Senior_Patrol_Leader_T15 Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 Hello, I'm trying to find out what ranks in Girl Scouts is equal to those in Boy Scouts. See, we are starting a Venturing Crew, and if a former(or active) Girl Scout joins our Crew and they tell us what there rank is or was, we could compare there knowledge to that of which rank in Boy Scouts. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGreyEagle Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 I am not sure you will get what you are looking for as the Girl Scout and Boy Scout programs are so different. You could have a Gold Award Girl Scout (higest level) not know a thing about camping because her troop never did (one reason girls join Venturing) It may be better to have a few "shakedown" camps in a place close to home to see what the girls know, they may surprise you. Remember, there are no ranks in Venturing, only awards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneinMpls Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 OGE's got it right - GS left ranks behind in the early 60s, rewrote every single badge to have optional requirements, etc. Bronze Silver and Gold awards in Girl Scouting earned by girls in grades 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12 respectively do not specify any outdoor skills. They do all require leadership experience and career exploration and community service. Generally speaking, the average girl scout today probably knows how to tie an overhand knot and a square knot, and may have spent a night under a tent. Very likely to have had at least an explanation of campfire safety, may have toasted a marshmallow or two. These are *probably* not the girls who will be seeking out a Venturing Crew. Some Girl Scouts have extensive outdoor experience but don't necessarily have badges or other awards to show for it - these are the ones who will be drawn to Venturing and will probably be very into finally getting recognition for their skills. American Camping Association has a new badge program called Outdoor Living Skills. I've begun using this program with the girls in my troops to recognize their developing skills. You might suggest to your local Service Unit (sortof like a BSA district - it's the Girl Scout group of adults responsible for troops in your area) to use this program, and then you'll have girls with demonstrated skills ready to come into Venturing. A few GS Councils have established their own outdoor skill recognition programs but there is no consistency between them. http://www.acacamps.org/education/ols.htm will give you the info on ols. http://www.acacamps.org/education/olsskill.htm Peace out, Anne in Mpls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutdoorThinker Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 Comparative Scouting 101 As a Venture Crew member, Assistant Scoutmaster for a Boy Scout troop and a life time member of the Girl Scouts, and a Girl Scout leader I can offer a few pieces of information. First, Girl Scouting is set up very differently than Boy Scouting. Girl Scouts don't "advance" but rather move along the system by age and grade. Daisies are kindergarteners, Brownies are first through third graders, Juniors are fourth through sixth graders, as a Junior you can earn the Bronze award, which is the first step to earning the Gold Award (however, the Bronze is NOT necessary to earn the Gold Award). The Cadettes are ususally seventh through ninth grade. It is in Cadettes that a Girl may earn her Silver award, another step in the Gold Award, but not necessary to earn the gold. Seniors are girls in high school. It is then you can earn your gold award. When recruiting Girl Scouts for your crew, she must be a Senior girl scout, but beyond that I wouldn't descriminate. The Gold, like Eagle is something that girls work on throughout high school. Some arent interested in earning the awards at any level, either. On camping experiences, at every level above Daisies, girls should have camping experiences. Yes, the average Junior Girl Scout or above knows how to tie a square knot, but her knot tying skill doesnt make or break her Venturing Material. (Please note: It wasnt until I spent a week at National Camp in the Scoutcraft area that I knew had to tie the basic Boy Scout knots). Girl Scouting focus is slightly different than the Boy Scouting focus. First Girl Scouting really stresses a girl's leadership abilities. Making young women strong leaders and good communicators is probably one of the biggest goals. Second, career exploration is another major goal of the Girl Scouting movement. Another major difference between the two groups is that where Boy Scouts work on merit badges in pairs, usually the Girl Scouts will do a "merit badge" (try-it, badge or interest project patch) over the course of a few meetings and they will work together as a troop. We won't even touch on how different Girl Scout camp is from Boy Scout camp. But ultimately, when looking for Girl Scouts in your crew, you're going to want to talk to Senior Girl Scouts. They may join your crew for a number of reasons, perhaps their troop focuses on camping and they really enjoy it, or perhaps they dont do as much camping and their looking for outdoor oppertunities. I hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campaholic Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 I feel as if Outdoor Thinker summed up the different age levels of Girl Scouting for you quite nicely. I hope that your question on which levels of Girl Scouts you are looking for (which is the seniors) was answered. Althought I thought it would be fun to touch on Girl Scout Camping Vs. Boy Scout Camping, since I have worked at a Girl Scout Camp and seen Boy Scout camp run, I will go along with her I guess... I must admit that once I got involved with Ventures I was often telling my crew advisors that it was "more fun" than Girl Scouts. I mean, I have never ever heard of another type of co-ed "Scout" group! And how could my parents tell me I couldn't be in Scouts... But my honest advice to you is, don't try to understand Girl Scouting. I don't know how many times the other girls and I have tried to explain Girl Scouting to our Venture Leaders and to this day they still think that the Gold Award is a rank of some sort. When seeking out Girl Scouts and