For my coursework I am planning to see what role Explorer Scouts hold for the young people in the community, focusing, in particular, on the organisation and undertaking of the 'Overland' project.
Citizenship Coursework
-Explorer Scouts
Plan:
For my coursework I am planning to see what role Explorer Scouts hold for the young people in the community, focusing, in particular, on the organisation and undertaking of the 'Overland' project. The 'Overland' project is a two- day hiking competition for Scouts aged 12-14 and Explorers aged 14-17. It is a 25 mile hike spread over two days with incident checkpoints and an overnight camp.
I am researching this because I am interested in seeing how and why this aspect is within the biggest youth organisation all over the world.
Explorer Scouts are young people, usually aged between 14 and 18 years old. They make up the fourth section of the Scouting family.
I got involved with Explorer Scouts as somebody I know was to become the leader of the Explorer Scout unit in my community. He showed me what I would gain from joining Explorers. This was:
" gaining new skills
getting a better understanding of people different to themselves
knowing they have a difference to individuals in the community
increasing self-esteem
confronting and conquering their own fears
realising that they are a contributing member of the community. "
It looked good and I felt I could benefit from it. I am now a member of the Dragoon Explorers.
As part of my primary research I would like to find out why the leaders are involved in Explorers. I will also ask about the organisation and undertaking of the practice hikes they ensure the participants of the 'Overland' take part in. I will also get the views and opinions of the Explorers themselves about the 'Overland'. I will do this by questionnaires, interviews and discussions.
In Explorers there is a lot of use of technology. To keep in contact and to keep everyone informed of important information E-Mails are sent out. The advantage of this are: it's fast and easily accessible. The disadvantages are: computers may crash and E-Mails may not be received in time of an activity.
Technology is also used to record: attendance, emergency contacts, subs and camp being paid in, I cannot show any of these in my secondary research as they hold private information, and is protected by the 'Data Protection Act'.
Account of the activity: A: knowledge and understanding of events and roles:
Since September 2002 to March 2003 some members of the group have been involved in a nationally recognised competition; the 'Overland'. Participants in the 'Overland' hike a distance of 25 miles which is spread over 2 days; 15 miles the first day with an overnight camp and then a further 10 miles on the second day. Each day you carry 10kg and stop off at incident checkpoints, e.g.: rewiring a plug in 10 minutes. Points are awarded for how well you manage to do checkpoints and if you hike at a 3mph pace.
For this competition it ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
Since September 2002 to March 2003 some members of the group have been involved in a nationally recognised competition; the 'Overland'. Participants in the 'Overland' hike a distance of 25 miles which is spread over 2 days; 15 miles the first day with an overnight camp and then a further 10 miles on the second day. Each day you carry 10kg and stop off at incident checkpoints, e.g.: rewiring a plug in 10 minutes. Points are awarded for how well you manage to do checkpoints and if you hike at a 3mph pace.
For this competition it is necessary that teams are equipped with: hiking boots, waterproofs, high visibility reflective items, ID cards, tentage, sleeping bags, hiking trousers, food and drink, cooking utensils, torches, compasses, 2 maps and 2 first aid kits.
For each of the items it is the responsibility of the ESL (Explorer Scout Leader) and Unit Assistants to make sure that every member of the team has all the equipment. The ESL and Unit Assistants are also responsible for the safety of each Explorer on the practice hikes. A form is given to the parents to fill in regarding their child's medical information.
If an Explorer does not have some of the specialist equipment needed for the 'Overland' it is the ESL and the Unit Assistants who organise fund-raising, such as bag packing, so that the equipment can be bought. Not only is bag packing fund-raising, it makes a contribution to the community; which is one of the aims of an Explorer Scout.
Once the right amount of money is raised and equipment bought it is then up to the ESL and Unit Assistants to organise practice hikes so everyone is prepared for the long 25 miles. It is necessary for these hikes to take place so there is less competition. The ESL and Unit Assistants also accompany the Explorers until the are convinced that the Explorers are safe enough to hike without adult supervision. This is because no leaders are hiking in the competition.
They also train the Explorers to use the equipment and develop skills for checkpoints. These include: gas stoves, knots and first aid.
Account of the activity cont: B: Explanation and interpretation of Evidence:
It is impossible to get any sort of primary and secondary information about the 'Overland' itself in advance as no-one is allowed to know where it is taking place, and what is happening at each incident checkpoint as then it is certain no teams can cheat. In this case the only information I can get is from the questionnaires and interviews.
From my questionnaires, I can see how the leaders and Unit Assistants planned and organised the practice hikes towards the 'Overland'.
