Intro to Venturing
Published on Nov 23, 2015
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
VENTURING
SCOUTING ABOVE AND BEYOND
Introduction to Venturing
University of Scouting - Central Florida Council
2015
University of Scouting - Central Florida Council
2015
Photo by Thompson Rivers
LEAD THE ADVENTURE
The Venturing motto is "Lead the Adventure". We're going to explore what that means.
"Crews"
Co-Ed
Ages 14-21
Youth Led
Venturing is an organization by the Boy Scouts of America for teens and young adults. Venturers are organized into Crews that may contain both boys and girls ages 13-21.
Venturing crews are self lead.
Venturing crews are self lead.
Photo by watsonsinelgin
EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION
LEARNING BY DOING
The goal to venturing is what's called Experiential Education. That is learning by organizing and participating in new experiences (adventures) and taking the time to reflect upon them.
Photo by Joshua Berman
ADVENTURE WITH A PURPOSE
If Scouting is a "game with a purpose", Venturing is the full contact version.
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Life Skills
The skills taught are, in my opinion, skills we need to impart upon young people to survive in today's world.
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BENCHMARKS OF ADVENTURE
Venturing has it's own advancement path. They're more awards signifying achievements than ranks, but similar in concept.
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VENTURER
LIKE TIGER CUBS FOR OLDER KIDS
The entry level to being a Venturer is the aptly named Venturer Award. This is a participation driven achievement. Go on an outing with your crew; interview with your president and advisor; take a personal safety training; and make a statement of intent to join and you're in.
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DISCOVEREY
PREPARING TO LEAD
Discoverer is where things get more challenging. You must participate in at least two higher level adventures. You must complete CPR and first aid training. You must take ILSC, Goal Setting, Time Management, and Officer Orientation. You must set a personal goal and achieved it; and completed a structured personal reflection. You also need 24 service hours recorded.
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PATHFINDER
LEADING THE ADVENTURE
Path Finder steps it up again. This time in addition to participating in a higher level adventure, you must organize one. You must also serve in a leadership position in the crew or serve on staff for a leadership training course (NYLT, Kodiak, Wood Badge etc.). There will be more structured personal reflection, and 36 additional service hours including planning a project to grow and sustain the crew.
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SUMMIT
MENTORING OTHERS
Summit is the Venturer equivalent of Eagle. The requirements are as stringent as eagle if not more so and include a service project similar in scope to an Eagle project. (Details are available in the Venturing Summit Award Service Project Workbook. And no you can't count your Eagle project twice.)
Photo by Anna & Michal
"It's brought me closer to my family."
I asked my kids about what they thought of venturing. My oldest, Katie, is a venturer and has really fallen in love with Scouting. When I asked my youngest boy, a cub working on his wolf badge, he said that the best thing about venturing was:
"Because Katie is in scouts with me."
"Because Katie is in scouts with me."
Photo by Darkroom Daze
"IT'S GIVEN ME A GROUP TO BELONG TO"
Katie's other comment touched on one of the secrets of Venturing directly. Group Identity. She feels that the crew she's in allows her to be herself.
Photo by anna gutermuth
Adventure
Leadership
Personal Growth
Service
So venturing is about experiential education. How does it go about educating experientially?
There are four methods venturing uses. We'll go over each in turn.
There are four methods venturing uses. We'll go over each in turn.
Photo by `James Wheeler
ADVENTURE
THE HOOK TO KEEP PEOPLE EXCITED IS
First and most obvious, Adventure. Having a fun time is the most important way to keep people interested in what you're doing.
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Through adventure, Venturers practice Leadership.
Adventure forms the backbone to everything a crew does. They practice leadership by organizing adventures for the crew to go on.
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Through adventure, Venturers practice Service.
The adventures often include some kind of a service project. When I was Venturing age, we built a Horse Ford for the park we were canoeing through as a way to payback what we'd gotten from the park.
In the State of Florida often times, if arranged ahead of time, state parks will allow crews and troops to camp for free in exchange for a service project.
In the State of Florida often times, if arranged ahead of time, state parks will allow crews and troops to camp for free in exchange for a service project.
Photo by Gila Forest
Through adventure, venturers practice Personal Growth.
By being exposed to new situations venturers are forced to grow as people. Even kids who grew up in Orlando may never have been kayaking through a mangrove estuary. Taking a ten day kayaking trip through the Keys is a great way to not only teach them about biology and ecology; but also what living in a tropical climate with out modern luxuries can be like.
Photo by Leonrw
ADVENTURE ESSENTIALS
Adventures are grouped into a few "tiers". The more advanced the adventure the higher the tier. Tier II and III level adventures are requirements for most of the venturer awards.
TIER I
- Movies
- STEM Night
- Game Night
- CPR Training
Tier I adventures may be easy but they're important for team building and group identity. Going to the movies, having a Game Night (video or otherwise), or even the CPR training required for Discovery all make great Tier I adventures.
Photo by Ricardo Alguacil
WITH AGE COMES BENEFITS
VENTURING IS THE MOST PERMISSIVE IN THE GUIDE TO SAFE SCOUTING
However Venturer's are older. The rules for Venturing are more permissive than for any other group of scouts. This means that the expectations are higher for the kinds of adventures they can have.
