BSA~ASE

[JM_Ecuador]

This thread is to compare the BSA with the ASE. BSA is the US program, and ASE Ecuadorian.

I will post another message soon summing up the ASE program.

 

YIS

JMM

[Eagle74]

JM: welcome to the forum. I enjoy your perspectives from another country and a different way of doing things all within the world brotherhood of scouting. Looking forward to more.

[JM_Ecuador]

To start, I will outline the organization of the Associacion de Scouts del Ecuador.

Scouts form groupsm which consist of one or more packs (6-10 years old), and one or more troops (11-15), and maybe a Rover crew(16+). All these units are under the leadership of a Chief of Group. Under him are the Scoutmasters, Cubmasters, and Rover Scout Leaders. Then come the assistant leaders.

The assistant leaders will usually be assigned to a specific unit, but may be pulled to help with another if something comes up.

There is also the Parents Committee. The Parents Committee consists of all the parents of children who are members of the group. They choose a President and a Treasurer. The President represents the parents in the Group Council, and the Treasurer handles all the money for the group.

The group is goverened by the Group Council, which consists of 2 scouters per unit, the Chief, the President of the Parents Committee, the Treasurer, and a representative from the Host.

The Host is whoever gives the group a place to meet. In my groups case it is a private high school.

 

Every province is a District, if it has at least 3 groups. The District Commissioner serves as a liason between the National Office and the groups, and as a coordinator for events that will include more than one group.

 

The Association is run by the National Team, which is chosen by the National Assembly. The National Assembly consists of one representative for every registered group. They vote on policy, regulation, and choose the Cheif Scout, who chairs the National Team.

 

I hope this makes sense. Let me know if you need clarification.

 

Methods, Aims, etc:

 

Because Ecuador is a small country, smaller than most US states, we have not developed our own rescources, rather we use the materials developed by the Interamerican Region.

We call our program a "non formal method of education for young people". Much of what is here I have translated from the Interamerican Scoutmaster Handbook. (Guia Para Dirigientes del al Rama Scout)

I believe that the name in English is Scout Leader Handbook, or something like that. It is available from the WOSM store.

This method is based on a Symbolic Frame. The symbolic frame is what forms a basis for all scouts do. It consisists of Symbols, The Joy Of Exploring, Having a Territory, and Belonging to a Group of Friends.

SYMBOLS

A Symbol is an image or a figure that has a characteristic which permits it to represent a reality or a concept.

This includes the crests, uniform, flags, and other items.

 

JOY OF EXPLORING

The Joy Of Exloring is the factor of doing new and exiting things as a group.

The wonder of adventure is key. Finding paths, forgottten roads, climbing to the top of a mountain, rafting down a river, sleeping under the stars, cooking your own meals, finding your own shelter and warmth, are all activities through which the body explores the world, and through them one discovers his own abilities, strengths, and will gain self-confidence.

Exploring also tests one's mental capacity, and teaches a person to inovate. For that reason the word Investigate can often be used as a synonim of Explore.

This is a wonderful opurtunity for young people, with their emerging abilities to abstract, deduce, question and generalize!

In exploring there will be conflicts and problems, and so explorers must learn how so solve them.

Through this a young person will gain a new perspective on life, and will see everuthing with greater understanding.

This exploring should become permament. Not only shoudl one learn new things, but a person should also share what they have learned.

 

GAINING A TERRITORY

Exploring is intricately linked with Gaining New Territory. This can be seen in the explorers of old, they explored and gained new territory.

No, almost the whole planet has been explored, so the adventure is not in being the first, but in learning something more about it and understanding our world better.

Today as we explore, we should 'claim' new territory by leaving a mark on it. That is, it should be in better condition than when we found it.

Every young person also has the adventure of growing, through which they will reach new points in their ives.

Through exploring a young person will learn about themselves and grow and mature.

 

MORE TO FOLLOW......

 

YIS

JM