AnneinMpls

Now now... we're all Scouts here. The only proper peanut butter to eat is that which we've grown and smashed ourselves using rocks and leaves,or using hand-whittled equipment. Ed's allowed his chilled variety as long as he lashes the evaporating cooler himself. (And JIF is spelled with one f, not two Peace out, Anne in Mpls

Nah...it was very brief. Uncomfortably obvious what was actually being said. Why do people do things their conscience is so obviously objecting to? Could hear it in her voice. Sigh.

Anybody here play MUME (multiuser middle earth)? I'm wondering if I ought to invest in zMUD. I'm drowning my sorrows in bannocks and fresh butchered crabs in the Grey Havens

You do know how to make a girl blush Seriously, thank you for the compliments - it does help, and I really don't wish them ill. I just tend to think this is a symptom of the problems I've seen with GS and our council in particular. And thanks for patiently waiting for me to get that off my chest. I appreciate this group of people here tremendously Peace, Anne

I've been turned down for an internship because I "have too much experience with the organization". Never mind that the position was to get the long-standing volunteers on board with a new approach. Never mind that the project they wanted done is one I've been wanting to see happen for years. Never mind I have the skill set and experience and training that exactly matches what they need to get the job done. I'm so mad I could spit. I probably should't post this but.....arrrrrrrgh. Not really in the mood for keeping it in. Ticked off. Really really ticked off.

Got another idea for you... What patrol are you in? Get your patrol to challenge another patrol (the other patrol?) to a particular event...write it down, tie it up, etc. messenger it over to someone in the other patrol. Maybe make a day-long hike or cookout. Or make it a really brief competition scheduled 5 minutes before the regular meeting. Don't worry that you're no longer the one up front - use your current position to its furthest possibilities I think we sometimes forget that this scouting stuff is supposed to be fun. If there's a problem, there's a fun solution to be found.

Hi Kenk, I've appreciated your posts greatly! It's a great help to know we are ot alone: my kiddo has Aspergers. About 50% of the time she appears like a slightly hyper totally outgoing superfriendly kid, about 40% of the time an absent-minded professor, and 10% of the time either extremely bossy or incredibly touchy and prone to screaming meltdowns. Girl Scouting has been her most normalizing environment: she's developed close friendships within which she can begin to figure out the difference between kids being mean and "just teasing", learned to handle differing styles of adult leaders, and gotten lots of opportunities to do things other than sit and read a book all day Tree-climbing comes to mind... From time to time she'll be with some new kids who don't really "get" her. Kids tend to bother/tease/bully anyone they don't understand - they're trying to get a respohnse from them to try to figure them out (not to mention it can be "fun"...) This is when we have a lil sit-down and I generally say something like this: You know how different kids are smart at different things, and have trouble with other things? (everybody nods - they can all relate to this) Woody's really smart at stuff like math (at this point everybody's chiming in about how they've seen her figure the tax or try to get them to play some game she's made up with prime numbers...and others chime in talking about how they have a lot of trouble with math or about how mean their math teacher is or...you get the picture) Woody has a really hard time figuring out stuff like whether someone is a little bit annoyed or really really mad, or whether you're just teasing or if you're serious. Something about this approach to talking about it just clicks well with other kids - they take it and run with it - the basic message they get is that everybody's good at something, everybody has trouble with something. I will say, I've had to let go of the Norman Rockwell image to some extent - as much as I've wanted to have a large troop it's not happening yet - not every family is going to like being a part of a troop where differences are acceptable. I've had families leave because of our racial diversity. I've had families leave because a lot of our kids are poor. And I've had families leave because of my kiddo but they surely don't say so So we end up with a group that is perhaps a lil more eccentric than your usual group of Scouts. In the end I think the ones who stay get more out of it. It does sound like maybe the other leaders in your pack are real onboard with encouraging their scouts to accept your son or others who stand out from the crowd. This might be an area to explore a bit and to keep in mind as you look for a Boy Scout troop. Maybe find one where others have gone before and laid the groundwork. I think you're also spot on when you said you seemed to be mixing two different issues - this happens when stress goes up. The issues are somewhat related - it might be a lil tougher to get parents onboard because of your son's difficulties but as has been suggested, prayer is a real help here. Peace out, Anne in Mpls

