Our local GS council asked me if I'd sign on to be a trainer.
Teach other people how to be a Girl Scout leader.
I gave it some serious thought. Leading a troop was something I really enjoyed for the most part. I know lots of crafts and games and ways to get girls working together... all the usual.
I'm also not a great supporter of GSUSA. I think the program itself is sound, and that meetings and other things the girls do are healthy, wholesome activities, but I don't like the way national GS runs things. I don't like the way they keep tweaking their programs (spending a LOT of money.. much of it earned by the girls) and the way they refuse to listen to the girls or to the volunteers who are the lifeblood of the organization.
This year, they've changed the whole program again. They're working really hard to classify and pigeonhole the girls... getting them into smaller age groupings, mostly based on where they are in school.
I don't like that, and I think that girls would be better served by making the age groups larger. I think the older girls can learn from the younger as well as the little ones learning from the older ones.
What they have now, and are fostering by their current actions, really boils down to envy. They set the little ones up to wish to be just like the big ones. And the big ones, with some exceptions, look down on the small ones, and when forced to interact with them, can be quite condescending.
After thinking about being a trainer, I have decided against it. I'd have to align myself with council and national and agree to act as if everything they do is perfect, and I can't do that in good conscience.
So I emailed them and thanked them for their request but said I wouldn't be available as a trainer.
Then, I got an email from the person who was the chairman of our vista last year. She wanted to know if I'd teach a couple classes at the leader workshop in November.
It's funny. I am not a fan of GSUSA's national policies, but I am a BIG fan of the girls and the original premises of scouting. Helping leaders have better troops on an individual basis is definitely something I can get behind.
So I'll be conducting a couple sessions of the next leader workshop.
Am I undermining my own principles? Am I helping GSUSA with their goals of running a business and making money, or am I simply helping moms be leaders for their own troops?
Both, I guess. But which half of the equation carries more weight?
Off to ponder.
I think you are helping the moms be better leaders thereby helping the girls have a better experience. I don't think the suits in New York fit into the equation at all.
ReplyDeleteI went to our Council's training on the Journeys. I do not like them, Sam I Am. I would not lead them in a box, I would not lead them to a fox. The whole thing was "it must be girl led" and everything has to have an educational purpose. Girl led, great! Educational purpose, what? When did GS become public school? We were told they can't just go to the zoo for fun, they must learn something. Duh, of course they'll learn something if you just let them have fun. They don't need it crammed down their throats. They are trying to turn our girls into foie gras.
I am curious about their new pathways to GSing. But honestly, if Violet loses interest in the program, I won't be terribly sad. I don't like the direction it is going either.
I'm sure you're not the only person involved with GS that doesn't agree with their policies. Just like the problems with public schooling; if you can't get a full overhaul, the next best thing is to chip away in lots of different areas. You chose to opt out, some choose to involve themselves in the PTA, some get degrees and become teachers... As long as you're keeping your ideals for GS in mind with your participation, you're doing your part to make it better.
ReplyDeletedo what you love. forget the politics
ReplyDeleteI agree with lil mouse. Sounds like you can have the best of both worlds.
ReplyDeleteI love how you summarized some of the problems with the new program -- putting them into smaller groups with agemates, then fostering envy. I'm pretty sure that people heavily involved with public schools don't even fathom that it's possible that kids can operate in other ways. Same with the notion of kids being able to learn while just hanging out having fun. New fantasy -- all GSUSA executives must spend 2 weeks with a group of unschoolers before they tweak the program again.
ReplyDeleteI also love your reminders that GSUSA is doing all of these reorganizations with the dollars the girls have earned. My own kids have contributed plenty to GSUSA and have had zippo input.
Just yesterday I had a brainstorm to go buy up a bunch of badges that my dds would like to earn in the next few years. That way when GSUSA decides that the girls don't actually want those badges we'll be able to do them on our own.