Scout Leadership Course Session Activity Notes

Session activity

Self Discipline: Scout Law Incident Hike

Time to allocate for this activity

30 minutes

Resources required

Incident Hike Route, base cards.

Activity Notes

This short activity is designed to encourage Scouts to think the Scout Law and how it encourages Self Discipline. Based on an outdoor incident style hike, the quick pace of the activities should keep everyone moving.

Preparation

Either mark out on a map of your course site or make a trial/signposted route that will take about 15 minutes to walk around. Along the route, there are five bases where the walkers will stop and complete a task before moving on. The tasks are detailed on the Incident Hike Task Cards resource, which should be printed and left at the appropriate points.If the route is arranged in a circle, then each Patrol can start at a different point and continue until the get back to the start. Adult supervision of the overall route is required to keep Patrols on task, but they can complete the tasks without adult suppport.

Introduction (2 mins)

What is self discipline? Ask for some ideas from the course. Encourage ideas that talk about living within your own moral and social code such as arriving on time, dressing appropriately, remembering to do things you have promised to do, good moral values, socially acceptable behaviour, etc.

Why is self discipline important for a leader? Again, briefly encourage comments from the group which include leading by example, setting expectations, practising what you preach, etc.

The task (20 mins)

Set the Patrols on their course with instructions to carefully read and complete the five tasks that they find on the way. They will need to report back on one of the tasks at the end. The tasks are:
A Scout is trustworthy
A Scout considerate
A Scout is respectful
A Scout is thrifty

Presentations (4 x 1 min max)

Each Patrol details what they did for one of the tasks, chosen at random by the Presenter. The Presenter will summarise each presentation, paying particular attention to statements about leading by example, following social codes, setting expectations, etc.

Conclusion (3 minutes)

Summarise the activity outcomes and Conclude with the statement from BP:
"You can only get discipline in the mass by discipline in the individual."