What do the scouts actually do now?

[Togger]

What do scouts do anyway?

Well i'm the Scout Leader at our local troop and since April, our Scouts have done, Backwood cooking on open fires, produced a video for the website, had a water weekend camp down at Trent Lock sailing canoeing, kayaking and fire skills, tonight they're shooting, in a couple of weeks we're off doing a bushcraft camping weekend where they will be making their own shelters for the weekend, refresher training in correct knife & axe use, cooking over open fires etc, skinning rabbits, and then the following week rock climbing & abseiling.
We have a week camp coming up soon where there will be all sorts of activities, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, quad biking, shooting, archery, climbing, etc etc etc.
Like someones already mentioned, a lot depends on the leaders. I took over our Troop around 12 months ago, we had 12-15 regular members, we are now nearly 40! Our cubs and Beaver sections also have a healthy number.

If you missed out on stuff like this when you were younger, or even if you didn't, it's great to have an excuse to do it (again) now and pass on some of the skills.

Togger

 

[Colin.W]

I was a volunteer helper with the cubs a few years ago and get peed off with having my sugestions for more adventure and back to the origins of scouting turned down on the grounds of health and safety, Now I am doing a NEBOSH H&S cert course I realise most of what I was told we couldnt do, we could have, there are no such H&S rules against them as long as there is evidence that someone has thought through the possible risks and hazards and taken adequate measures to make sure every one comes back with all the fingers, toes etc they went with, I get so annoyed when people who are so scared of litigation in the event of a minor scratch they wont allow the kids to be real kids, I grew up in the 50s and 60s My parents thought it normal for me to come home with minor cuts scratches and bruises from my week at scout camp, but along with those minor injuries was always a beaming grin and some brilliant memories

 

[rik_uk3]

I was in the Scouts when growing up in Birmingham. We had regular camps, practised stuff like rope bridge building, first aid, firecraft, woodcraft, made shelters, used tarps a couple of time, used tarps as cooking shelters often, map reading, tracking, tree/plant identification, cooked over open fires, used paraffin lamps and stoves; pretty much what is labled bushcraft these days, it was simply Scouting back then

That said, the wife refers to bushcrafters as a "Bunch of overgrown boy scouts"

 

[Cobweb]

I was in the brownies. The brown owls were really old women, so we did quite sedate girlie activities that were mostly craft based. I really liked it, the dancing around the toadstool thing every week, and painting pictures of elfves and fairies, and then making models of fairies from flowers. It was the middle of london so there wasn't much scope for stuff out doors, but there was the hunt for fairies in bottom of the vicar garden. We had church parade every month, but it was mostly about elves and pixies and three old woman acting like little girls again.

After the link was posted up here, I have been in contact with my local branch and children start cubs and scouts tonight. I will proberly volunteer as well as I did when my daughter was in rainbows.

For a Christian based group, it sounds awfully pagan... :O



I was in Girls Brigade...

I bloody hated it. It was a mix of making girlie things like bookmarks, frendship bracelets and other utter c**p like that and then it would be drill for half an hour. If you ask me I can turn on a sixpence.

I desperatley wanted to be in scouts but the woman I lived with was a trad, she believed girls should do the girlie things and none of that mucking about in the woods. The only time I got to muck about in the woods was on sunday after tea. I missed going out with Granddad Ron.

When I moved on, the next people were too far from the Scout meeting place and luckily for me, too far from GB as well.

--

The scouts around here are madly adventurous, the twins are in scouts and they're going away for an adventure weekend soon, they know their knots a bit and they always come back from the meetings tired but with a grin on their faces.

 

[PeterH]

For a Christian based group, it sounds awfully pagan... :O

Arguably it never was a "Christian based group'' but always multi faith, of the 28 million scouts worldwide most would Moslem if classified by religion. As a DC I have leaders who are Pagan but have explained (and usually are keen to discuss them with someone who shows an interest) their beliefs and neither my appointments committee nor the Scout Association had an issue with those beliefs. With older scouts and explorers, when the mood takes them, they want to hear different views and formulate their own values rather than be mini-me.

