Who can be a group leader
Who coordinates the activities of the entire group and each of its members, ensures the development of the needs of group members? Of course, this is the leader of a small group, who must carry out constant communication between members of his group and other groups, the group council and the group, between the group and the outside world. And a large group, through the assistants of the scout group, necessarily informs the leader about the needs of the combined group.
Commandments of the work of the scout group
• The leader should start with an objective assessment of his group, with a clear idea of the situation in which it is. Do not put questions – demands before its members, but look for ways to solve problems together and come to a common denominator.
• The leader should act individually, taking into account the capabilities of each member of the group. Any person has a talent that helps him to work together with others. The leader must be aware that in the life of a group situations often arise when each of its members can show personal collectivist qualities.
• Joint activities are more effective when there is an element of competition between groups. In such a competition, all members compete for each other. Each member of the group where mutual assistance and mutual assistance reigns will work with everyone and for everyone.
• The Group is a decision-making place where all Scouts can participate and learn to make decisions. The process depends on their age and accumulated experience.
The ability to make decisions also implies a willingness to take responsibility, while it is important that the general opinion and individual wishes be taken into account, which is manifested in joint decisions.
• The level of development of the group is determined by the age and socio-psychological maturity of the members of the group. Each age has the necessary limits of upbringing, in extreme cases they are dictated by the conditions of physical and psychological development and become a law. For example: Scouts don’t smoke!
• There comes a time in a Scouting group when any member of the group takes on a task that has hitherto been very difficult for them.
To a certain extent, everyone becomes a small leader, ready to independently help someone, provide support, speak out in defense. This is very important – at such a moment the group learns leadership, it learns to determine its future on its own.
• “Working in a group is my pleasure!” – this principle is the basis of the activities of the scout group. If there is not even the slightest job satisfaction in the group, it is not a scout group. These key points can be summarized as follows:
• do something together;
• we have together;
• we are all together.
Democracy in the group
First of all, we note that once a group does something together, this is already a democracy. Democracy is people’s power, not a joint vocation, it does not exist where everything is determined or directed by one person – the chairman or leader. So it is in the life of the group – all members must participate in its management and without fail together with the leader of the group.
Democracy must be learned: the foundations of democracy are learned in a new group not in lectures, because they are very difficult to learn, but in practice, where they are born imperceptibly, gradually, voluntarily. Democracy means not only joint leadership, but also collective work, i.e. everything that involves joint participation. The leader is obliged not only to make decisions together with the members of the team, but also to work together with everyone: in the group there is always something for everyone. Already at first, elements of unity (union, unity) can be seen in the new group: a small task appears, during which the members of the group will have to get, organize, settle, settle and, finally, complete.
For example, a tea party is planned, and for this you need to find the right products and create the necessary conditions; bake a cake – ask for help from an expert in this matter, decorate the room. And do it all within one week.
One more example. For the first trip, you need to carefully prepare, you need to find out many questions: when do the buses run, how much does a ticket cost, what route, etc.
You plan every business in detail: all tasks are scheduled, the role and functions of each are defined. The result of the event will be successful when boys and girls know well what and how to do, when one can say about each of them: “He is a master of his craft.” Each member of the group has a task that is different from others and corresponds to his aspirations and abilities, for example: a singer, a treasurer, an artist, a chronicler, a mechanic, etc. All “specialties” of the scouts are necessarily determined taking into account the wishes and individual qualities of the guys.
This is how democracy begins – the personality of the child in the center, its comfortable existence – this is what should be the result of all the processes that take place in the scouting group.