Admin, tent checking and games

The first night back - and in the main it was pleasing to see so many in full uniform.  The Troop attending this week is the same group that will be with me next week for the Annual Gilwell Winter Camp - so checking the tents was a main order for the day.

Using the mnemonic PATROL we tried to get the Scouts to break the problem (that of checking the tent) into the various units - however, they were just keen to get on.  This later tripped them up, when on counting tent pegs they said “We have 25 pegs in this tent”.  “How many do you need?” I asked and received the expected “dunno” response.  So the tent was opened again (you could cut the frustration with a knife!!) as they moved from being the first to complete to the last.  However, it will mean that next week their tent will have enough pegs - and it looks like being a wet and windy weekend (and I’m not talking about the Baked beans!!)

We played quite a good version of battleships.  The ‘normal’ version is to draw a circle about half way down the hall - and each scout attempts to land  a beanbag in the circle.  When the patrol has succeeded 3 times they can attempt the battleship board - with points for Hits etc.  Because we didn’t have beanbags but foam frisbees (and to give another leader something else to do!) we marked three circles in a line, with subsequently higher points - which then gave each Scout a dilemma - go for an ‘easy’ circle with low points to tackle the Battleship board; or go for the more difficult circles with higher points, but less chance to tackle the board?  An interesting game that I think the boys enjoyed.

The other thing we have deliberately done this term is to NOT publish the programme.  This will mean that the Scouts will be unable to decide the more fun evenings to attend - something that the Scouts seem to appreciate; I hope that they won’t be disappointed over the term.

Scouting and management

One of the really nice things about Scouting (in my opinion) is that we can introduce young people to concepts and methods normally reserved for adults attending very expensive training courses, where they are challenged to cross a lake using oil drums, or navigate across a mountain range.  At these events they are also introduced to managment planning tools.

Well, here’s one that we’ve developed - PATROL.  It’s an excellent, simple mnemonic to plan and deal with any problem the team may face.

P - Problem.  What’s being asked of the team, what’s gone wrong, hat needs to be achieved?
A- Assess. The need to get ideas asto how to solve the problem.  Ideally a team exrcise to map it ou
T- Tasks.  Once you know how ty solve the problem - what steps do you need to do - and in what order?
R - Responsibility.  Who needs to do what?  Specific allocation here, rather than just a vague hope
O - off you go! The actual doing bit.
L -Lead.  Someone needs to take responsibility for ensuring that the tasks ae being completed by the person asked to do the job.