiences should also help.
I would suggest that if leaders see a skill being practised, demonstrated or used by a more experienced person they approach that person and show an interest. Most good practioners or experts just love to pass their knowledge and skills on. In short don't be afraid to ask!
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By Linda
on 27/08/2010 20:17 The young people are often only too pleased to share their skills with adults, especially ones who have shown them a thing or two. I remember the thrill one of my 10 year old Scouts got from giving me lots of tips during a surfing lesson in Cornwall. Don't forget, Scouting provides an everyday adventure for everybody in Scouting regardless of their age.
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By Chris Brooker
on 29/08/2010 14:08 I agree with Tony Knott. When I was an ACSL, I picked up many of the new skills by getting "someone who could" in to do the session twice. First time round I sat in with the Cubs, and learnt the skill (e.g. tying decorative knots with Lonnie Boggs). Then I went away and practised it (as often as possible - No shoe lace was safe!). Next time the person came, I watched how THEY presented it (Lonnie had some great techniques for getting YP to listen "Be a video Camera"), took what I liked, and then ran a practise session often with workmates at lunch to see if I could teach it, then see how it goes... After all, YP don't always know if you've missed a bit.. if it works, is safe, and they enjoyed it, then you did it!
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By Martyn
on 30/08/2010 23:48 We have lots of skills as leaders and on the whole have enough basic skills to provide the basicas to young people. The problems come when we try to provide the activities which young people really enjoy. Down here in N.devon one of the the things they enjoy is Surfing-due to the new swimming regs we can no longer enjoy our end of term surfing activity,
The kids here live on the beach and we are all aware of the dangers we need flexibility!!!
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By Martyn
on 30/08/2010 23:56 Perhaps your comment about kayaking holds many truths. Does any adult in the movement encourage any youg person under the age of 18 to hold a leadership permit!
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By Ewan Scott
on 01/09/2010 14:22 In today's world few, if any of us are Jack-of-all-Trades. So we need to encourage people to do what they want to do.
My policy is to encourage people to take on activities. We offer to pay for or subsidise where we can. I don't have a vast pool of appointed Leaders, but I do have a growing pool of skills helpers who can run activities.
As another leader told me, his plan as GSL was to get as many people with as many different "Tickets" as he could.
Oh, and we also "grow our own" and as soon as we can we offer them activity training - GNAS, NSRA, BCU, whatever they wish. I have had 17 year old Archery Instructors, and 18 year old kayak coaches - and they are all still with us.
So, the burden of motivation lies with existing Leaders. If you have one or two who will develop skills, they tend to attract others willing to do the same.
The difficulty is spreading the word of this to other Groups who complain about a lack of adult support...
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By Mike Whay
on 03/09/2010 18:41 The comments above contain a lot of good ideas (especially Ewans Grow Your Own), there is one I would like to add, and that is in terms of Leader Learning.
My experience has been that we teach some of the basic skills ie axe, saw, firelighting, in 45 minute bases.
A while ago I (with others) ran a course on "fire lighting" ...it lasted all day and evening and was entirley outdoor.... briefly from types of wood (out in the woods), through axe/saw, firelighting, types of fire, "camp cooking" from twists to cardboard box ovens/pizzas, to backwoods, lunch and dinner was all done on the fires and then as dusk came, the fire turned into a camp fire and some practical tips on running one and taking part.
The point is (and it applies when we teach young people skills) we need to connect up the skills, so that for example, axe safety is seen in context.
Time is of course an issue but if leaders know a day will teach a number of skills then they are more likely to attend, it makes the travelling time worthwhile!
I am sure it would be possible to connect up other skills
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By Mary Mayo
on 06/09/2010 12:27 I almost wrote soon after your article first appeared, just to say that as a guide I failed the Athlete Badge (couldn't throw a ball and still can't!). I was never really a likely candidate for the badge, but our Guide Leader wanted us all to do the same badges....
I was at the reunion yesterday and your experiences shared with the gathering finally prompted me to write. I share the view that we must encourage our Leaders and the young people in their care to take every opportunity available and hope they will remember the adventure and friendships made. In 1953 the local scouts held their annual camp on the Isles of Scilly, no one knows why they travelled all that way from Brownhills in the West Midlands for the camp. In April of this year 8 of that original group (all now nearing their 70th birthdays and just two of them still involved in Scouting) returned to the Isles of Scilly to relive their adventure, this year it was five nights in a hotel, but everyday was a new adventure. Long may the spirit of fun and adventure continue.
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By Nigel Speakman
on 12/09/2010 18:07 My Ethos over the years is to watch what sparks their enthusiasm. Lighting and cooking over open fires is a sure fired winner. Trying to keep this activity safe is the hard part as they will always want to chuck something into the fire that is wrong.
Grass Sledging is popular, Skiing, Ice Climbing or Pedal Go Karting are all sure fired winners.
Also the kids just love being outdoors with other kids. Giving them some freedom on a campsite to explore for themselves is very popular.
In short our main aim in scouting is to get them to think for themselves and to turn those thoughts into some form of constructive activity.
Raft building is a great engineering tool. The kids get to build something that can use themselves. You need to know 2 x knots. A clove hitch and a square lashing. Plus a harvesters hitch to tie the barrels on. Thats the hard part.
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By Peter Sutherst
on 19/09/2010 10:54 As media manager for Bedfordshire I'm always on the lookout for adventure. Last weekend it was a water activity weekend for Beavers, Cubs and Scouts supervised by experienced Sea Scouts for first timers with sailing dinghies. This weekend it was a camp for Cub Scouts who did backwoods cooking with fresh rainbow trout to gut and bake in foil. They will go back to school with much better tales than their friends who stayed at home with their ipods.
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