Girl Scouts is a mixed bag. They have recently tried to appeal to the lowest common denominator while also insulting the true believers--the point is that girl scouting is successful with a successful energetic leader, and can be total crap without one. There isn't the safety net of a troop/den hierarchy like with Boy Scouts (Which by the way rubbed me all the wrong way when Leo tried BSA...for one year. I kept looking around wondering why all the creepy old men were still involved at the local level, whilst in GSUSA, the crotchety old ladies move on to district or camp positions and don't do the day to day meetings etc).
So it's either really good, or it's lousy and girls drop out.
When I was a junior (4th-6th grade) I was in a perfect troop. This book was our handbook and I read it cover to cover. I loved all the details and smatterings of ideas--knots, morse code, first aid, arts and crafts. It was a great jumping off place for future hobbies and interests.
When I was a troop leader for my daughter's amazing rocking inclusive urban troop, I used this book even though it was already decades old. The current programming cannot compete. And we were better than that.
I wish we'd had that. I was a Girl Guide at ages 11 and 12, and we desperately needed an energetic leader.
ReplyDeleteI'm not at all fond of the new (well, several years old now) books that the Girl Scouts use. I remember my Girl Scout book. I wish I'd kept it.
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