RISKY SCOUT BUSINESS

Risky Scout business

By: Greg Nash

There’s a fair amount of debate about the risks and benefits associated with it when talking about youth development. It’s argued that young people need exposure to a certain level of risk in order to fully develop both physiologically and psychologically.

So what does this have to do with scouting?

There is a lot in what scouting offers youth that attracts the perception of risk; in actuality, we use this to attract membership. We offer risky activities that appeal to the needs of all of us. This is not always physical as we also offer mental challenges that are also risk associated, for example, a Group Leader has many challenges associated with their role that risks a group’s viability.

Scouting offers youth a variety of risky activities like Rock Climbing, Abseiling, Kayaking, Caving, Diving, Parascending, Four Wheel Driving, and much more. All these have physical risks and dangers associated with them. What is required for scouting is the capacity to achieve a balance between safe activity environments while still enabling youth to take part in a learning experience.

A balance is also needed between ‘cotton-wooling’ our youth and exposing them to healthy levels of managed risk. Too little challenge for young people can lead to inappropriate risk-taking behavior later in life.

POSITIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF RISK-TAKING:

Promotes life-long participation in physical activities; an issue that is becoming increasingly important with inactivity being associated with the rising incidence of childhood obesity. These are important considerations if children are to reach their potential and have active, healthy lifestyles.

The outdoors; whether it be the natural environment or staged activities specifically designed for youth, more so than in any other context encourages young people to be themselves, explore, experiment, move and make the most of the opportunities offered by the environment in a less restricted “unstructured” manner.

This view which is championed around the globe by The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) recognises that we need to move on from approaches where the emphasis is on protection towards finding a balance between safety and children’s exposure to healthy levels of risk that allows them to build resilience and personal duty of care.

THE PERCEPTION OF RISK

In the amusement ride industry, it is common knowledge that it is the perception of risk and not actual risk that is important. It is more dangerous traveling to the theme park than taking the scariest ride. All the hazards have been ‘engineered out’ – the hazards have all been removed by good design.

Scouting makes use of perceived risk to challenge youth, engaging them in their self-awareness and that of the environment they are in. It’s well known that scout-run adventurous activities like abseiling could look a bit scary, it is just a perceived risk. It is only through good training, good leadership, and quality gear well maintained – the exposure to danger is exceedingly diminished.

Training and standards

It is important to maintain a focus on training and the need to have a good deal of competency when engaging in risky activities. When leaders put on their uniforms a perception is held by participants, the general public, and others that the leader in uniform is trained. Scouts Australia Institute of Training ensures its methods of training are up-to-date and in keeping with National and World standards that benefit its membership. There’s more than an obligation for leaders to train, it’s the basis on which responsibility, personal growth, and membership are centered.

Leaders: Training for all scouting activities from weekly meetings to outdoor adventures is not an option but a duty of care for self and others.

Whilst safety issues can be addressed, avoiding the activity is not the solution as doing so limits youth participation in a wide range of worthwhile scouting experiences that promote their optimal health and development. Leaders in scouting are best placed to develop themselves and pass on a variety of life skills to our youth.

Confidence-building blunders that some leaders make.

Confidence-building blunders that some leaders make.

By: Greg Nash

I have mentioned in many of my earlier blogs the great benefits scouting offers our youth and adults. The Scout way is learning by doing and gradual confidence building.

Leaders back up their youth learning experiences by giving positive praise and moral support. But can we overpraise?

We all have the right intentions when we boost our youth member’s confidence but sometimes our efforts backfire and have the reverse effect.

Here are five mistakes leaders commonly make when trying to give their youth self-confidence a boost:

1. Over-praise: It is easy to become a praise junkie so that youth are praised for standing up straight. “Wow! You are standing up. What a guy!” Go easy on the praise. Too much of it and it means nothing. Avoid over-praising. Keep praise for genuine efforts and important results.

2. Accept second-rate efforts: Sometimes we lower the bar for our youth thinking we are helping them, but we could be doing them a disservice. Praise and encouragement are different and there are times when they need to be separated.
Instead: Differentiate between process and results. If the results are below par but their effort is parred or above then be ecstatic about that. Our youth do know the difference.

3. Use a peer or friend as a model: Sometimes in our efforts to inspire youth members, we use their peers or friends as role models. Comments such as “Look how hard Ben works on his badges?” actually discourage our youth rather than encourage them. Compare youth only with themselves, not others.
Instead: Develop the notion of Personal Bests so your youth focuses on improvement.

