The Pedagogy of Scouting
Scouting is a game for life. If it is not a game it is not scouting at all.
To play means let out energy. To play is to challenge and to be challenged. Playing is being together. To play is joy and spontaneity. Scouting needs to be a game because we all participate voluntarily.
But being a KFUM-Scout is more than just a game. It is a game with a meaning. Playing with a purpose. Playing that develops. A game for life. But which life? A life as 'whole persons'. As individuals who take responsibility. As individuals who can and will work together. Individuals who listen to other people and make up their own mind.
This attitude is expressed in the aim of the KFUM-Scouts and in the work we stand for. What we say and what we do is the same in our association and this is exactly what we mean by 'a game for life'. The 'game' is what we do. 'For life' is our idea.
The four elements of the Scout Method
The Scout Law and Promise
These acts as a guideline of how a scout should act in the world. The law speaks of the scout's duty to God, duty the others and duty to self.
Learning By Doing
An important thing to remember about scouting is that the learning process should always be practical. By this is meant that you do not learn to tie a knot by looking at a diagram – you have to try it yourself. The scout should learn from own experiences: both the successful and the unsuccessful ones.
The Patrol System
Working in small groups is vital to scouting. In the patrol the scout learns about fellowship, responsibility, solidarity and democracy. He also learns about himself and the others through teamworking and being part of a small fellowship. In the patrol it is the patrol leader's responsibility to plan patrol meetings and trips and to make sure that new members of the patrol get the basic scouting skills they need.
A Progressive Programme
Scouting is an aid in the personal journey from carefree child to responsible adult and scouting helps during the entire journey. Our training system is a good example of this: we work with the same topics through all the age groups, but the level of involvement and responsibility increases with age.
The pedagogy of scouting is evident in the way we organize scouting: Dividing scouts into patrols. The way a meeting is organized. The content and structure of the training system and the interaction between leaders and scouts. Every single element has an underlying meaning.
The scout training system is carefully constructed to include e.g. these elements
- We work in small groups (the patrol system)
- We work in a way that is closely adapted to the age of the scouts
- The activities are manifold - not specializing
- Scouting is based on Scout Law and Promise
- We learn by experimenting in real life
- Scouting is outdoor life to the extend possible
A Journey of Development
The aim of scouting is to enable children and young people to take care of their own development and constantly seek new challenges through their entire life. In this way, scouting supports and complements the development of the child at home and in school.
Seen from the outside the activities may look simple and, for some, even useless. But each activity always serves a purpose in the pedagogy of scouting. This is true when scouts identify seven cloaked objects by smell alone in the so-called Kim's Game, find their way through a forest or a city with map and compass or prepare a fire for cooking their dinner. There is always a connection and an overall objective.
Scouting stimulates the child on its way
- from dependence to independence
- from self-centeredness to responsibility
The Whole Person
Scouting is about developing all aspects of children and young people. It means developing the scout on five levels: physically, intellectually, socially, spiritually and emotionally.
It is important that the scouts are challenged in all five areas during their life in order to further independent individuals who can competently navigate in society. Our aim is to develop individuals that take active part in their sorroundings, have strong opinions, take responsibility and care for their fellow citizens.