DHS-psyCOYlogy!: Skills Training, 8 April 2022

Hello Guides!

For this week’s 集合, we showed the Year 1s Inspection, and also did Gadgeting.

Inspection:

This is an activity where we lay out our logistics in the 配备 within a stipulated time. The logistics are to be laid in a standardised manner, which helps improve the juniors’ leadership skills. Through this activity, the Year 1s got to know what are the logistics required in a standard Inspection.

Reflection by a y1:

During Inspection, we have to follow the ICs’ instructions and place the items accordingly. The items include 麻绳, mess tins, ground sheet, poncho, survival kit, rubber mallet, first aid kit, 原子炉, 青头, 白绳 pouch, newspaper, flag pole, flag kit and 白绳 box. I learnt that when placing the items, the labels should face up. During Inspection, I was kapped by the seniors, so to not let the seniors take me away, I learnt that I should be more aware of my surroundings and I could be more participative in the laying the layout. The time given for each round of inspection is very short, so in order to finish on time, we have to pay attention to the instructions given and make sure that the items are placed correctly. Throughout the inspection, we also needed to take good care of our logistics and people and 报时 promptly to keep track of time. I also learnt that it is a form of respect to not let the tip of the flagpole 动地. We prevented this by putting our flagpole on top of the 白绳 box. All in all, I feel that Inspection was a new experience which I did not expect, especially having to juggle multiple tasks. While arrnagin the items and listening carefully to instructions, we also had to 照顾好人,照顾好东西. While the whole inspection process was tiring and rushed, it was a good practice that trained our sense of awareness and urgency. I learnt many valuable lessons from my first time participating in Inspection. I will also keep improving to spur me and my fellow Y1s onwards, and participate more in the laying of logistics.

Reflection by a y2:

The Inspection that we did on Friday allowed us to work on our sense of urgency. As we were not given a lot of time to complete our layout, we had to make full use of our manpower and arrange all our logistics quickly. Moreover, the Inspection also served as a reminder for us to take care of our manpower and logistics better. The Inspection was quite chaotic and this resulted in a lot of items and people getting kapped. We feel that even though everyone was rushing to complete the layouts, we definitely should have still been more aware of our logistics and manpower as they are essential to an activity. Without manpower and logistics, one would not be able to complete the activity on their own. Furthermore, we also got a chance to introduce Inspection to the Year 1s. We explained to them that the purpose of Inspections is to ensure that we have all our logistics, as well as to train our sense of urgency. We think that we could have included them more while the inspection was taking place and let them take part in the arranging of the logistics. All in all, we feel that there were various areas we could have improved on - our sense of urgency, taking better care of logistics and manpower, and including the Year 1s more.

Reflection by a y3:

On Friday’s 集合, we had our first Inspection with the Y1s. As the idea was entirely new to them and we did not brief them about it before, many Y1s were clueless about what to do. To top it off, they are not familiar with items in the 配备, and they lacked in their sense of urgency. For the first 2 rounds of Inspection, I have noticed that the Y2s and Y3s had to support the whole patrol ourselves, meaning that the Y2s and 3s did all the work in Inspection. Furthermore, as it is a new activity to the Y1s, and with extra logistics such as gadget poles and flag kits, the Inspection rounds were considerably chaotic, leading to many people and logistics getting kapped throughout the four rounds of Inspection. And due to the chaos, it was difficult to hear what instructions the ICs were shouting, resulting in unacceptable standards of an average of 5 minutes per round. With our terrible performance in mind, we managed to explain about this activity briefly to the Y1s throughout the four rounds and catch them up to speed on what we do during Inspection. I believe that we could have calmed down instead of panicking and shouting instructions to each other as the ICs struggled to convey instructions on their ends. We could have also briefed the Y1s ahead of time on the 配备 logistics so as to minimise confusion during the actual activity. However, there was a significant improvement in the third and fourth rounds, regardless of the Y2s and Y3s being handicapped. The Y1s managed to finish 2 layouts, which proves that they managed to be somewhat familiar with the logistics and their names over the previous two rounds. Overall, while the Inspection could have been better, I believe that the biggest takeaway was the Y1s’ sudden exposure to Inspection and them learning very quickly.

Standard Gadgeting:

For this activity we showed the Year 1s how to build a flagpole and emergency shelter. The Year 1s learnt how to take pacings, and also how to tie the flag to the flagpole.

Reflection by a y1:

For last Friday’s CCA session, one activity we did was Standard Gadgeting. Instead of making a structure which requires a tripod or A-架, this time, we learnt how to 打进, in order to prop up an Emergency Shelter. I learnt that this structure was supposed to be built in a short duration as it was meant for emergency purposes when it rains, and we need to shelter our logistics. To build an Emergency Shelter, we made use of a poncho, by tying the hood with a knot, as the shelter, since a poncho is waterproof. We also learnt how to take pacings before we 打进 the 青头 into the soil. Only one person is to take the pacings so that the distance from all 4 corners of the poncho to the respective 青头 will be the same. I feel quite amazed at how the Emergency Shelter can stand without slanting even though we did not use diagonal lashes for stability. Next, we also learnt how to tie a flagpole. We made use of the Flagkit which contained logistics like 蜡绳, and the flag itself. The Flagpole is built to raise the flags in the flagkit and it is meant to display each patrol’s identity. The loop on the flagpole is required to face the same direction which is to be standardised among all the patrols, in this case we chose a tree nearby. I also learnt to tie a 火结 on the 麻绳 so that it can be used to attach the 麻绳 to the 银钉. I feel that this was a great experience as I have never tried tying a flagpole before and I learnt many new things on what to take note of. For instance, I was taught that the 头 of the flagpole should never 动地, as a form of respect. All in all, I feel that this Standard Gadgeting had been an eye-opener for me as I learnt more about how to tie other standard structures.