The reason flags other than the US flag would be lowered to halfstaff too would be to prevent those flags from flying higher than the US flag. I verified this this week out at Fort Snelling National Cemetery (doing genealogy). In one area, there is a very tall flagpole flying the US flag at halfmast, and it is surrounded by perhaps a dozen other flags on shorter flagpoles. These other flags were all flown at the tops of their poles, and were still positioned lower than the US flag at halfmast. Peace, Anne in Mpls

Well, in the latest "talking points" being distributed by National, it appears they are no longer being vocal about the push for young volunteers - 18-29 - this age grouping is not even mentioned. What do you suppose that means?

SIGH. These leaders are the ones that really drive me nuts. First off, there is nothing in GSUSA policy prohibiting Brownies from tent camping. (I shouldn't have to say it, but there are a lot of folks who believe this. A *long* time ago - I researched where this myth came from - a Brownie GS guide to the outdoors stated that "Brownies do not go troop camping" - but in that era, "troop camping" meant camping by patrols for more than 3 weeks at a time! Well, that went out of style, but what people remember is the *one* brief admonition, *in a long chapter on Camping with Brownies!* that "Brownies do not go troop camping".) Now, that out of the way, individual councils are free to limit use of their facilities any way they see fit. There are a lot of councils who have so little in the way of camping facilities that they reserve these for use by older scouts. Hrrmph. Individual councils are also free to require just about anything they want to require in order for a troop to go anyplace. Most of this is good sensible stuff and amounts to much the same as the BSA tour permit idea. The main impediment is that GS Leaders all too often are wearing way too many hats and doing none of them really well. See the other thread on this point. Now, for your daughter - what are you willing to do about it? Sounds like you're involved in providing your son a well-rounded quality scouting program. What are you willing to do for her? Maybe your CC's GS troop would organize an overnight for your daughter's Brownie troop as a service project - likely you're in the same Service Unit. Best of luck! Anne in Mpls

Hi folks, When a person is approached to serve as a MB Counselor, what are they told to expect? How busy - how many phone calls, etc. What options are they given regarding how they are to be contacted? How does the idea of all requests for a Counselor going through one district level person grab you? This would presumably be to protect the Counselor from being swamped with requests. (Should I tell you now what I think of this idea?)

Scoutnut, glad I'm not the only one interpeeting ational as being at least somewhat responsive to the feedback they've been receiving! I *think* I may have heard something different from you regarding the IPP book - as far as I know (which aint much and could change at any moment!) they are only changing the cover and title to reflect the "Girl Scouts, 11-17" new program age level designation. IPPs will continue to have specific requirements - I don't believe the "style" of the how IPPs are earned is going to be changing. Campfire Fairy! How wonderful to have you come on board as a leader! You are right: we have a big emphasis right now on recruiting young adult leaders - you're gonna make someone smile reallllll big when you call the council office! Don't worry about S2B - you know what good program is - make sure you are letting the girls take the lead and develop those skills. Can't wait to hear what y'all are up to Anne in Mpls

Congratulations, Jamie I remember you telling about your project last year. Do you have any plans to post it online? Stay in touch - tell us about your GS adventures this year!

Hey FuzzyBear! (Why do I keep wanting to call you Fozzy??) Your idea of bringing in and properly incorporating about 3 people a year is exactly what I needed to hear. I wish we could just wave a wand and bring in 10 or 15 but obviously that's not how it's going to happen! What you propose sounds doable and realistic. Now...how do you figure out where your priorities lie? For instance, the unit has no committee (very very common in GS, I'm sure it happens sometimes in BSA units). When I think about "Who could I recruit?" I think of the parents of scouts in the unit. Do I prioritize the unit's needs or the district/SU? Should all volunteers begin with some time volunteering at the unit level?

Okies, I havn't seen it yet but it's been recommended by many. How would you use A League of Their Own to teach leadership? Thanks!