4. Mix encouragement with criticism: There is nothing like bursting a youth’s bubble by praising them up for good work followed by a ‘but… you could do better” or something equally deflating. Keep feedback and criticism for another time and let them enjoy a bit of praise.
Instead: Give your youth a feedback sandwich. That is, when giving them feedback encourage them first, tell them how they can do better, and then give them more encouragement. This maintains their confidence while giving them the skills to do better.

5. Practise conditional acceptance: Sometimes we accept efforts from our youth only if the results measure up to lofty adult standards. For instance, if your ten-year-old Cub Scout does their very best to run a game but was a little forgetful in explaining all the rules, then leaders stand by and avoid the temptation to fix it up.
Instead: Be thankful that there making an effort, and be assured, will get better with "timely" leader engagement and practice.

We all have the best of intentions when we try to boost the self-confidence of children and young people however if we are to do something we may as well do it well. There is a lot to learn about confidence-building. Scouting is meant to be fun for all concerned.

So remember the cup is always half full rather than half empty and there is no room for sink or swim approach to learning in scouting.

Scouting can be Dads time too.

Scouting can be Dad's time too.

By Greg Nash.

Dad let's face the facts, the research is in and we are just not spending enough time with our children. Scouting with your children has many benefits, more than the obvious time spent together.

The research has been done and it suggests that Australian children are not spending much time alone with their fathers. The Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) says many children get to spend as little as 30 minutes a day with their dads during the week.

AISF deputy director Dr. Matthew Gray says children need paternal support during their development. "If we look at children that are eight to nine years old, on a weekday they're spending on average a bit under an hour a day with the father alone, about three-and-a-half hours with the mother alone, and about two hours with the parents together," Dr. Gray said. "So that's a total of six hours a day with their parents.

And on weekends when you might expect fathers to be spending more time with their children they spend 10 hours with the parents - of which only one-and-a-half hours is with the father when the mother is not present."

Why have I mentioned this study?

Working lives become busier, cities become more crowded and technology takes more of a grip on our lives, many people - particularly children - are spending more and more time indoors. The wisdom of this busier work life is being challenged by parents, schools, and health professionals who now see increasing childhood obesity. I see scouting as a way parents can confront this issue more in a fun way.

As Australians, we relish our reputation as lovers of the great outdoors and scouting personifies this notion. Parents spending time with their children, and sharing an intimate relationship with the natural environment creates life-learning opportunities.

A child's contact with nature will influence health in adulthood, increase cognitive functioning, and lead to long-term gains in attitudes, beliefs, self-perceptions, interpersonal social skills, and memory creation and retention.

So I have mentioned just some great learning experiences but it's back to the basics where the real benefits are. Our children are children for a short time and parents looking for work–life balance can gain significantly from spending time as a leader or parent helper in their child’s scout group. According to AISF, dads’ participation greatly benefits their children and themselves.

Scouting leadership is not just small talk.

Scouting leadership is not just small talk.

By Greg Nash

As adult leaders in Scouting or even holding management positions in our working life, we find that from time to time we need to start articulating our messages to others, either to small or large groups and even at occasional public forums.

So if it’s just a small group of like-minded leaders or a larger gathering it makes sense then to have plenty of practice in public speaking. Scouting definitely provides plenty of speaking opportunities for its adult and youth members.

Many will agree that the ability to stand before an assembly of strangers to deliver a speech or to give a presentation can be a most confronting experience for adults let alone our younger members. As leaders, the great advantage scouting can give our youth is that when there is an opportunity for them to take that first step, they can be well supported by their peers and their leaders.

Let’s look at how scouting helps its youth members get used to speaking on their feet.

Provide two types of speaking opportunities for youth. They are:

Informal opportunities that don’t require preparation. E.g thanking a visiting leader or giving an impromptu report on recent activity.

Formal opportunities that require preparation. E.g speaking at a Group Annual Reports night, presenting their badge work.

Informal activities involve spontaneity and develop the ability to stand and deliver more than the more formal type of speech or presentation.

Regardless of the type of presentation here are five simple speaking tips:

Speak clearly: Clarity is critical. Encourage youth to speak slowly and pause rather than pace.

Say 3 things: Three is a critical number in speaking. Try to incorporate content under three headings. If thanking a speaker just say 3 things – thank them, say something personal about the message, and call for a round of applause.