Reflection by a y2:

For 集合 on Friday, we did a Standard Gadgeting activity, and we were required to build a Flagpole and Emergency Shelter. For this activity, we were given double the standard timing to finish building everything. However, we still managed to 过时 by a few minutes, which should not have happened. I feel that this is mainly due to the fact that most of the Year 1s and Year 2s were not familiar with the knots used to build the flagpole as well as how to build it. We could have familiarised ourselves with them in our free time, in order to avoid such confusion in future 集合s. We could have also worked much faster as the time we took to build both structures was not ideal. We could have worked faster by allocating our manpower better, and also making sure that we were familiar with all the standard structures. This can help in shortening the time to build everything. However, the Year 3s helped us with anything that we were confused with, explaining everything step by step, so that no one would be left behind. The helpfulness of the Year 3s had helped us to finish the structures, even if the timing was not good enough. Overall, I think that we had good teamwork, but need to improve on our sense of urgency.

Reflection by a y3:

For Friday’s 集合, we did Standard Gadgeting. We built a Flagpole and Emergency shelter. This was our first time building these standard structures with the Year 1s. We also have not built these structures for a long time. It was a good opportunity for us to revise our lashes as well as how to go about building the structures. We made full use of our manpower, and split our patrol into half.

Half of us built the Flagpole and the others built the Emergency Shelter. For the Emergency Shelter, we made some errors in building it. However, we managed to correct them in time, and the Emergency Shelter looked quite good in the end. As for the Flagpole, we managed to build it well, and did not need much help with the Mickey Mouse lash. We also knew how to attach the flag to the flagpole. Overall, we did rather well in time management as well as manpower allocation. Even though we had a sense of urgency, we did not 报时 frequently. I think that we can do so more often so that everyone is able to keep track of time better. Overall, I think that this experience allowed us to revise our standard structures as well as teach the Year 1s how to build them. It was a very fulfilling experience and we look forward to the next 集合.

Creative Gadgeting:

For Creative Gadgeting, the assigned PL and PS had to lead their patrol in building a Bridge designed by the Year 4s. This activity tests the juniors in communication as only the PL and PS could see the structure. This activity also exposes the juniors to different kinds of structure which can be built using Gadgeting poles.

Reflection by a y1:

On Friday, my patrol built a bridge and our manpower and logistics kept getting kapped by the seniors. The Year 1s in the patrol did not know what to do. Furthermore, there were many people who kept being kapped because they did not know what to do. They just stood at the side which made it easier for them to get kapped. It was hard keeping each other from getting kapped, and that is something that we should work on. The bridge was smaller than I had expected, but with the power of teamwork, we finished building the bridge. The bridge turned out nicer than we had expected. However, we kept asking for time extensions. Time management was something that we could also have worked on. Overall, the activity was fun and engaging. From this activity, I learnt to take good care of my logistics and fellow guides, and also myself.

Reflection by a y2:

On Friday’s 集合, we tied a Creative Gadgeting Structure, a bridge. The PL and PS roles were assigned to 2 Year 3s to encourage them to step up. When they went to see the picture of the structure, the rest moved the logistics to the place where we were building the structure. I was curious about what structure we would be building with the logistics given. After discussion, the PL and PS told us to make two frames, explaining in detail which 木 to use and laying it out for us to see. We began working on it accordingly. I noticed that one of my Year 1s was having difficulty with her square lash, hence I patiently guided her. After we finished tying the two frames, we needed to connect them. together. The Year 1s were talking among themselves, so I felt that we could have involved them in the activity more to engage them, or asked them to 报时. Besides that, I also felt that I could have looked at the bigger picture more to ensure that the bridge was not slanted.

Even though we did not manage to complete the structure, we were almost done and this was a good opportunity to brush up our lashes. Overall, we could have 报时-ed more to ensure a greater sense of urgency, 照顾好人，照顾好东西, and involve the Year 1s more.

Reflection by a y3:

The Creative Gadgeting session was an insightful experience. Although it may not have been much of a new experience, I learnt much through the process of leading as a patrol leader along with my patrol mate. Although in the beginning, I became slightly confused by the drawing and as a result gave wrong instructions to the patrol regarding what frames to build, eventually we managed to finish the structure within the time such that it looked somewhat similar to the original in the drawing. This would not have been possible without the constant support of my batchmates in the same patrol, and it made me realise how crucial the people who keep up patrol morale are. Guides is a Uniformed Group, and the aspect of “group” was truly highlighted in this Creative Gadgeting activity, where we accomplish the previously impossible together. The experience also taught me much about adaptability, as due to the time crunch, we had to somehow put the three existing frames together, even if one may be slightly different from the original plan. Knowing how and when to adapt is an essential skill in Guides, and I feel this was an aspect I was proud to have grown in through that activity, despite still having room for improvement. Additionally, I was also thankful for my patrol seniors, who did not fault me when I felt disheartened, as I thought that I had messed up and felt that I had let the rest of my juniors and batchmates down. Instead, they encouraged me and taught me about the “people”, “product”, and “process” objectives guide. Thus, the Creative Gadgeting session not only allowed me to learn in terms of leadership, but also inspired me to be a supportive and understanding senior to the juniors especially when we take on the role of the 领导层. In conclusion, I feel that the Creative Gadgeting session was a good platform for me to stocktake and better understand myself in terms of soft skills, allowing me to not only reflect on what areas I have grown in, but also identify areas of weakness to improve on.