Why being a Scouter makes me a better educator...

So in our house, it's all-scouts, all-the-time.  My two teens are off hiking, caving or paddling most every weekend.  I've been involved with their scout group for several years, but in the past year or so, I've been a lot more active as a leader.  When I started down this path, I had this idea that, because I'd been an educator for more than 20 years, I had skills to offer the kids and group, and would be able to help.  Having worked with children with unique needs for many years, I felt I could easily offer support in terms of providing inclusive opportunities for everyone. 

All of that proved to be true.  I do feel like I have contributed to the life of our troop.  I often take what I learned at school to scouts.  But more recently, I've been struck by the ways I can take scouts back to school.

Here are my top 5:

1.  When it comes to learning, it's about being TOGETHER, not about being in the same place.

We have a new program, called The Canadian Path, that's turning the program into a more formal continuum.  Starting in September, youth from ages 5-17 will be on the same 9 level continuum for camping skills, paddling skills, etc....they'll step in at the place most appropriate for them, and move to whatever's next.  But we've always done this as scouts.  You can't get your axe permit until you have your knife permit.  You don't go on overnight wilderness hikes until you've had some practice packing gear and going to camp.  You paddle 3-5 km trips when you're younger, and go on the 40 km portages after you're a bit more seasoned.

All of our groups have a range of ages,

usually spanning 3-4 years, and kids join us at any point, so the troop is always a mix of raw beginners and seasoned experts.  While we sometimes offer more challenging opportunities to the older kids, we usually go off with everyone, and just make sure that there's support where it's needed.  Experienced paddlers share canoes with beginners.  Everyone learns to light a fire, every year, and the older kids offer more tips and tricks to the newer ones, and get more and more independent.

It's amazing to me that both of my children have been able to pack for a wilderness adventure on their own since they were 11.  We didn't even own backpacks or outdoor sleeping bags when they started.  This weekend, they're caving and rock climbing on the Juan de Fuca trail.

2.  Everybody's in!


Heading out canoeing one weekend, we had gear and boats piled at the shoreline, and we were helping kids find partners and get started, when one of our scouts slipped on some seaweed and went down hard.  He's a young man with some unique needs, and one of the things that occasionally
happens when he's frustrated is that his language is pretty colorful and un-scouting-like.  The outburst on this particular day definitely drew the attention of a few of the adults standing around.

Before any of us could respond, one of the older scouts went over to him, said "I bet that hurt.  C'mon, you're with me,"  and started walking over to the canoe.  Within two minutes, the two of them had shoved off from shore and were laughing at a shared joke while they waited for everyone to load up.  I know this young man has the support of an educational assistant at school, but at scouts, he's one of us.  The kids don't have big talks about what to do when he's having a rough day, or wait for an adult to intervene.  Although the adults do step in to lend a hand from time to time,  the kids most often support him as a matter-of-course, because he's their friend and they know what to do.

3.  Service and Leadership are two sides of the same coin.

Scouting is all about service-  to yourself, to others, to your community.  When we fund raise, we share the proceeds amongst everyone, and learn that the hard work results in really neat opportunities that we wouldn't have other ways.   As the kids move through the program, they do linking activities with kids in the younger sections, and older youth often volunteer as leaders' helpers.   Many of our 15-18 year old Venturers come every week to beaver, cub and scout meetings, just because they love helping the younger kids.  We pick up litter, clean shorelines, remove invasive species, plant trees.

This sense of service really struck me the first day I spent 8 hours (really, 8, blistering hot hours) picking up garbage along the side of the highway with 13-16 year olds who were joking and chattering away the whole time they worked.  Not one complaint from anyone.  It didn't need to be a flashy job.  But it mattered that they felt like they were making a difference. 

4.  Persistence persists, even without our advice....

Two weeks ago, I was at the Klondike Derby in Sooke.  This is an event with 10 stations where each patrol of 6 kids (the ones in my group were aged 11-14) pull around a cart that's loaded with ropes, axes, first aid gear, a compass, etc.  The stations have them lashing ladders to climb trees, swinging on zip-lines partly of their own making, creating shelters, and responding to mock emergency situations.

We were out there for hours and hours, sometimes "winging it" with things we only knew a little bit about how to do.  Adults were bystanders-  if I offered advice or suggestions, they lost points.  Sometimes it was easy to keep quiet.  When we hit our 20th minute of a couple of kids suspended between two trees with no idea how to get the platform with the rest of their group across, biting my tongue was excruciating.  We timed out on that one, but I heard them chatter as the next group arrived and was having more success....we'll have it next year, and we weren't the least bit discouraged as we headed to the next stop.

5. Relationships bridge the gap between trepidation and success.

I've always been proud of the relationships that I build with colleagues, students, and their families.  The connections that I've made at school will stay with me for the rest of my life.  As a scouter, I feel these connections from a different perspective.  At scouts, I'm surrounded by people with skill sets dramatically different from my own.  When we're heading off in canoes or on a big hike, I might have a red shirt like the other adults-  but I'm as much of a learner as the kids.

Before heading to camp  with my kids, I had bits and pieces of outdoor experiences, but I'd never packed a canoe for an overnight trip, or lit a fire with only flint and steel.  The last time I did an orienteering course, I was 12 years old.  It feels different forging relationships with people in an environment when I lacked confidence in my skills, and often need to ask for help or advice.  I find I'm scanning the environment to learn what I can, and I'm proud of the fact after each event I feel a little bit more competent.


It took a little while to find my "scouting legs,"  but I quickly grew to realize that we have each others' backs.  It's understood that we have different things to bring to the table, and my connection to these people isn't because of our respective skills as Scouters  but because of the support and friendship we offer to one another.  We're a family.  We take care of each other, accept that we're all good (and struggle) with different things, and move forward together.

At scouts, we all benefit because They're All Our Kids.