By Bill Roberts in White Stag Youth Leadership
TROOP LEADER DEVELOPMENT 1975 – THE HURDLE
What is the objective of a hurdle?
1. To give the Scout an opportunity to use the competencies he has learned
2. To give the scout an opportunity to see the need for a competency they don’t have.
3. To give Scouts an opportunity to use their skills.
4. To add an element of adventure, fun and accomplishment to program.
5. To give PC an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the Patrol in using leadership competencies.
6. To give Staff an opportunity to evaluate candidates and determine their needs.
Bela Banathy described the hurdle – the HURDLE is an unexpected problem presented to a leader and his group for which he has not specifically prepared and which requires the application of leadership skills as well as Scoutcraft skills to solve. One of the paramount characteristics of a leader is his readiness to be ready to act in a situation for which he is not ready. The unexpected talk which requires efficient organization of the group to find a solution or accomplish the task provides valuable and realistic practice. The HURDLES concept or approach is another aspect so powerfully expressed by Baden Powell when he was referring to the White Stag which springs forward and upward ever leading us to leap over difficulties and to face adventures.
Hurdles, or problems to solve need not always be contrived or pre-planned. A wise PC should be alert to situations that arise naturally and to use them when possible.
Hurdles that are planned do require some careful thought, planning and study in their preparation. Those that have been used in the past and which are currently shown in the TLD plan may soon become so often used that they lose their effectiveness. We should be constantly alert to the need of novel and challenging ideas for hurdles. As more and more Scouts are exposed to TLD, especially the week-end sessions, some of the book hurdles will trickle into the troop program, and we may get
Scouts already exposed to them in our course. We must not become automatic or static – that is the purpose of this effort.
In planning a hurdle we must use our planning competency. The objectives have already been recorded above so let’s investigate resources. They do become of vast importance – to be considered are the group and its capabilities, the physical terrain and its features and the parts and tools that will be available or needed.
This is a good place to consider the types of hurdles we could use.
SITUATIONAL:
Making use of the environment and naturally occurring situations or situations which can be created in the environment, but are essentially related to the environment. An example of the first is a ravine that needs crossing, and an example of the second is to develop a ceremony area.
SIMULATED:
Pretending a situation that one would not find in the
existing environment, but might find in another environment. It is important to use these kinds of hurdles in White Stag or Scouting to insure a “transfer” of skills, and knowledge to the back home and non-scouting situations. Example is having Scouts simulate a committee decision for the high school dance committee.
HEURISTIC:
A purely mental, often a confined situation with many constraints, designed to probe and pick the brain. These must be carefully written to avoid making them frivolous and too unreal.
The resources considered should start with the group. The hurdle should, to some extent, follow the rule, especially where wood skills are involved, to go from the “known to, the unknown”. Sometimes it pays to work on some avenues to a solution that would proceed from a known previous experience that would lead into a solution of a given problem. In general, it would not be good policy to have a hurdle that required lashing with a group of eleven year old Tenderfoots – yet, some needs beyond their immediate capabilities can be used, especially if the group included one or two Scouts with the required skills who could help and teach. It does seem best to be aware of the capability of the group, physically, mentally and experience wise – fit your hurdle to their ability – know the resources of the group and use them.
The next resource, though not necessarily in importance, is the environment – the terrain, the area in which you will operate. This will suggest hurdles. This is where bridges, rafts, towers, ceremonial areas, etc. would be appropriate. Where possible the areas natural materials can be utilized, but more often tools, ropes, spurs will be required and should be available. On some occasions pre-planned or prepared equipment may be set up.
Baden-Powell said, “I deplore the modern tendency to place safety first beyond all else”. A certain amount of risk is necessary to life, a certain amount of practice in taking risks is necessary to the prolongation of life. Scouts have to be prepared to encounter difficulties and dangers in life.
City bred scouts are not aware of some dangers in wilderness situations, especially when they disturb fixed objects. The reaction of some down logs, for example, results in explosive counter movements. There should be some careful observation on the part of PC’s and knowledge of when to caution Scouts – particularly their positions in relation to such objects. ”Risk” does not mean foolish and stupid actions.
Hurdles must not be created that would jeopardize safety in defiance of common sense and good judgment.
The next resource to be considered would be the skills necessary to the accomplishment of the task. These include the wood skills such as knife, axe, ropes and allied uses – splicing, knots, lashing, general pioneering, first aid, nature, compass and map reading, etc. Also, the ability to “think”, to reason, to deduce, to adopt, to use ingenuity. These resources are as important and possibly more so than the knowledge of skills.
Once we have considered all of the resources available, a decision must be made as to the hurdle itself. After it has been discussed and checked as to its practicability, it must then be written.
This is one area where there is “danger”. The language of the hurdle should be put together with great care. Review what is written carefully with all possible interpretations of what is said. The hurdle must not be open-ended or capable of solution with a meaningless and unchallenging performance. If a hurdle is written and used successfully in one particular geographic location, review it if used elsewhere for pitfalls if there is a change in environment.
Hurdles can range from the simplistic of short duration to complicated and exacting events of many hours duration.
The written hurdle should contain and include: the problem to be solved – Your solution – the resources required, and, if possible any other solutions that would apply. Then a list of what leadership competencies should play a part in its successful completion or in solving the problem
It would be desirable for a new hurdle to be given to the staff, for a pre-evaluation, as this would turn up most problems that could not be foreseen and allow them to be ironed out prior to its use at a training session.
Keep in mind that although the hurdle will be planned with your preconceived solution in mind, it is not impossible, and it is in fact, desirable, that the group devises a solution that is equally acceptable but that differs in all aspects from yours. Independent, creative thought could be considered another objective of the hurdle. To repeat the solution must require real and useful application of skills – if it is a “joke” it loses too much.
Also, we must keep in mind that a hurdle could be considered successful even if it were not completed. This success will be apparent if in the approach to its “solution” the group successfully uses the competencies of leadership in their step by step efforts to a solution.
If we go back to our objectives, you will note that there is no statement to the effect that any goal is the “completion” of the task it is all directed to the “means” used and the use of skills. The purpose of the hurdle is not the accomplishing of it, but the process involved in the group’s move toward solution.
This does not mean we should create hurdles that cannot be solved nor accomplished. Hurdles should be planned to allow a successful solution if the group utilizes all resources available.
Where the approach has been as desired, but the solution not accomplished, the resulting evaluation should praise their success in that effort to lessen any sense of failure which could dampen spirits.
The hurdle is not necessarily a tool restricted to use in White Stag – its prudent use in Troop programming could be a successful innovation – it can also be used at Rallys and Camporees.
The fact that hurdles may be a part of the Troop program means that a foolproof, relatively simple procedure should be established to suggest how to create them. Perhaps, this will be a start in that direction.
The third type of hurdle which we have termed “Heuristic” (helping to discover or learn by using lines or rules of thumb) to find solutions or answers has a place as compared to the others which require physical activity. Hurdles that probe the “memory banks” of participants or that require reasoning, and mental decision making can contribute. Obviously, they must be used judiciously and not too often. Scouts have two muscles to sit on and 1000 to wiggle with and a wiggling scout is not receptive to learning.
This was written by Lew Gardner, a challenge I gave him when he was one of my Assistant Scout Masters in Level III/Vl/IX. in 1975. I am placing this in the public domain for anyone’s use.