From interviews with one of the Unit Assistant's sons he was able to tell the ESL and Unit Assistants what to expect and helped plan practice routes. He told them what the Explorers had to be trained to use and what skills they needed. The ESL and Unit Assistants asked for his help as he has participated in the ' Overland' before.
It is apparent that the ESL and Unit Assistants enjoy spending their time helping us with the practices and training us up for skills as nobody said that they dislike helping us and generally feel it's the best way to spend their free time.
From an E-Mail from one of the Unit Assistants I understand that it is not their responsibility to undertake fund-raising, although this is what I explained earlier. I thought this as the leaders usually take part in fund-raising. The only reason why they do this is because that no-one else is willing to help the Explorers.
" As leaders we are not supposed to do any fundraising, and so Carol (District
Commissioner) spoke to some parents who maybe willing to take this on.
however, they have not ever replied to Sam's (Unit Assistant) efforts to
contact them and so have not done anything. In practical terms the leaders
usually end up trying to raise money as well as everything else. The leaders
have to do it as there is nobody else willing to take it on and we can't survive
without it. "
My opinion of this E-Mail is that the ESL and the Unit Assistants do not particularly enjoy fund-raising as nobody is willing to help. Maybe if there was more willingness the ESL and Unit Assistants might enjoy there roles and responsibilities more than what they do at present.
I also feel from the questionnaires that I received the ESL and Unit Assistants enjoy their roles and responsibilities.
" What do you enjoy about your role?"
" Everything. "
They are laid back, which is a good thing as it means that young adults can mature, try new activities and make new friends other than doing it at school. From my questionnaires I can see as they are laid back as one of their rights is to say whether we wear uniform or not. There other rights are: to send people home if they are in danger to themselves or others and to refuse if we are to go on trips.
As an Explorer myself, it is very easy to see how much effort they all put in to make sure that each individual enjoys themselves, in particular everything to do with the 'Overland'.
Evaluation Stage:
In the 'Overland' competition, teams consist of four members. I was a member of a team participating. The other three members were from the Explorer Scout Unit I belong to, they were: Antony Fairchild, Charmian Fairchild and Thomas Taylor.
Everyone in the team couldn't wait to do the competition and to represent our unit. We all felt excited and at the same time nervous about the competition as it would be the first time any Explorer Scout Unit would enter the competition. This is because Explorer Scouts are a new group of Scouts which only started this year.
Whilst on the 'Overland' the team came to a decision that we were quite a strong team, and because of this we wanted to push ourselves to be placed in the top ten out of 27 teams.
We all worked extremely well as a team and this was proven to be true when the announcer said we were placed tenth.
The ESL and Unit Assistants were very proud of us and how the team managed to work well together. They now believe that we can participate in a competition called 'The Downsman'; 64 miles in 24 hours.
All the team learned new skills on the 'Overland'. When the team sat down and limited the skills down to the one we found most useful we decided it would be working as a team. We decided this because it would help for when we go out to work.
I also feel that I have matured more since the undertaking of the 'Overland'. I believe this because when I was hiking without any adults I had to take more responsibilities for my actions and make sure that my team mates were safe. I think having this responsibility has opened my eyes and help me in the future with college and other social events.
One of my strengths within this project is the account of the whole activity. I think that this is the case as I enjoyed myself of the competition and the more fun something is the easier it is to remember it.
Another one of my strengths was interviewing the leaders by E-mail. I chose to do this method as I find it easier to write to someone rather then speak to them.
Overall, in my opinion, everybody enjoyed themselves and would definitely do it again.
The whole planning and organisation payed off from the ESL and the Unit Assistants. We owe a lot to them for how well we done on the competition. If we were to do it again I would ask for more checkpoint practices as that is where we lost most points, especially on knotting skills!
If I was to do the 'Overland' project again I would ask for a few more practice hikes. This is because we only did five practice hikes before he competition. With more practice hikes it could further improve our finishing position.
If I was to do this project again I would: get more primary and secondary research. It was almost impossible to get any primary research as the Scout Organisation have to keep everything a secret so nobody has more advantage over another team.
I did hand out a set of questionnaires to leaders and to Explorers themselves but unfortunately I only received questionnaires back from the leaders. This was bad as the questions on the leaders questionnaires were harder to analyse using different methods other than my opinions.
I would also use more than just questionnaires, interviews and E-mails to get information as it is very basic. I would use methods such as discussions as I could then explain my questions so no-one misunderstands the questions.
Another one of my weaknesses with the project was including the rights of the leaders. I did use a book from one of my Social Education lessons but it only showed the rights of a school teacher. I also looked on the Scout website but that also had nothing of the rights which leaders have. The only last resource I could use was to ask one of the Unit Assistants by E-Mailing her, therefore this research is not valid it is only a matter of opinion.
Natalie Woodland
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