First I'll explain jumping the shark for those unfamiliar.. Big popular TV series, Happy Days, is now seen to have declared its ending when they wrote an episode in which The Fonz jumped over a shark while waterskiing. There's a whole website devoted to this. Now, it's my hope that S2B is *not* our Jumping the Shark episode in Girl Scouting. Then again... Ok, now to something real.. It *is* official - National got such a huge outpouring of negative response specifically regarding their making the focus book charks and IPPs equivalent, that they have indeed done an about-face on this. The IPP book will remain. The title will be changed to IPs for Girl Scouts, 11-17. They are revamping how focus books are to be used towards the Silver and Gold. Mainly, they will be used for *other* requirements, but not for the IPA requirement. Please also note, that girls may complete their awards using the old requirements, current requirements, or a mix of the two, or fit their work into the new requirements. Flexibility is being emphasized during the transition. There is a lot of confusion - but no girl should lose any of her work in the process. Please note that I am not an official source of information - this is just a summary of what has been shared on the GS trainers list. Yes, (sadly - mho)the designations Cadette and Senior are no longer official program age levels. Currently it's just "Girl Scouts, 11-17". (which obviously is no good and I would expect that shortly they will be coming up with *some* kind of actual name!) Girls may choose to still use the terms and participate in bridging events if they choose. (Yha, I know...the meaning of the ceremony is lost once the terms no longer mean anything. They're gonna hear lots on this one too. I'm predicting some serious backpeddling on the lack of a *name*) GSUSA has dumped so much money into the market research behind S2B that they are ot going to scrap it anytime soon. But they are responsive (somewhat) to specific concerns about program delivery. So I would advise that if/when you write, be *very specific* about what needs to be kept/changed/modified. For instance, the cost and quality of the charms. They are currently talking to other potential suppliers for the charms in an effort to improve their quality. How bout an embroidered equivalent that would bring the cost down? The charms just aren't doin it for a lot of our girls. Have em available for the girls who like em, ok - heck, I'd even think it'd be cool to be able to wear a symbol of my gold award on a charm bracelet. But make available embroidered insignia to "speak" more to the girls who have been with GS over the longterm. Frankly, I think all of the pins should be avilable in an embroidered option for field/camp wear. Pins catch on everything and break. I'd like to see an embroidered WAGGGS and GS membership patch - may not happen, but I'd sure like it. A nyway, I think I've wandered through this topic for long enough so I'll stop for a breather Peace out, Anne in Mpls

Wow...I've always envied the BSA ways of dividing the work. In GS, everything in the Service Unit (similar to district - little smaller geographically)is done by leaders. Half done. They are spread way too thin, and very prone to the idea that only they can do it. It is a hard slog to get them to incorporate other volunteers into the structure. And we just don't have the clear structure of responsibilities that make it apparent where these other non-leader volunteers can fit in. So we don't have a clear mandate for recruiting other volunteers, and the leaders don't trust non-leaders to be able to do the job (even though they're spread too thin to do a good job of it). And year after year, we keep doing it this way because nobody from higher up is telling em to do it any differently. In fact, like you said, the ones who are overcommitted get *lots* of strokes for this dysfunctional behavior. "Do one job and do it well." requires them to trust other people to do *their* one job and do it well. What's the single most important step to take to change this? Where does one start? If you start by recruiting new folks, they are soon disenchanted by the cold reception. If you start by explaining how wonderful it will be for everyone not to have to work so hard, they're not gonna buy it, cause they don't see all these wonderful committed volunteers pourihng out of the woodwork. So where do you begin? I have an inkling it's "lead by example". But dangit all to heck...I'm one of those overcommitted dummies! Council trainer, SU family partnership chair, day camp committee, and a unit leader. Seriously, leading the troop and being a council trainer are plenty, *more than plenty* to be doing but they are what I love. But...I was the catalyst for our SU having a day camp for the first time in...30 years? So...I'm kinda required on that one. I turned over family partnership to someone else...my co-leader . And volunteered to be the orientation specialist . I'm mad as heck about day camp, because I'm constantly trying to steer them away from a program of sitting on the grass doing coloring sheets, and the other two on the committee are continually steering right back towards coloring sheets, cause they just found another *really cute one the girls will just love!*...gah. it makes me feel so *needed*. Please forgive me..I didn't mean this to turn into ranting and whining. If I could just see the way out of it clearly... Peace out, Anne in Mpls