Boy now I sound like I believe my own bull

When we told ours they could have the Tentipi and stove provided they raised the funds they had it in about 3 months and now get upset because only 16 of them can sleep in it at once .... I sense more bagpacking uppy_dog

 

[jimford]

Arguably it never was a "Christian based group''

But IIRC they were always based in church halls and church parades were obligatory.

I was a 'Woodcraft Folk' leader for about ten years:

http://www.woodcraft.org.uk/aboutus/who.php

Blue skies and smooth trailings, Jim!

 

[Ben Trout]

Last night I went along to Beavers and Scouts.

The beavers flew kites up on Westbury White Horse. According to the program, the Cubs had an activity called 'my leg hurts'. The Scouts learnt about Prussiks and did tug or war via prussiks and a few of the thirty-something climbed a pole wiith prussiks.

A quick look through the memory in my camera came up with these:

Prussiking

Pioneering and my camera failing to cope with the dark

Jewellery making

A bit of woodwork

Some other stuff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZwvVSj2v9M&feature=channel

 

[malcolmc]

Arguably it never was a "Christian based group'' but always multi faith, ...

Yes, but Scouts do require a belief in a god (read the Scout promise), it doesn’t matter which one but atheists and agnostics need not apply. Woodcraft Folk Groups take all, irrespective of belief. I'm glad that they exist.

 

[drewdunnrespect]

well we had some of tyhe best beaver and cub scout leaders ever cos we did everything that would be classed as bushcraft now and then some and when i got to scouts i was a memeber of sea scouts so learnt to sail

 

[drewdunnrespect]

also the good news is that the leaders i had when i was in beavers and cubs are still doing it and are training me to do the same and become a leader myself

 

[Glosfisher]

My Explorer Unit will be messing around in canoes and kayks on Monday afternoon on our own gravel pit.

Great fun and good prep for their DoE Silver

 

[Templar]

Well I went all the way through from cubs to rovers and even became a leader for a while, but left when the whole thing became way too PC for me, that wa back in '94, went and became an emergency services cadet leader / instructor and ended up teaching the "survival" courses for them until I left for the services...

we used to do all the fun stuff, construction, fire lighting, etc... but PC came along and a member had to be a Venturer before he/she could even hold an axe or carry a Pen Knife... so much for learning to "Scout" the country as in the old days... everything became so wrapped in civic duties that a lot of my kids left because they didnt want another visit to a charity or ambulance station... our head leader was a charity nut so whenever we junior leaders put forward any good ideas we got shot down "because some one could get hurt"... Bushcraft was his idea of a nightmare senario.

Sad really...

 

[jimford]

The problem is that the more kids you have on (say) a camp, the greater the liklihood that someone will get hurt in a physical activity.

Some years ago I was at a organisational meeting for a large Woodcraft Folk camp. The site that was going to be used had a lot of trees on it. Someone said should the kids be allowed to climb the trees.

After much discussion it was decided that they shouldn't, the reason being that if it was (say) a 1000:1 chance that a kid would fall out of a tree, with 2000 kids 2 would do so. (O.K., so _all_ of the 2000 wouldn't climb - but you get the idea). The individual risk may still be low, but the 'group risk' is multiplied.

It was considered that faced with the possible scenario of kids going home and when their parents asked if they had a good time, receiving the answer "yes, but 2 had to go to hospital with broken limbs", it would portray the organisation of the camp as being irresponsible.

I also found that whilst I was careful (but not overly so) with my own kids, I felt the need to be more so with those of other parents - mainly because of the trust they put in me, but also because I knew and trusted the kids less well. For these reasons, I often wouldn't undertake activities with other kids that I would with my own.

Jim

 

[The Lord Poncho]

For me, I strongly disagree with the whole concept mentioned above of 'group risk'. If you look at things that way, where does it stop?

The Scout Association has over 400,000 members in the UK. Does it ban all adventurous activities (including 'tree climbing!') because the sheer numbers mean it is highly likely that there will be several accidents leading to severe injury and death each year?

The answer is no. To do so would be to deny hundreds of thousands of young people opportunities for adventure and excitement. Not only this, but in this artificial risk free environment (should anyone actually stay in it for any time because it would be incredibly dull), people wouldn't learn to assess and manage risk, thus making themselves more vulnerable when they are returned to the real world away from overprotective adults and organisations.

