Ringing Forums

So perhaps something motivated you, John, which did not motivate the other members of your cohort? Do you know what it was?
PS If you ever happen to be at Landbeach, just N of Cambridge, do come and ring with us, as it would be great to meet you in person.

Thank you Lucy, that is most helpful.

Thank you John and John for your helpful advice.
I wonder if ART have addressed this question, of how to motivate ringers. Is there any ART person reading this who might be able to help me?

John, I would be interested to hear how you think most people think about ringing. To me, it is exactly like struggling up a mountain, pausing to catch your breath on a ledge and immediately setting off for the next gruelling ascent. If others don't see it like that, how do they see it?

Thank you John. If I have understood you correctly, your advice is to keep offering opportunities and hope that the lady's mood is such that she is disposed to find them fun.

I now realise that the question I should have asked was "How to MOTIVATE a ringer who has reached a plateau and wishes to stay there, and becomes stressed when I guide her towards the next ascent?".
So, valuable though your technical advice is, this is really a person-management query.
The obvious answer is "Don't try" - trying to do so will merely result in unhappy practice nights and sooner or later she will walk away.
But - as a teacher I feel that it is my job to improve my ringers. And as a tower captain I feel that it is my job to ensure the succession - and this lady and her husband are the only ringers in the band who are capable of taking it forward into the future.
I am kinda hoping that there is some management technique that I am lacking - maybe I don't smile enough; maybe I smile too much! Please tell me!
Thanks, Barbara

Thank you John and John.

Thank you for the advice.
In case it helps people to give further advice, the lady can ring plain hunt well (by counting places), but the sticking points are: moving on to methods and acquiring ropesight.
She explains, for example, "I have too much else going on at the moment", or "I can only do things the way I can do them", or "I just want to ring for fun".
She becomes upset if I say, for example, "you were ringing too fast and so were in the wrong place when you dodged, even though you thought you were in the right place".
I guess she thinks - "I didn't want to do this anyway, but you made me do it and now you criticise me for not being able to do it".
So I guess I just have to accept that she's a volunteer, and let her do only what she wants, how she wants.
But this goes against my understanding that it is my job to develop the skills both of individual ringers and also of the band.

Thank you John

Thank you Lucy.

wrote "where Guilds and Associations are charities with a much wider remit to safeguard ringing".
This is relevant to our band at All Saints' Landbeach, Cambridgeshire, because that is the direction I am trying to steer us in, unilaterally. So any advice would be welcome.
I feel that our church is headed for being a Festival Church and so I am trying to set up our band such that it is secure and can continue to, as Roger says, "safeguard ringing", even if we lose the support of an active church.
Any suggestions as to the best way to go about this would be welcome.

Thank you all for these replies, which have proved extremely useful. We are also having the Guides and Brownies soon so the link for the Challenge Badge was just what we needed.
Best wishes, Barbara

I think you are right that career development for ringers has to be organised more professionally.

Dear All,
It's a triage problem, perhaps?
The largest third - is those ringers who find change ringing quite difficult. Peal ringing is irrelevant to them. A few times through well-struck plain hunt doubles can give satisfaction to them and their teachers, and pleasure to listeners.
The smallest third - is those ringers who are lucky in their abilities and their geographical position. I imagine they will always find peal bands.
The middle third - which I suppose is the one Simon is concerned about - is those ringers who could be quite good if given the chance to ring with really good ringers. So, if there were lots of peal bands, they could get adopted by peal bands and have their chance.
Well, yes. But although this would be a good thing, if it's gone, it's gone. So I suppose one has to look at other ways of giving one's talented students that experience.
Best wishes,
Barbara

Dear All,
Several people have said that peal ringing is the best, or even the only, way to achieve a high standard of ringing. That is why they are concerned that peal ringing has become less popular.
My opinion, however, is that it is much more important to work on getting a good standard of ringing at more basic levels.
So, no, I don't think it matters that fewer people are ringing peals. I think that what matters is to get ringers at a basic level able to understand how to ring plain hunt doubles that flows nicely
There are several reasons I think plain hunt doubles is more important than peals - the main one is that there is a lot more of it!
Regards, Barbara

John, go for Cambridge Major. It's honestly not particularly difficult. if you can treble bob you can ring Cambridge. Go for it !

Thank you for your most interesting comments. My feeling is that being competitive and individualistic are not necessarily incompatible with being community-minded. An individualistic person might be thrilled at the chance to put their good ideas into practice, and a competitive person might like the idea of pursuing success for themselves and others. So, as others have said, we need to find what motivates each individual.

Thanks folks. What I am wondering is - if it is necessary to recruit people who are competitive and individualistic (as Tom's book implies it will be) is it better to:
a) encourage them that being competitive and individualistic will assist their rapid progress?
or b) tell them "here you can have a rest from being competitive and individualistic"?
Just wondering which would appeal more.

I understand, Tom, that the Association provides much-needed stability.
But my suggestion would capitalise on the "blossoming" towers that you mention.
The Association could, for instance, operate a calendar on which the towers of the Association are each given a month to be "lead tower". As you know, my home tower is currently on a roll. So imagine that I think "What the Association needs is a beer festival". I then see that my tower is "lead tower" in October 2024. So I round up my chaps and say "Let's organise a beer festival in October". And we do it.

Thank you John, that is a good point.