Category Archives: Rover Round Table

Roverlution – The Teaser

Posted on April 17, 2011 by Nick Pearson | 2 comments

Getting the Right Shit done. Right.

“By Rovering, I don’t mean aimless wandering, I mean finding your way by pleasant paths with a definite object in view”
-Baden Powell

“A Scout is active in Doing good, Not passive in being good.”
-Baden Powell

“The largest Beaver Colony in the world isn’t going to inspire anyone to stay in Scouting.”
-John Simpson, TalkScouts.ca

“Development, Development, Development, Development”
-Me, channeling Steve Ballmer

We all have dreams. We all have ideas. We all have things we want to do.

We all profess to want them, to see them become reality; yet rarely do they all.

As a Youth Development Movement, we should be at the forefront of creating highly motivated, creative, empowered, healthy, fulfilled, professional, and effective young adults; by giving them the experience and know-how to shape the world around them to manifest their dreams.

The ability to get things done underpins all successful endeavors. Unfortunately, this ability is not born natively. The most effective way is by being taught the right way how, getting hands on real life practice, and receiving proper feedback from trusted mentors/coaches. This is something Scouts Canada can excel at, and what the Rover program should be centred around.

The Roverlution is to take our current beloved organization to the point where it is recognized and revered internally & externally as THE organization to get ahead in life; teaching people the fundamental skill of getting things done by using their passions as the vehicle to practice with.

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Rover Round Table Vs National Youth Network Part 2: Seeing RED

Posted on November 6, 2010 by Nick Pearson | 1 comment

That was that, this is now

So I left off Part 1 with the pro’s and con’s of the National Youth Network (NYN); mainly that it provides necessary (for our organization) learning experiences, but for only a small number of youth. The other side of this particular discussion is the the Rover Round Table (RRT). This provides similar life lessons to a broader number of youth, but to a different degree.

The Model

There has been some small momentum over the last few years to properly form a RRT in my council (Pacific Coast Council); sadly way too small for my liking. Over time, I’ve had the chance to slowly perfect my mental model of how the RRT would fit into the current system. It was only quite recently that all the pieces truly fell into place in such a way that they supported each other. I’d like to share that model with you today.

The Rover Round Table should be treated equally to an Area Service Team, and consequently the RRT Mate treated equally to an Area Commissioner.

Obviously the RRT does not service a geographical area within a council, but Continue reading →

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Rover Round Table Vs National Youth Network Part 1: Fight!

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Nick Pearson | 3 comments

Ok, so I don’t think they should fight/bicker/not get along

I believe they fill two different yet complementary roles. The inspiration for this article arose yesterday when an email was sent out to Rovers/Venturers announcing a call for applications for the position of Assistant National Youth Commissioner – West. (Although not all Rovers it seems. I would chalk that up to MMS not having Rover as a primary or secondary role.)

This position’s role [.PDF] is to service and support the seven western Council Youth Commissioners, and assist the National Youth Commissioner.

The Twitter-verse-ation

The conversation in the Twitter Universe

That’s where the discussion started. Where it ended up was quite different. At a high level synopsis, the merits and effectiveness of the NYN were the main discussion points. Some believed the whole exercise of appointing some handpicked kid (as young as 14), giving them a fancy title, and then have a group of them making decisions for the country to be nothing short of asinine. Others piped in that we wouldn’t have to tack on the youth voice to the structure as an afterthought if we remained connected to the youth. The other main point was its ineffectiveness.

While not completely, I agree all three of these arguments have some elements of truth. Continue reading →

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Rover Round Table – Terms of Reference

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Nick Pearson | 5 comments

Bonus points if anyone can name the reference

At the last (and first for that matter) meeting, there was discussion on how to best start the Round Table.

One side saw the argument that elections should be made, for a shortened term, and the Round Table activities move on from there.
The second side saw that founding documents should be made first, then elections based off of those.

So here we are today, with no elections having happened. Can you guess who made the better argument?

How we craft the Terms of Reference will effect how the Round Table will operate. Let’s dig into some discussion. Continue reading →

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PCC Rover Round Table – Intro

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Nick Pearson | Leave a comment

Kickin' it, Old School

Ahh the Rover Round Table. The elusive promised land.

What is a Rover Round Table?

I can best describe it as this: A Rover Roundtable is when a collection of crews, usually in a geographical area, come together to work cooperatively. The three focal points are Service, Social and Skill development. With this buttressing of resources, the possible activities available to the members increase exponentially. What 5 Rovers can do is very much different from what 270+ Rovers can do. This level of numbers produces exciting level of activities; the kind that retains Rovers in the movement, retains the younger members, and draws in new members.

What follows is the Coles Notes of the history of the PCC Rover Round Table (Or lack there of more specifically) over the last ten years.
Continue reading →