is it worth it

[webbie]

al try again

well i have nearly finished my modules for my woodbeads but i am unsure if its worth finishing as with all the rules n regs to follow i feel we have lost the true spirit of scouting? it is worth always looking over your shoulder to see who it waiting for you to make a mistake? is it worth losing great friendships due to regulations and people critising you.

so do you think being a leader is worth it in this day in age? i am unsure now and if i leave i will lose a major part of my life and something that has shaped me so much

webbie

[John Fenna]

I used to hold a warrant - I dont at the moment - but I am thinking of helping out with our local scouts again.
Tough questions that only the individual can answer for themselves, I think.

[webbie]

i woul say dont let any-one be put off by my post its a rant if anything but is also meant to hold a point, i have given alot to scouts for being 19 in my opinion but i have also made alot of good friends that i can talk to about anything, but due to the point they are scouts and explorers somehow stops me ( very frowned apon) from giving them lifts home from the town if i see them at the bus stop, from talking to them and having a laugh on sites like bebo without worrying if someone if going to read it the wrong way.

[Toddy]

Responsible young adults are often penalised by the expectation that they 'will' be responsible; too often folks forget that they are 'young' and have the same right to make mistakes, or just do foolish things, like everyone else.

I don't think I'm being much help Webbie, Scouts have changed so much since my day. I was 18 and Akela to a 36 cub pack. I took the entire pack on public transport to go hillwalking, swimming, camping.......nowadays there's no way that would, or could, happen.

The comment about responsible young leaders doesn't change though.
I suspect the Scouts would greatly miss you, maybe though it's time for you to make time for yourself too.
Doesn't mean you need to abandon the scouts, just find something else to widen things a bit.

atb,
Toddy

[Scally]

I agree with what toddy says it maybe time to change what youre doing and give a bit more fun to yourself ( I was asked to do the county exlorer role ) 18 months ago and now i am having fun again as well as the young pesons in scouting. I hope you find the spirit again and just remeber who's life you have given ostive learning too. i witnessed 5 young peole at a first aid matter 3 years ago and this gave me alot of hope and fire to carry on!!! chin up and speak to your DC

[Pignut]

Stay with the scouts as "Network" to my knowledge you do not need your beads or a warrent for this and are more on the Scouting side then leadership side

[Graham_S]

Get the wood beads.
If you've nearly finished the modules, why not?
I find working with scouts very rewarding.

[JFW]

Webbie,

you seem to have invested a fair amount of your time in the scouts and undertaking the woodbeads is no small matter. I would say stick with it and finish the course then make up your mind whether you want to be a leader, a scouter or a helper.
I was a Scoutleader for 4 years and had my warrant but nothing else, I really enjoyed my time with the scouts, but with family and work commitments I was struggling to attend to all the legislation etc that was being introduced and the attitude of some of the parents when being asked to help out I finaly had enough and quit. I don't regret quitting the scouts but I do miss passing my knowledge and experience on to the boys and girls that were my scouts.
Stick with it for the moment and finish you wood badge then see where life takes you.

Cheers

JFW

[brancho]

Webbie
Some of this may be down to confidence or are people actually knocking you for something you have done.

By and large if you use common sense you can have fun and the Scouts will have a good time.
What position do you hold? Ae you being pushed to hold a position you do not want.

I owuld suggest to you look on http://www.escouts.org.uk/ as it is a great place to get advice about this kind of thing.

I feel you should stick it out it is worth it

[webbie]

thanks alot for all your words folks its really good to hear other people ideas and have there input it does help me alot

currently i am with network ( they do nothing)

a assistant explorer leader (was great until we got successful and people started looking for faults to pull us up on)

a assistant scout leader ( should be scout leader since i do all the work but the kids dont want to be there so doesnt make much diffrence, just find it hard to leave the troop as i have been there my whole life)

every week just now just seems like a routine and i turn up without really enjoying it the way i used to a few months ago.

brancho i have a few people in the district waiting for me to make a mistake, but thats just life i suppose, but they dont realise i am just a young leader and i need a role model to live up to and learn from and without that how can i learn properly? i hate working with people who i can not trust and who dont trust me so that dont help either

webbie

[Andyre]

I would say stick with it, get your wood badge, then see where you want to go from there.
I would recommend that if you are thinking do i want to do this then take a step back and just volunteer to do instructing or something similar. With your skills i am sure that you would be in demand.

