Timing the "Why" in Scouting

Timing the Why in Scouting.

By Greg Nash

Using the three W’s, “What”, “Why” and “When” are a great guide when planning our scouting activities. We have “What” as in what are we going to do, this can be a camp or an outing and can be just a hall activity. “Why” why are we going to do it, to do badge work, to have some adventure or there is an important message to be delivered and it could even be on a theme. And “When” when do we run the activity, what time of year or is there a need to run the activity before an outing and so on. 

    

I have discovered over the years that timing is essential when delivering a scouting programme, that is, we put our time and effort into planning great fun activities for a purpose, be it, badge work or just for a fun experience. We plan great activities so our youth can get lasting benefits and we get back great satisfaction from seeing the value in what we do. But all our great programme plans can unintentionally come undone if we don’t deliver it with timing and an impact that emphasises the “why” in our activity.

If it’s getting out and about or having an activity at the hall, scouting programmes often have benefits beyond what our youth take away with them from the intended exercise and it’s the essence of the "why" of our programme that we want to stay with them. Indoor games, out in the bush or excursions to community places can deliver lasting impacts if the “why” we are doing it, is emphasised.

So, let’s look at what I’m trying to say. This is just an example: I organised with my leaders an outing for our Cub Pack to nearby bushland with the intent to do a little badge work, build bush shelters and have lunch that we had talked about at our weekly meeting, that week before. Our walk, in and out of the bush went without any problems, but unknown to any of the Cubs I organised the walk via the local milk bar as our last rest point. Once we reached the milk bar I gave the owner of the store a heads-up about what was going to happen with all these twenty-five Cub Scouts outside his store. Once I was back out with the Pack, I gave each one enough money to buy themselves an ice cream. We all sat nearby and enjoyed our treat. It was there and then I had nailed the lasting impact of our outing, every Cub was sitting around in little groups talking about their bush adventure, making huts, crossing the river (well, it’s called a river though it was only a trickle at the time we crossed it) and the snake that had made an appearance.

Having the Cubs sitting around chatting was great and it gave them good space before we reached our pickup point. If I had mentioned to the Cubs that we are having ice cream from the start of our walk they would have been asking “when are going to get our ice creams”, “how long before”, “what flavour” and “are we there yet”. All this chatter about the ice cream would have taken the emphasis away from what the bush outing activity was out to accomplish. The thought of having that ice cream would become a distraction.

My outing activity was all about the walk, badge work, bush shelters, lunch and the river crossing, and having an adventure, all in that order. Their treat was just the cream on top, as it gave them time and space to reinforce their day's adventure. At the pickup point, our Cubs parents asked the standard questions like, how was your day? what did you do? and was it fun? As it turned out, our ice cream break, allowed the Cubs to revisit the day’s activity and their parents had all the answers to their questions there and then.

This was one example, similar outcomes can be achieved and not necessarily everything I did was deliberate (the snake was a surprise to me). The timings were structured to allow each part of the activity to run long enough for full impact and realising that if activities over-run, or go too long, it can also affect the day's outcomes.

I guess what I try to do is take advantage of the planned activity and make certain each participant has a grasp of the “why” and that it sticks with them as an experience, an adventure and a good memory.

Remember to keep activities uncomplicated and timing in the programme so you have the flexibility that allows the “Why” to dominate. Oh, and if you have any surprises, keep it a surprise until the time is right or it could distract from the intended impact your activity was expected to deliver. 

SCOUTING OUT FOR HEALTH

Scouting out for health

By Greg Nash

In every conversation covering health issues, physical and outdoor activities among things like diet, how much is dedicated to screen time (tablet devices, mobile phones, TVs, etc.), seem to make up the main key discussion points.

For this blog, I’d like to talk about the “OUT” in “SCOUT” and its relevance to health. There’s strong evidence and supporting studies backing outdoor and nature activities are more than keeping fit, but the spin-offs are mind-blowing.

Getting out in my terms, are out, out of the house, out of the scout hall, up the street, over at the park, or going bush. Strictly speaking Scout wise there are procedures to be in place before stepping out the hall, one of which is a risk assessment, so let’s say for the purpose of me getting on with this, I’ll say that’s in place, and everyone will be safe, well that is the plan.

As Children develop through middle childhood (around 5–12 years), a shift begins to occur as children strive to master the world around them (Erikson, 1981). In this period, as their social world expands, children begin to develop autonomy and independence from their parents, together with a growing sense of competence (Huston & Ripke, 2006). A good Joey Scout and Cub Scout program covers the needs of middle childhood so well.

Now I mentioned already “Scout and Out”, so let's put scout as the adventure and out as just out, the adventure is what’s there when we go out. Childhood in the middle years is full of adventure and easy to cater to once given the opportunity and that’s where the plans of a good program kick in.

Putting things simply, a good scout program will by default have health benefits, they extend children’s capacity to regulate themselves and exercise self-control, which are important abilities for the transition to adolescence (Eccles, Wigfield, & Schiefele, 1998), and they develop a sense of what they are good at, which can involve experimentation and risk-taking through physical play and other activities.

Getting out just tends to deliver these befit so easily. Looking at scout programming from Joey Scout through to Rover Scout (6 to 26 years) outdoor activities feature strongly. I have found that giving children time to explore and free-play in a bush setting supports most of their individual needs. These scouting activities are positive in many ways. They tend to be physical or active in nature, and they enable children to learn how to make decisions, solve problems, practice self-control, follow rules, regulate emotions and develop and maintain peer relationships and the scouting mantra, learning by doing.

A challenge in scouting is to ensure that children are safe while at the same time providing opportunities and space for them to take risks and develop competence and self-sufficiency. However, parental fears about children’s safety continually surface in the media and in wider public discussions. The challenge in scout safe is keeping that balance without tilting excessively towards eliminating children from risks at the potential exposure to the benefits of having opportunities of taking risks.