This summer, my Explorer Scout unit will be camping in Snowdonia for 9 days and will do a mix of activities including a 100 foot abseil down a waterfall, rock climbing, canyoning, kayaking, coasteering, bushcraft, shooting and archery, an overnight hike up Snowdon and other general shenanigans. They will cook all of their food on open fires, and be living under canvas. The price all in, including food and transport is well under £150, thus making it accessible to all.

I doubt very much they will engage in tree climbing- it would be too tame, but if they wished too, they would be encouraged!

The point is, all these activities are heavily risk assessed, will have the risk designed out as much as possible, and where unacceptable risks remain, the activity will be modified. The ultimate aim being to maximise the perceived risk felt by those doing the activity, whilst minimising the actual risk- think abseiling- scary as you like the first time you go over the edge, but safe as houses if the rope systems etc are set up correctly.

Of course, all accidents that result in injury are regrettable, and all deaths are absolutely tragic. I for one desperately do not want such a fate to befall anyone, especially whilst under my care. The circumstances surrounding all serious injuries and deaths need to be heavily investigated so to minimise a repetition of the same thing happening in the future. But accidents, sometime fatal will happen. As harsh and unpalatable as it sounds, the occasional serious injury or even the tragic loss of life every few years is a small price to pay for the significant gains of over 400,000 of Britain’s young people.

 

[firecrest]

When my dad was in the scouts in the 1950`s, they went on a camping trip to Snodonia. the scoutmaster told the parents to give their children spending money and the fee for coming and all the money would be entrusted to himself so the kids didnt lose it whislt on the trip. Unfortunately my dad was ill and couldnt go, but its a good job because the scouts woke up alone in the hills, the scoutmaster having run off in the night with their money!!
They were up there 2 days because the first day they sat and waited for him to come back and the next day they came down and ate carrots out a field then went to speak to the farmer.
I think they found him, he had gone to france or something.

 

[ol smokey]

I was in the cubs and later the scouts and then becxame a cup leader and eventually a venture scout leader when we built glass fibre canoes , canoed and did archery as well as the usual outdoor stuff. I see we have someone from the wood cradt folk on site, I got great inspiration from a book called The Way to CAMP by the woodcraft folk it was fantastic but i am sure it will be out of print, but it covered knotting, camp fires, nature,
tracking (I think) and choosing a tent, Making a rucksac and tent plans. About everything you could think of for using in the outdoors. I unfortunately gave it away a couple of years ago as I am getting a bit long in the tooth, and all that is a bit basic, I would say grab a copy if you can find one. it is worth its weight in gold of you are working with young people.

 

[SimonM]

To answer the original question, we have recently (since April) done the following:

• Air rifle shooting
• Archery
• 2 weekends camping, with another in 3 weeks time.
• Fire lighting
• Cooking on open fires
• Use of Trangia's and cooking on them whilst camping
• How to build a basha using a poncho (next camp sleeping under them)
• Knife & axe
• Knot work
• Walking
• Care & maintenance of camping gear (tents etc)

I think thats it....for now!

Simon

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

Group Risk

We have 870 in my school. We teach 100plus in the workshops everyday using chisels, machines etc and in my 12 years at the school 2 cuts, not enough for hospital treatment.

Nick

 

[British Red]

For me, I strongly disagree with the whole concept mentioned above of 'group risk'. If you look at things that way, where does it stop?

The entire precept of group risk outlined above betrays a woeful misunderstanding of the entire concpet of risk management. Your take Lord Poncho is entirely more logical and consistent.

The notion of multiplying the probability by the number of risk instances (without dividing the impact by the number of risk participants) shows an individual or organisation that has, quite frankly, completley failed to grasp the most basic "Janet and John" level or risk identification, evaluation, counter and management.

Based on jimfords assesment, a large enough gathering of woodcraft folk would not be allowed out of doors based upon the statistical inevitability of a lightning strike

That explanation of "group risk" is fundamentaly flawed. I suggest appointing someone trained and qualified in risk management if the woodcraft folk need to use it (rather than bandy invented terminology) or to simply use common sense as Lord Poncho has

Red