I have just spent the weekend on camp with our group, We had both cubs and scouts wanting to learn fire by friction, how to make charcloth, or "why are you trying to set fire to that biscuit tin?" and how to manage firewood properly, how to use a knife correctly etc,as well as all the usual camping skills, Its times like that when you realise just what you are giving to the younger members.

[brancho]

Webbie
I cannot recomend Escouts more as someone in your situation can gain a lot from it .

Speak to your DC as if they are worth anything they will find you a mentor and find your area training coordinator ASAP to discuss this with them.

PM me if you want more help.

[Seoras]

Hi Webbie

I work with the Sea Cadets for the majority of my time and occasionaly with the Sea Scouts. Not anything to do with boats but purely land lubber activities such as Mountaineering and Bushcraft under the D of E umbrella.

I accept that rules and regulations can at first feel intimidating but if you are keen stick with it. I know when I am working with the Sea Scouts the instructors as well as the scouts love to learn what they see as the old scouting skills. Rules and regs become less intimidating over time and you do get used to them.

I always cultivate friendships with other leaders who for some strange reason like the old admin side of things which allows me more time to spend teaching.

Good luck with the Woodbead modules.

George

[crazydave]

a bit late but hope you read this - you are not alone and its common throughout scouting. explorers has failed no matter what they try and say it failed before it started along with network as nothing was in place for it unless you had a good adc ventures prepared to take the role on and adapt it.

I was involved in three district changovers and only one was any good.

the yellow card used to be a guideline and you could pick and choose but now busybodies have made it their jobsworth to be ultra picky mainly because they were rubbish as leaders but liked to be in charge.

you're 19 so the kids will see you as a role model or big brother type so they will want to talk and hang out as friends. all the pc stuff has made you hate it as you feel restricted. its up to you how you proceed I got pulled up for being too familiar with some of mine but was saved by very irate parents tearing the DC a new one as I'd known and even babysat most of them and their siblings. mind you having spent a jamborette with the CC helped my case as my guns were bigger than the DC's so he wound his neck in. I had a similar issue where a group of explorers wanted advice on one of their number who was getting drugged up and they didn't know how to deal with it so I had half a dozen in my back garden making hammocks and discussing their problems, it became a regular feature and I taught them survival/bushcraft stuff as well to pass the time. All above board with the parents but it didnt stop the busybodies being busybodies. I let them give me big long lectures then gave one back seriously wasting thier time then handed my warrant in disgust.

I still help as she really enjoys it but it lost any attraction for me now. Mind you recent events have turned her off it as well.

If you have nearly finished your beads then finish it as its a once in lifetime thing and looks good on your CV. Then drop any permanent commitment for a while and float between units which you can do as you have a district warrant, concentrate on what you enjoy and plan activites and camps for several units or a district event. Enjoy it and if anyone starts having a go tell them to take over or wind their necks in, it soon shuts em up especially if you offer to go to the press claiming a smear campaign and threaten the mbe they're after. Sometimes you have to be brutal people bully because they can and you let them.

every single scout/explorer/ex-venture leader I've spoken to says its not worked, my guess is once its been failing for 10 years they will change it again to a split scout section 10-18 with a staggered meeting for larger units.

My last scout troop I invested them as explorers but kept them in position as PL's and SPL's which they liked, in return for running scout camps and helping in troop nights the troop would pay for them to have their own camps to do what they wanted and we gave them an extra hour in the hut if they wanted to learn or do anything for themselves.