FINALLY! A dissertation worth reading Ok, I'm headed to the net to find out about this Margaret Murie chica... Anne

"The Wizard of Oz - Dorothy shows leadership as she takes a guy with no brains, one with no heart and one with no courage and melds them into an effective team that successfully accomplishes its mission. The team succeeds only after they stop blaming others for their problems, and start taking responsibility for their own destinies." From a website...whaddya think? Anne in Mpls

The Wizard of Oz - Dorothy shows leadership as she takes a guy with no brains, one with no heart and one with no courage and melds them into an effective team that successfully accomplishes its mission. The team succeeds only after they stop blaming others for their problems, and start taking responsibility for their own destinies. Quoted from a website...whaddya think? Anne in Mpls

Hey, thanks for seconding the recommendation! Somehow this film just slipped right by me when it came out. Any ideas on films portraying a "patrol size" grouping of girls or women accomplishing a goal together?

Hi folks! Hey, this is a really useful topic! I think not enough leaders (BSA *&* GS) teach the safe use of tools. I remember the first time I taught jackknife safety to our Webelos scouts. After demonstrating good knife-handling practices - safety circle, opening, closing, passing, storage, etc. we began the recommended carving of bars of soap... Now, always before with my GS's, our first knifework had been sharpening twigs for stick cooking. I was...dismayed (sigh) at how the knife blade, lubricated by the soap, loved loved to lodhge itself deeply into human flesh. *Butterknives* on bars of soap are a much better idea. (Except that one of the things I always teach is that a sharp knife is a safer knife because it cuts more predictably...) I also really like the idea of the locking blades for young whittlers, but I do wonder how they do transitioning to using a jackknife? Or do they just stick with the locking blades? Do we have good reason for using jackknives now that locking blades are affordable and readily available? Still learning Anne in Mpls

This film was rec. to me on the GS trainers list as a good one for showing a female lead in a leadership position. Have you seen it? Are there other films you'd recommend? Anne

Hi folks - I've been rewatching this movie this week. I think it's got real potential for showing how a small group accomplishes its goals and copes with challenges. So I wondered if anybody had done this before... and apparently - Trailpounder has! Can you tell me more about how you structured this? I was thinking about discussion questions after a viewing of the entire film, but maybe specific scenes would be better? There are also some scenes that are problematic - the crew replacement in the hotel room with gf, lots of bad language (though milder than what's heard on evening television shows now..) Also, anybody got any examples of women in leadership roles in film? Thankee! Anne in Mpls

Welcome- it's your first time posting here. I hope you'll give us the opportunity to get to know you better and under happier circumstances. My first reaction is not a positive one - I'll get it out of my system right off so hopefully then I can go on to saying something helpful... "Punishment" is not one of the 8 methods of Scouting. There...got that off my chest... As ASPL, you've got enough on your plate. This is an area best left to the adults to handle. Probably they need to have a scoutmaster's conference, likely also a sit-down with his folks. Now, from your end of things, you may have some observations to give your SMs to assist them in knowing how to approach things. Was this a completely out of the blue one time only thing? Maybe there's some unusual personal issues being dealt with. Is this the "tip of the iceberg" - general all-around bad attitude? "Scout Spirit" and active participation are needed for advancement. A good leader takes time to observe - try to see what's happening in context. What happened immediately before and immediately after this incident? Are there clues? Your next concern is the good of the group: how did this affect the troop as a whole? Were you able to skillfully keep the rest of them on track with a minimum of chaos? Given that you had a Scout along who was being an incomprehensibly STUBBORN mule, were you continuing to demonstrate your best leadership skills? You can't prevent or correct another scout's behavior, but by being your best, you exert an important influence.