Stand strong: Voice follows stance so when youth stand with their feet comfortably planted their voice will sound confident too.

End your talk well: How youth end their talk will usually determine its impact. That is what people remember most. End with a laugh, a point, or a story.

Have fun: This is vital. Encourage our youth to just enjoy their talk and don’t fuss too much about technique. This comes with practice.

As leaders, we should look at opportunities in all our programming to give each of our youth a chance to grow in self-confidence and so provide multiple opportunities for them to get on their feet and deliver a message. Encourage them to use very few notes and help them to become comfortable speaking on the spot in front of others, a great life skill.

Scout time is play time

SCOUT TIME IS PLAYTIME

By Greg Nash

It’s well known that Children these days live highly organized, structured lives and at times we too become unwitting accomplices so that the concept of free play becomes more foreign.

A balanced scouting program can create the possibilities for safe free play.

The importance of play for children is often underestimated and free, unrestricted play is the right of childhood. Playtime is growing time as Children begin to explore their abilities in judgment-making, limits in physical skills, and the impact they have on others around them as they become more self-aware.

Our scout founder Robert Baden-Powell (BP) had always intended scouting to be a game and I'll bet you, that he knew exactly what he was doing. Throughout many of his world tours, BP would always remind us to enjoy the great “game of scouting” and maybe it was his way of reminding us of just how important play is, not only for our youth but also the adults.

Playtime has some serious spinoffs that can not be undervalued:

It has impacts on all aspects of the way children develop. Outside games develop balance, coordination, and fitness. Singing and rhyming games promote language development. Board games and puzzles help intellectual development. Free play at home is therapeutic for children. Play is an important way that children can express and work through their feelings. When children use dress-up boxes, art boxes, and other objects they use their imaginations and initiative when they play. Older children and I’m not excluding our Rover section with this comment, still enjoy these things but usually, they like board games and outside games and sports that challenge them and maintain their interest. In reflection to all, I’ve just said without a doubt that it all makes aspects of play in our scouting program even more important and should never be undervalued.

There are some playtime rules to follow that encourage self-development and one of them is to remember that when Children are left to their own devices they generally attend to about the right ratio of work, rest, and play - that is, play comes before work and just after rest in most children’s scheme of things. Enjoyable play generally happens as long as it doesn’t always turn into lessons. This is where training leaders in presenting planned activities as a fun game that ends up looking like play should be in all Scouter training levels. Parenting experts say that the key is to be led by children and to allow enough time to play on their terms and that in the last decade, there has seen almost universal acceptance by parents and caregivers of its place in building self-esteem in a child’s development.

We should be careful not to over-organize and over-complicate our youth activities at the expense of free, unstructured play for the sake of promoting healthy self-esteem.

The Scoutmaster teaches boys to play the game by doing so himself. Quote by: Robert Baden-Powell. (1941)

Remember, learning time is scout time and scout time is playtime. That’s my quote. (2010)

Scouting from classroom to life experiences

By Greg Nash

In the text, "scouts" are mentioned but can be substituted by other scouting youth sections.

Scouting complements school and family life, filling the needs not met by either. Our scouting youth like lots of other youth in the community engage in a variety of out-of-school activities both social and sporting. Focused activities for example Australian Rules football, Basketball, and Tennis and including other activities similar to music lessons and karate are all great as they offer healthy and excellent outcomes. But focused activities tend to be just that “focused” on the particular chosen leisure pursuit. Scouting may have similar social and to a point, sporting-related outcomes but scouting goes beyond what a dedicated activity can bring to an individual.

Scouting develops self-knowledge, the need to explore, discover, and want to know. All this and more is offered via a badge reward system that accommodates all levels of ability both physical and intellectual. The scout badge system is always evolving and encouraging participation no matter what the interest is.

Scouts have an enhanced School and Family Life

Scouts discover a greater world beyond their school classroom, tapping into the skills of others to learn, and passing that knowledge on to others. To encourage self-discovery scouts are tempted by an expansive badge reward system. Often pursuing badge subjects form topics of interest and school classroom lessons. Often when giving practical instructions leaders discover that their scouts are either talking about the same subject at school or doing projects on it. For example, on a troop meeting night, I was giving practical compass and map demonstrations when a number of scouts told me they have been learning about the earth's magnetic poles in their school class that week.

