Liar! I've seen you sneak a peek at a road atlas before setting off into the wilds of Assynt
your point is? the road atlas has most of the major summits picked out.
TTG - you're right that there's probably a difference between local groups set up with a particular remit and interest who may well act as you describe towards newbies (never joined one, so i don't know) - and the groups of halfwits who get together on this forum to go to the pub and then stagger up a hill the next day, where 'performance' issues are not so much of a problem
suggest you, and Lewis, come along to some of them and see.
I'd love to Posh, but these days after a night in the pub I don't even do the stagger bit. As for the performance bit, never had a problem with that unless you call 5 pints then out for the count poor performance. Halfwits! how dare you I am at least 50%witted. I think.
You'll have to give him some grid references for the pub. At least bearings from 3 different easily identified locations together with the variance or declination or whatever it is called to convert from grid to mag or mag to grid. Unless it is absolute then it is mag to... Lewis - when you find that course let me know I think I need it too.
I might end up doing some death by powerpoint map stuff for cadets, I may put it up here for you lot to take a look at, it'll go from basic bearings up to resections and route cards.
If people want to be learning what you're teaching they aren't, if they're not particularly bothered shove some funnies in to keep them alert and they'll probably end up taking everything in. I have a feeling there was a thread up on the ACF forums a while ago with loads of handouts and stuff in, if there's any map stuff I'll tell you.
Yeah, they are frequently misused but having a honking great image of a Silva compass up on the board is really quite useful for getting the young ones to name parts, I can probably put all of the basic Map and Compass onto 10 slides with questions, resections might be a bit funky to put in a powepoint though, this reminds me I need to make a new demonstrational compass as the old one in the store is falling apart.
Lewis, basic navigation is really not hard, follow the link provided by ALoveSupreme & read the OS booklet then get a 1 to 50000 OS map of your local area and go for a walk somewhere where you already know the route. Put into practice what you've read, imagine you don't know where you are & your new found knowledge figure it out using your map. Even a compass is optional in most circumstances unless you're in thick fog or the jungle.
It's easy. Remember the objective is simply to always know where you are, the trick to which is 'never forget where you came from and how you got here'. Something of a metaphore for life perhaps.
And, if all else fails, don't forget the advice of Douglas Adams.
'<a href="http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/39392.html" title="Click for further information about this quotation">What to do if you find yourself stuck with no hope of rescue: Consider yourself lucky that life has been good to you so far. Alternatively, if life hasn't been good to you so far, which given your present circumstances seems more likely, consider yourself lucky that it won't be troubling you much longer.'</a>
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the road atlas has most of the major summits picked out. 
