Is anyone else a Beaver/Cub/Scout Leader?

tankgirl1

From talking to ex - scout leaders it seems I have sold my soul to BP by agreeing to help out.......... I'm actually V excited as it all seems like fun, but all ex leaders are V cynical?

MrsBunny

Im an ex leader of a cub pack and I wish I wasnt!

I just do not have the time any more becuase of work (new job/location etc) but I was a leader for 10 years. It is very rewarding but very hard work. It is not just an hour and a half a week....its all the meetings, prep, competitions, camps etc Some things, like camps, you plan for in advance and I did not see this as 'extra' most years, our 3 yearly camps where mini holidays for me as I could not afford to go on holiday myself.
What got me was the district meetings/leader meetings/pack meetings etc. Generally the pack meeting was after the cubs had gone home...planning what we were doing for the next 6 weeks etc and that didnt really bother me because I was already there and we could get alot planned/look at resources from our cub board/ask the kids what badges if any they would like to work towards. The district meetings, (all cub leaders in the district meet) in my opinion, where a pain, always on a thursday and you always got talked into doing something else! Leader meetings (where all leaders of your group get together) where always on a Wednesday (1 a month) and these are where you disscuss any group activities (group camp)/up keep of the building/any grants for fundraising etc. Some months, meetings can be in the same week!

All in all, it is a great experience and I hope you have great fun, I really miss it. xx

meer53

I'm an ex Beaver leader. I hated it. I was sort of conned into it when i was asked if i would "help out for an hour" on a Friday night at the meetings. It turned into 3 years. I hated going out in the dark in the winter, i hated having to prepare "exciting" things to do each week, i hated Camp weekends, i hated the compulsory training courses. I hated the uniform, the meetings, the parades, and on and on and on !! At the time i just went along with it all because my son was there, when he said he didn't want to go to Cubs i could have cried with joy ! Scout leaders are a special breed of people, they're great motivators and organisers and really enjoy what they do. I can motivate and organise quite well but prefer adults to kids ! Being a leader is what you make it, i was lucky that i ran the group with a friend who was passionate about Scouting, she sort of carried me ! It was mutually agreed that i would turn up, do what i had to do and just generally be there ! There were some fun times, honest ! Just not for me i'm afraid. Good luck

sharronej

I married into a family with a Scouting background, I resolutely refused to join for years because I'm also a childminder working 10 hours plus each day, eight years ago my husband became Akela at the group our children attended and he needed my help - I was also feeling left out because my kids and dh were off Scouting a lot and I was left at home. We ran the Cub pack up to 18 months ago when after a final straw argument led us to look for Scouting opportunities in other areas, to cut a long story short we opened up a new group in a deprived area of Manchester - Cubs first, then Beavers and finally six month ago Scouts. The group needed a 'manager' so I was asked to become GSL which I reluctantly accepted. We also run one of the District Explorer Units

My overview of scouting is this;

Frustrating, time consuming, demanding, sold my soul - it certainly feels that way, bl**dy hard work - absolutely, the training is a pain, unproductive meetings are a forum for personality clashes and allow back stabbing to evolve and a further drain on time, the politics between some of the adults (the glory hunters and know it alls) is appalling.

So why bother? Well, because I LOVE IT :rotfl: The kids are amazing, such good fun and it's one of the best tonics to see the children grow and achieve, it gives me a buzz to introduce the yp to new activities and to watch their self worth and inner strength grow when they overcome a fear (say the climbing wall). Camping is such hard work but such a good laugh with the other adults that you camp with and meet whilst out and about. I'm just back from our very first Beaver sleepover, we had our Explorers there doing service crew - where else in this day and age would you see a group of fourteen to eighteen years olds running a camp fire for 6Yr olds? They taught the children how to go 'on a Bear Hunt' and lots of other classic campfire songs - I watched them in awe, I'm so proud of them! There's something about delivering a shattered and muddy child back to a parent at the end of a fabulous weekend that makes my heart sing :rotfl:

The best piece of advice I was given was this

Scouting is a hobby, if it's not fun don't do it

Where it goes wrong is when you take on more responsibility than you have time for or that you simply didn't want. If you want to do 2 hours a week then that should be absolutely fine - ask for Section Assistant role so that's either BSSA, CSSA or SSA this means you can have all the fun without the responsibility. It means you only have to do training modules 1 and 3 although if I was your GSL I would ask if you would do the Safeguarding and First Aid training. It's not quite as flexible as taking a full role but if you're new to scouting then I would take this route.

The meetings are a pain - I try to reduce mine to an absolute minimum and have told my Leaders that I want them to be happy and to enjoy their scouting so if they don't have time for the District Events and meetings well that's fine they won't get any hassle from me.