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TIER II
- Organize a Camporee
- Weekend Canoe Trip
- Crew Training Retreat
Tier II events take two or three days to complete. They involve more interaction and more commitment from both the organizers and the participants. Organizing a Council Camporee, or a weekend Crew Training Retreat are examples of a tier II adventure.
Photo by Martintoy
TIER III
- Bacpack 50 Miles
- Habitat for Humanity
- 10 Day Canoe Expedition
- Sea Base Scuba Training
Tier III adventures are typically the big event in a crew's year. They are very involved and represent a significant achievement for the members of the crew. Hiking 50 miles on the Florida Trail, spending a week building a Habitat for Humanity House, or going on that extended Kayaking trip in the keys are all Tier III adventures.
Photo by Shawn Harquail
Sea Base
The Summit
Northern Tier
Philmont
Scouting has several resources for building Tier II and III adventures, the High Adventure bases for example all have programs that should satisfy the requirements. We're lucky in Florida to have Sea Base relatively near by.
Photo by palisade14
YOUTH LEAD
Venture Crews are Youth Lead. The organization chart says that the Crew President is responsible to the Chartered Organization Representative directly.
THE CREW DEFINES ITSELF
This means Crews are responsible for defining themselves (in consultation with their Chartered Organzation). They are allowed to pick their own uniform, though they are encouraged to pick the recommended uniform. They set their own by-laws, and pick their own crew focus.
Photo by Natesh Ramasamy
CREW FOCUS
- Flag Ceremonies
- District Service
- Jamborettes
- Scuba, Snorkeling, Sailing
- All of the above
Crews often focus on one theme more than another. Crew 911 here in Orlando focuses on color guard ceremonies. Other crews may focus on district or council service, and usually end up being staff at district and council events. They may focus internationally and host mini Jamborees. Others are more pragmatic and focus on SCUBA or Alpine Hiking.
Some crews decide to be generalists and change their focus from year to year. This is why the crews set their own focus.
Some crews decide to be generalists and change their focus from year to year. This is why the crews set their own focus.
Photo by Speidermuseet
PLANNING TO LEARN
- Craft a Vision
- Time Management
- Setting SMART Goals
- Evalutating success
Crews form their own vision of what a successful year means. They learn time management skills and how to set SMART goals. They also learn to reflect upon their experiences and evaluate the progress they made.
Photo by Leo Reynolds
SERVANT LEADERSHIP
Crews learn the fundamentals of Servant Leadership. They are encouraged to learn how to enable each other to work to a common goal.
EVERY SCOUT DESERVES A TRAINED LEADER
EVEN IF THAT LEADER IS THE SCOUT THEMSELF
Crew members are required to take training for their leadership position, as well as encouraged to take advanced leadership training like NYLT or Wood Badge.
TRAINING
- Time Management
- Project Management
- Introduction to Leadership Skills for Crews
- First Aid and CPR
First most obviously through training. Leadership Training, First Aid and CPR, specific training for adventures (kayaking, backpacking, etc.).
Photo by Michael R Perry
PERSONAL REFLECTION
Personal growth also happens through structured personal reflection. Reflections happen after adventures, and each crew member is required to set aside time to research how various aspects of the world will impact their life.
ETHICAL CONTROVERSIES
Crews are also encouraged to discuss ethics. Ethical controversies can be brought up in various ways and debated and hashed out in the crew. This may be formal like an Ethics Forum or a mock trial, or it may be informal during a discussion after a crew outing sparks conversation.
Photo by Thompson Rivers
PERSONAL CODE OF CONDUCT
Crew members are encouraged to think about personal codes of conduct. It's a requirement for Summit. Being intentional about how you choose to live your life is an important life skill to have, I know I wish I'd started earlier.
ASSOCIATIONS WITH ADULTS
Crew members learn to be good adults, by working with adults. Not only are they directly responsible to the chartered organization, and are mentored advisors, but they are expected to seek out and find consultants when the crew lacks an expertise to accomplish a goal.
Photo by ali eminov
SERVICE TO OTHERS
Service projects are an expected part of the Venturing experience. Crews are encouraged to give time to organizations they feel strongly about. Organizing a Special Olympics event, Building a Habitat House, all are worthy projects to be considered by the crew.
Photo by Ed Yourdon
SERVICE TO THE CREW
In addition to the outside world though, crews are encouraged to take care of themselves. The best legacy a crew leader can leave is a healthy happy crew that enables new people coming in.
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ADVISORS
YOUTH LEAD, ADULT ADVISED
So whats' the role for adult leader's in all of this?
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BE OBSOLETE
If we do our job right, there isn't one. Our job is to ensure that the crews have everything they need to do what they do without us.
We want to strive for that last E in EDGE. Enable.
We want to strive for that last E in EDGE. Enable.
Photo by niznoz
COACHES
NOT QUARTERBACKS
We are supposed to be on the sidelines cheering them on. Helping them put their experiences into context and enabling them to work toward the next goal.
Photo by Chris Hunkeler
CONSULTANTS
UNLIKE SCOUTMASTERS, ADVISORS DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING
Consultants are there to provide the expertise needed when the crew doesn't have it natively. They provide the First Aid, CPR, or SCUBA training. They explain programming fundamentals on a STEM night, or serve as judge during a Mock Trial
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TRAINING
- Introduction to Outdoor Leadership Skills
- Powder Horn
- Wood Badge
- And More!
Advisors and other crew adult leaders are encouraged to also participate in leadership training. Much of the training can be done along side the venturer's themselves!
