I'm a Girl scout leader (who's about to quit!)

[Spooky]

I'm sorry. Sounds like a crap deal.

I can tell you from experience, Boy Scouts aren't much better.

Good luck with whatever decision you finally make

[Pyrrho]

Aren't girl scouts or any scouts, religiously based?

Perhaps this is something secular people should think of, adventure without bullshit.

No.  The Girl Scouts are not religious.  They are much better than the Boy Scouts.  You can read about them on wikipedia.  If you compare both groups just from reading on wikipedia, you should be able to see that the Girls Scouts are presently, and always have been, better than the Boy Scouts.

As for some of the trouble, the organization wants a safe environment for the girls (hence things like CPR requirements) and they want to stop people from stealing money from the sale of cookies (hence the paperwork and accounting for every penny).  The simple fact is, if they did not have troublesome requirements, they would end up with other problems.

[*Deidre*]

welcome 

[Aroura]

Aren't girl scouts or any scouts, religiously based?

Perhaps this is something secular people should think of, adventure without bullshit.

No.  The Girl Scouts are not religious.  They are much better than the Boy Scouts.  You can read about them on wikipedia.  If you compare both groups just from reading on wikipedia, you should be able to see that the Girls Scouts are presently, and always have been, better than the Boy Scouts.

As for some of the trouble, the organization wants a safe environment for the girls (hence things like CPR requirements) and they want to stop people from stealing money from the sale of cookies (hence the paperwork and accounting for every penny).  The simple fact is, if they did not have troublesome requirements, they would end up with other problems.

I never minded paperwork or taking classes.  That's just in there as part of the overall, too much for a volunteer thing.

I DO mind half the Girl Scout year being focuses on sales.  AND you cannot opt out.  Well, you can, but if you do opt out of sales, you are disallowed from doing your own fundraising. You can only do your own fundraising if you ALSO sell cookies AND nuts.  Sigh.

And the fact that 3 years ago, they removed almost all the badges, and installed and pushed these Journeys.  The journey's are books with no flexibility, and more like book schoolwork than the hands on learning most people think of.

Girl Scouts is still a good organization, but since the new CEO took over in 2011, things have been going downhill fast.

[I_am_not_mafia]

I DO mind half the Girl Scout year being focuses on sales.  AND you cannot opt out.  Well, you can, but if you do opt out of sales, you are disallowed from doing your own fundraising. You can only do your own fundraising if you ALSO sell cookies AND nuts.  Sigh.

When I read that in that OP I immediately suspected that the CEO has made a deal with a corporation who somehow financially benefits from the sale of cookies. Do the girl scouts bake their own cookies or are they supplied? If they are supplied then I bet the CEO personally profits or benefits from this somehow.

[rexbeccarox]

This makes me sad, though I can't blame you for being done, A. From what I've been reading, I'd be happy if the new CEO stepped down and made room for someone else who better understands what the Scouts are about.

I grew up in the Scouts; went to GS Camp (my sister and I spent the whole summer there; our mom came up every weekend to bring clean laundry, take home dirty laundry, and check to make sure we weren't ready to go home (we never were)); I was a CIT, then Junior Counselor (or the other way around?), then a counselor in my mid-teens... Some of the best times of my life. My sister was a troop leader for awhile until she moved out my way a few years ago. It's always been an amazing organization and I hope it gets back on-track soon.

I'm sorry it got bad enough that you had to give it up, A. I'm so sorry

[bennyboy]

Fuck any Scouts group that doesn't involve mainly camping or outdoor activities. . . which to my understanding is now all of them.

[rexbeccarox]

Fuck any Scouts group that doesn't involve mainly camping or outdoor activities. . . which to my understanding is now all of them.

That's what we focused on when I was part of the Scouts. I was a canoeing counselor; we went on week-long canoe trips a couple of times every summer; let alone the frequent weekend trips we took. I loved teaching and learning new survival skills. I have no doubt that, because of the GSA, I could survive in most situations.

[bennyboy]

Fuck any Scouts group that doesn't involve mainly camping or outdoor activities. . . which to my understanding is now all of them.

That's what we focused on when I was part of the Scouts. I was a canoeing counselor; we went on week-long canoe trips a couple of times every summer; let alone the frequent weekend trips we took. I loved teaching and learning new survival skills. I have no doubt that, because of the GSA, I could survive in most situations.

Now, they can probably survive sleeping in a tent in a school gymnasium and making smores in the cafeteria microwave.  Amirite?

[Aroura]

It's true about the new CEO.

I actually joined a group called "Are you listening GSUSA?"  It's a group that is PRO-girl scouts, but is trying to make changes from the bottom up. That is, members create petitions and circulate them and send them up to HQ.

The current petition focuses on de-emphasizing the Journey's, bringing back the discontinued badges OR creating new ones to replace them, and focusing more on the outdoor skill building again.

One good change GS's has made is to create STEM related skill badges, and I'm all for that! And no one is asking those be removed, just that they put the outdoors stuff back in.

I would like to see the new CEO step down.  I think Girl Scouts needs to reverse some of their recent decisions.  

Also, I've only quit as a troop leader, not the whole organization.  I still hope things will change for the better, I just can't tank my health for other people's kids, no matter how much I love being a leader and working with kids.  If I could have meetings without so many hassles, I wouldn't have quit.

Oh, and now we have NO CONTROL over our own troops.  I forgot to mention, this is a brand new decision that will affect troops starting this season.  There is this new toold coming out called "Troop Finder".  It allows people to find and join a troop if that troop has less than 12 girls in it.  If you want a smaller troop, you must request a special dispensation (like, if you have a disabled girl or something like that, you could request to be allowed to have a smaller troop).  But ALL other troops will now be forced to accept girls and parent they have never met, and have 12 girls.  12 is a lot, I know.  Mine was the largest troop in the area with 14 last year, and I had 10 the year before, and it's a LOT.  The majority of leaders (that I know) prefer between 5 and 6 girls.  Again, the organization dumping more work on the leaders without providing them with one more ounce of support.

I intend to Juliette (this means continue with my kid and me alone, since we are already registered!) and I think the few moms and girls in my troop may do that as well.  I won't sell cookies, we'll just do the cool things like World Thinking day, Day Camp, and any badges she would like to earn.