Scouts are often placed in circumstances where they become the teacher in a peer situation. Some scouts stand out and tend to take a lead role in running their small group known as a patrol. Because scout troops have their bases of learning through small patrols of about five to eight members, each scout generally has an opportunity to take on leadership roles and be responsible to instruct and guide their patrol.

Scouts are involved in a vast number of issues facing the communities where they live. Scouts work with others in the community to achieve mutual objectives. They work with friends, neighbours, community leaders and other organisations.

Parents of Children new to Scouting often comment on how noticeable the changes are, they often see a more positive attitude to home life, more self-reliance and their social network is broadened. These comments are generally echoed by their school teachers.

Among the thousands of adult Australian Scouting volunteers, school teachers account for a good proportion that enjoys the free-flowing nature of an engaging scout programme. In many cases, adding a sense of balance between the classroom and the great outdoors enhances lessons learnt.

A Group Leaders Insight

A Group Leader's insight

By Greg Nash

Being a group leader or leader in charge has its many challenges and when dealing with the many personalities that are present in any group, you could end up having to deal with more than you bargained for and I’m not just talking about the normal day to day life of a group. I’m talking about the leaders you work with and depend upon to deliver great scouting programs.

Often the most devastating problem for groups arises due to the clash of personalities and suspicion of other motives between its adult leadership ranks. At the extreme, these interpersonal relationships end with group conflicts affecting the very scouting concepts we undertake to uphold.

Group leaders work with the people around them to carry out the very ideals that they themselves hold in their leadership position and therefore need to remember that the people who they work with, also what the same. After all, they did signup for the same objectives.

Consider this: My view of the World is my view, and your view of the World is your view. In reality, our views of the World are actually the same, well we could agree on 99% of it, and the rest we can negotiate on.

To avoid unsettling conflicts, leaders need to shift their mindset in the way they think about the people around them. Shift your mindset from terminal certainty, that your perspective is the right one and the only one, and start recognising that your job is to engage diverse thinkers in the group. The more you’re capable of engaging with diversity, the higher your probability of success. Good leaders have to know how to harness it, work with it, and smooth out the rough edges.

Leaders need to have good tools to deal with diversity, they have to be insightful about their own preferences, know the way they make decisions, in thinking about biases of what they see and what they think they see. Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know because of a blind spot.

Before trying to understand others it’s better to turn some of the attention to yourself first. Find out if you have a blind spot that makes it difficult to see where others around you are coming from. Do your biases get in the way and stop you from finding out more about how those around you feel? When leaders have self-awareness of their blind spots, it's easier to open up and allow sharing of ideas, goals, and apprehensions.

When leaders don’t have significant insight about themselves, then you will see how significantly diminished is their ability to realise truly great and wonderful outcomes.

Scouting Confidence

By Greg Nash

Scouting has more going for it than many of us give it credit for. I have spoken about scouting and resilient children (presented at a combined all-leaders meeting in 2008) and how by default scouting programs foster better-equipped youth to resist stress and adversity, cope with change and uncertainty, and recover faster and more completely from traumatic events or episodes.

Another positive outcome of scouting is confidence. Time and time again experts give parenting advice on building confident kids, we only need to look at our own training and the scouting program to peel away the barriers preventing children to explore their own confidence. We do this by creating within a safe environment opportunities for our youth to discover their limits, deal with failure and have a go.

All this is good but without the right delivery, all our good work and planning will let those learning possibilities amount to disappointment for youth and leaders. The way we deliver scouting programs can make or break the very confidence we are trying to encourage in those first and vital steps that can be taken.

Leaders need to model confidence in the language that they use because kids need to hear what a confident mindset sounds like. Kids pick up your thinking as well as your language so teach kids how to approach tricky or new situations confidently by doing so yourself. That means, don’t put yourself down if you make a mistake. Instead make sure your thinking reflects that mistakes are acceptable and part of learning, rather than a reflection of your personality.

Encourage kids to look on the bright side because optimism is catchy, and helps kids overcome their fears. Help kids set their antennae to look for the good, something positive, or learning in any situation. The best example I use for this is that moment when abseiling for the first time and just before taking that apprehensive step down the cliff face, all around your friends are telling you it's okay, it is safe, you can do it and no one is saying you’ll fall, you can’t do it, give up.

Look at the many opportunities scouting can offer our youth and take the time to develop and explore new ways of fostering confident children and the adults around you.