speaking to their troop, explain what the goals of your Crew are and the girls who are interested, whether it be because their GS troop doesn't do what you do and they think it'd be fun, or because they do have similar activities in their troop and just want a greater chance to do these activities, will join. On a personal level, I joined Ventures because the I heard the Crew was going on a trip to Assateague that I thought sounded interesting, so I went and have never turned back since then. Good luck on your recruiting. If you have another other suggestions for recruitment, please share them, we are beginning to lose members to college Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGreyEagle Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 Hey Outdoor Thinker and Campaholic, the crew to which I am attached has a couple of Girl Scouts membes as well. One was a scoutcraft director this past summer at our summercamp and another member worked at a Girl Scout Camp all summer as well. One received her Bronze Venture award and Gold Girl Scout award the other received the Council Venture Leadership award. They are two great happening young ladies who I am totally down with and respect in a far out way, just as it sounds you two are.(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campaholic Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 If they are anything like the girls in my crew, I'm sure they would probably laugh if they knew you said you were "totally down with them and repect in a "far out" way" and that they were "far out"...I know I would laugh at my leader... But then again, my crew knows how to take jokes very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMT376Richmond KY Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 My daughter is working on her gold but is upset that her Troop doesn't camp as much anymore. I've been asked to sit on crew committee and have asked her to join. She thinks she'll have to quit GS if she does though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutdoorThinker Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 Campaholic brings up a good point that I neglected to mention in my post, about why I enjoyed the Venturing Crew, as I have mentioned, I am a very active Girl Scout. When I learned that my friend's Boy Scout troop was chartering a coed Venturing Crew, he really pushed for the Girl Scouts to join, he knew that we all had camping experience --- working at Girl Scout Day Camp, summer camping, and the occasional weekend camp out, but with our busy lives and working on our Gold Awards, we really didnt plan many camping trips in high school. I almost didn't join my Venturing Crew, because of my schedule, but I really felt that I had nothing to lose and maybe we'd get to do some "high adventure" stuff that we didnt do in Girl Scouting. I had always wanted to backpack and learn about surviving in the wilderness. Four years later, I think that joining the Crew was one of the smartest decisions I've made. It's open many new doors for me. I've had great high adventure experiences, and backpacking is now one of my favorite past times and I spent the whole summer teaching younger boy scouts how to survive in the wilderness. Who would have thought? By the way, I also have to agree with Campaholic, when it comes to OGE's comment about his girls, as much as the girls of my crew and I would appreciate the sentiment behind your "they are two great happening young ladies who I am totally down with and respect in a far out way, just as it sounds you two are," we've been known to put our advisors on slang probation for statements phrased like that. My advisors are good sports though, and I would have to say, that we all are totally down with our advisors and respect them in a far out way, because they've been completely cool learning about Girl Scouting and not trying to judge us by our previous Scouting experiences and they totally support us when we tell them we want to try something new or a little off the wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutdoorThinker Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 SMT376Richmond KY, I continued staying an active Girl Scout after I joined the crew and two of my best friends were crew members and went on to recieve their Girl Scouting Gold Awards. If your daughter wants to camp, she should consider becoming involved in the Venturing Crew. It's just a matter of time management. I unforutnately got a little too wrapped up in a Boy Scout Council project when I should have been working on my Gold Award and aged out before I earned my Gold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJCubScouter Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 They are two great happening young ladies who I am totally down with and respect in a far out way Um, OGE, that sounds so... what? Groovy? Funky? Cosmic? Yeah, that's it, man, cosmic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campaholic Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 SMT376Richmond KY: to my knowledge there is no rule against being in both organizations. In fact, if she thinks she'll be uncomfortable, tell her to ask some of her Girl Scouting friends to join the crew with her. That's what I did and not only did I become better friends with the girls I came in with, but I made a whole lot of other friends in the crew as well!(This message has been edited by Campaholic) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilLup Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 Concerning the comments and terminology of OGE. Please be nice to those of us who speak Olde English. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior_Patrol_Leader_T15 Posted September 26, 2003 Author Share Posted September 26, 2003 Thank all of you for your resposes. So then Girl Scout Ranks are sort of like Cub Scout Ranks, your advance with age. And I will look to finding Senior Girl Scouts for our Venturing Crews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutdoorThinker Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 SPL_Tr15, Sounds like you've got it, just would you mind using the term age levels instead of ranks, because the girl scouts really dont have ranks. Best of luck on your recruitment! Keep us posted on how you do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now