A writer with theirishscouter was censored today on the Scouting Ireland Chat Forum. A post was removed and the account was suspended. Before the post is published here (with associated details), in the interests of fairness, a rationale will be sought for the deletion. This is important because a lot of people are talking about transparency and fairness at the moment.
Freedom of speech, even when you don’t like what is being said, should be defended.
More Kafkaesque antics from the small-minded pen pushers who pull the strings of Scouting Ireland’s National Management Committee behind the scenes.
November saw a change to the Standing Orders of that Committee (yawn), except these changes will effectively gag the members of the committee in yet further evidence that whilst most exchequer-funded charities are moving towards greater transparency – the faceless bureaucrats at Scouting Ireland are determined to go in the opposite direction.
It’s that time of year and theirishscouter has some thoughts to offer on the subject of New Years Resolutions, applied to Scouting…
It’s 9am on a cold, crisp Saturday morning.
Already, the Scout Den is a hive of activity. The Burco bubbles in the kitchen and mugs are warming on a tray. There is a plate of mince pies sitting alongside (the er, breakfast of champions…) and two packs of chocolate biscuits standing upright, awaiting the call to duty.
Theirishscouter would never assume to tell other Scouters how to do their work.
Every group is different. Every Scouter is different.
However as a former scout leader who has had the immense privilage of having been involved in two hugely successful scout troops in recent years, one rescued from failure, the other founded from scratch, some lessons and learning have been picked up along that journey that might interest some (and might seem very familiar indeed to others). This is just part of what is in all likelihood a lifelong learning experience….
The role of youth members on the National Management Committee
The youthful team who appear to have been central to the recent success of the bid for Ireland to host the World Rover Moot in 2021 were a breath of fresh air in what can often look like a somewhat jaded leadership line up in Scouting Ireland with many faces that seem to have been hogging National Roles for decades.
Conspicuous among the youthful team were some occupants of National youth positions, including the ‘yoof’ section of the National Management Committee (those members aged 26 and under at time of election).
There are many pleasant duties allocated to the scouters in a given programme section. It could be reasonably argued that merely being in the presence of an enthusiastic group of young people and watching them learn and grow together is a pleasant responsibility in itself.
With the characteristically deflective wording worthy of a Communist party press release, the coterie of pen pushers who delight in the generation of red tape at Scouting Ireland announced in a letter on October 16th to members that ‘it has been decided’ to introduce a Scouting Ireland membership card’. A bizarrely worded justification appeared a few days later on the website scouts.ie.
The seemingly ever-increasing administrative burden imposed by Scouting Ireland on volunteers in local Scout Groups will now be joined by an added financial burden. Increases in registration fees for adults are due (a €5 increase per member), alongside a new raffle levy (10% of earnings). Both initiatives are expected imminently.