I hope that you enjoy your time in scouting - yes ex-scouters can be negative about it but it's usually because they've been taken advantage of or it simply wasn't for them.

meer53

Well said sharronej !! I forgot to mention all the "know it alls" the ones who have been in scouting since the day they were born. I was made to feel a bit of an outsider really which didn't help. Most of the leaders where we were, were nearly drawing their pension and so set in their ways it was painful. We wanted to accept girls into our Beaver group to increase the numbers but my god, you'd have thought we'd asked for the local !!!!!phile to come in for a chat ! They did make it really difficult for us. I'm glad i did it but i would definately not recommend it unless you are prepared to commit yourself totally, there is no halfway is there ? I've done all the other stuff like helping out in my kids schools with reading etc and helping on the PTA but "helping out" at Scouts is not in the same league ! "Selling your soul" really is appropriate !

sharronej

meer53 wrote: »

Well said sharronej !! I forgot to mention all the "know it alls" the ones who have been in scouting since the day they were born. I was made to feel a bit of an outsider really which didn't help. Most of the leaders where we were, were nearly drawing their pension and so set in their ways it was painful. We wanted to accept girls into our Beaver group to increase the numbers but my god, you'd have thought we'd asked for the local !!!!!phile to come in for a chat ! They did make it really difficult for us. I'm glad i did it but i would definately not recommend it unless you are prepared to commit yourself totally, there is no halfway is there ? I've done all the other stuff like helping out in my kids schools with reading etc and helping on the PTA but "helping out" at Scouts is not in the same league ! "Selling your soul" really is appropriate !

Yes, it can be difficult with the 'old school' leaders and it's a shame because they have so much to give - practical scouting skills for a start! In an ideal world we'd have the enthusiasm of the new blood coming through with their new ideas and the experienced leaders offering support. It's such a shame that so many people volunteer to help and then find themselves overwhelmed with doing more and more because "it's for the children and if I don't do it then they'll miss out", I suppose it's the shortage of leaders and helpers. However, we should remember that we are not letting the children down - we are still providing them with a wealth of opportunities! I am determined that in my group of over 70 children and 16 leaders we will have the philosophy that we do what we can - prioritising our group nights and camps with the District events coming second and District and County meetings way down the list :rotfl:

The advice I give to people is to go into scouting with a firm idea of how much time they have to give and then if the section Leaders or GSL ask for more commitment say very politely and firmly NO, sorry I can't manage that!

I have recently been asked to become a Training Advisor however I know that I am now at saturation point (GSL, Cubs and supporting Explorers) and if I wish to continue enjoying Scouting it would be the wrong thing to do. We have a massive shortage of T.A's in the District and I have eight Leaders who need to work there way through the training and was being made to feel that I need to solve the problem but actually no, I don't the training is not my problem it's the District Training Managers!

It's criminal and arrogant the way some new volunteers are treated - we should be rolling out the red carpet and saying "Thank you, how do we make this fun for you?"

Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now

lizzie_dripping

I have been a Beaver leader for 7 years but will be giving up at the end of this month.

I have loved my time in Scouting - if you are excited about it and expect it to be fun then it probably will be. As with anything, there are politics to negotiate :cool: and sometimes the kids and/or their parents will drive you crazy but it is very rewarding.

For various reasons I don't have the time or enthusiasm to put into running a section at the moment. I have coasted a bit for a year but ultimately it's not fair on the kids if I constantly can't do or don't want to do camps and events. I'm hoping that a new leader will bring that breath of fresh air in with them and I will support them however I can.

Good luck with your future scouting.

tankgirl1

Thanks everyone!
As I said in my OP I am actually really excited about it, and can't wait to get stuck in!

tankgirl1

Whew! I'm knackered after tonight!

Plus the politics are starting to rear their ugly head!

I offered to repaint the scout hut as I have loads of left over white paint - not allowed?! Despite all the scuffs up the walls! Loads of litter and broken chairs outside too!

I'm still loving it, but it comes to something when the bloody scouts can't keep their own hut in good repair! Because of politics again! Beavers & Cubs want to clean up, Overall leader says Nup! :mad:

He has no problem hiring out his scruffy hut though

sharronej

Hahaha you've only been once:rotfl: Perhaps we've made you cynical already? The decision to paint the hut would not be down to one person, it would normally go to the committee. The basic structure within the group is as follows;

GROUP SCOUT LEADER (Group Manager)

Beaver SL Cub SL Scout Leader

Asst Leaders within each section

Section Assistants (used to be called parent helpers)

If you're lucky then the group would also have a committee with a Chairman who would help the GSL with regards to fund raising and other matters relating to the group. The term Manager is not mine - the Association have decided in their wisdom to apply business terms to the various roles. It's interesting and disappointing to see how many GSL's tend to think that they can make their own decisions regardless of what the other leaders, parents and yp think.

My advice would be to keep your mouth shut if and when other leaders start to let off steam regarding group politics - just enjoy being with the kids and make non committal noises if comments get personal about other people.

HTH
xx

tankgirl1

Hi
I've been going for a few weeks and we have no committee - BSL and us ABSL's have more or less agreed to just get on and paint it - Akela is with us! GSL doesn't seem to bother - been there for eons, always done it his way!
How can he object when the evil job is done? To repaint with our our own paints, tools and giving up our own time FOC - it's not going to cost the scout troop a single penny!