Girls Scouts--Weak or Strong?

[Venturer2002]

I'm a guy, so I've never known what Girl Scouting was (apart from what my mom said to me, but that was 30+ yrs ago) and am thinking. How is girl scouting today? I know alot of girls who are girl scout drop-outs because of lack of program etc., who came into my Venture Crew right after they got their gold award, or they just quit right then. Is this common?

 

P.S.

The cookies are great!

[SagerScout]

Nothing wrong with the Girl Scout program per se, but they don't seem to stress or care much about the older girl programs (Cadette-Senior). In fact, in my area they don't even bother to attempt to recruit at that level - they figure if a girl hasn't done brownies and Juniors they won't enter it then. There's a giant drop in membership between Juniors and Cadettes (the equivalent step would be Webelos to Scouts).

 

IMO, the leadership skills that make a good Brownie leader are not the same ones for the Cad/Sr level, and since in my area the leaders usually move up with their daughters, this causes part of the problem. I've interviewed a number of Cad/Sr girls about the things that aggravate them or why they are thinking of dropping out, and hear over and over again that their leaders won't let them choose direction for the troop. This is not the Girl Scout way, I am a GS trainer and we are working toward fixing it.

 

 

[Venturer2002]

"I've interviewed a number of Cad/Sr girls about the things that aggravate them or why they are thinking of dropping out, and hear over and over again that their leaders won't let them choose direction for the troop."

 

It's funny you said that, because that exactly was the problem in my old Troop, the Scoutmaster was a former Cub Leader, and so whenever we'd plan something he'd dumb it down, so instead of a survival camping trip (no sleeping bags, rationed food, minimal adult participation) he turned into more of a family camping event with siblings running rampant. The patrol method is the easiest way to plan and execute a program, and would save adults lots of time if they'd stick to it.

[ScoutNut]

Girl Scouts, like Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts or Venturers, are only as strong as their leaders and councils. Again, like in all other organizations, training goes a long way towards helping to fix problems.

 

If girls are not joining your Crew until AFTER they earn their Gold, then it is not necessarily because of lack of a Girl Scout program. Many girls wait until they are in 11th, sometimes 12th grade to finish earning their Gold Award. Girl Scouts, like Boy Scouts, ends when you reach 18 years of age or finish HS. After that, joining a Venture Crew is their only option, as you can be a youth member until you are 21.

 

GSUSA is now starting to focus on recruiting and holding older girls. BTW, BSA is now also pushing for more active recruiting of older boys who have never been in Scouts!

[yarrow]

Unlike Boy Scouts, it is just not possible to earn a Gold award before high school. The program doesn't allow for it. Plus the amount of work it takes to do a Gold Award pushes it into 11th and 12th grade. I know way too many 13-15 year old "Eagles" Very few 15-16 year old Gold Awards. The 12-14 year olds work on a Silver Award. A whole lot of work too.

[yaworski]

"It's funny you said that, because that exactly was the problem in my old Troop, the Scoutmaster was a former Cub Leader, and so whenever we'd plan something he'd dumb it down"

 

A big problem that I see today is that parents just don't want to let go of their kids. Why? I don't know. Way back when I was a youngster, we'd head off on our bikes at 8 AM with a couple sandwiches and a bottle of pop and not return until dinner. Now, parents want everything to be supervised. No more adventure for kids.

 

I see the same thing with the Troop that my son is in. On his first camp out two of the new boy patrols forgot to take stoves. No big thing, the boy built a fire in one of those BBQ grills that you find in parks and they had a great time cooking. However, one of the boys called his dad, who then drove 50 miles to bring a propane stove. The Scoutmaster swore that he was going to check every patrol's equipment list. Why? The boys learned two important things: the PL needs to makes sure that someone has all of the equipment and that they can survive if they forget something.