Feedback needed from conservative christians--re girl scouts

[Chris in VA]

I'm going to let dd rejoin a homeschooled troop from second grade--I like the leader (she is a wonderful, wonderful woman) and dd misses the 3 girls who are still in the troop.

 

I don't like the new age stuff now associated with girl scouts. Have any of you decided to let your dd join girl scouts, and have you encountered anything "new" in the Journey curriculum that you disagree with--if so, how did you handle it with your dd and with the troop?

 

I do not see dd remaining with gs past junior level.

 

Yes, I have investigated Am Heritage scouts.

[Parrothead]

For me the only things I've ever seen that present Girl Scouts in a negative light is from the American Heritage Scouts. Such as this article.

 

The article states:

For example, seventh- and eighth-grade cadettes will participate in an eight-session "Journey" called "aMaze," in which "girls create 'peace kits' and learn how to create more peace in the world, one relationship at a time." It sounds sweet, but is there a lesson in there about peace often coming with a price?

Well, yeah. Everything comes with a price. Would you like girls to promote war and dissent?

 

Here's another from the article:

Here's one example. In August, the GSUSA is inviting girls to "explore climate change as it relates to environment, community and the global community." They will meet with experts "to explore the issue of global climate change" and "come up with action plans to...make a difference in [their] own community."

Quite a few people on these boards know that I really bellieve that the global warming thing is a money making scam that will ruin our society. But I see nothing wrong with teaching girls (or boys for that matter) that people can make a difference in their community, state, country if given the opportunity. If the scouts want to use the global warming scam to show how a differnece can be made so be it. Dd knows how I feel about GW. And I hope that with any issue she learns to make up her own mind about said issue instead of following the crowd.

 

So I really can't find any reason for dd not to attend her scout meetings. Show me when the scouts teach girls to commit mortal sin, hate God or whatever then I'll research and make up my mind instead of following the crowd. And I don't really want my information and research from only a competitor or competitor's advocate.

[Tutor]

I haven't noticed anything objectionable BUT my girl's leader has pretty much abandoned a large chunk of the guide because she felt it was too award focused and not service-focused enough. Their meetings are spent running Bingo at the local nursing home, and when they do meet for a non-service event, it is to work on a group learning project... this month they are choosing a country to study and each has an aspect they must report on the next time they meet.

[jec3113]

Personally we will never do Girl Scouts. Do not agree with the things that they do.

[HappyGrace]

We are conservative and pulled our dd from Brownies when she was younger due to New Age things we were seeing and also neo-paganism and pantheistic concerns. We now do Keepers at Home with a smaller group (four girls) and LOVE it!

 

I'm sorry but I don't have any info on the older ages. I saw enough in Brownies to know that we will not go back to GS.

[Heather in OK]

We discontinued GS when they made the change.

[ThatCyndiGirl]

This is funny. We quit Girl Scouts because we are atheist and our troop was too religious. And, my husband had helped out with the troop for years, but couldn't be an official leader because leaders are required to proclaim a belief in God. :glare:

[patchfire]

Check with the leader to be sure they are even doing the "Journeys." Many leaders are (not unreasonably) skeptical and not doing them, figuring that in another two to three years, they'll be gone (sort of like Studio 2B is now gone...).

[KristenS]

My daughter is eagerly awaiting next year, when she can be a Daisy (since I won't let her be a Cub Scout, LOL). I purchased one of the Daisy Journey books, because I was offered the chance to lead a troop (though they haven't called back since the initial offer). I was NOT impressed ... it seemed way too deep for kindergarten girls, and way too 'pop culture' -ish ... talk about BFFs and things that my 5yo knows nothing about. Honestly it read like a preteen book.

 

I liked the flower garden theme, and thought there was some cute stuff in it, but I would really want to see the leader's guide (it wasn't available locally at the time) to see what they expected to do with it ... because, as written, it was virtually useless.

 

If the Journeys are the whole point of Girl Scouts these days, we'll probably quit after a year or two. If there are still badge and service oriented troops, then we'll stick it out.

 

(I'm also a Cub Scout den leader, so the contrast is pretty stark.)

[Murphy101]

This is funny. We quit Girl Scouts because we are atheist and our troop was too religious. And, my husband had helped out with the troop for years, but couldn't be an official leader because leaders are required to proclaim a belief in God. :glare:

 

Lol. Isn't that just the way things go sometimes? I won't do gs bc of many things, often bc they are too Protestant or too liberal for me or simply bc so many of them are just cookie sales.

 

*sigh* there are many times I wish I was less of a nonconformist. Sure would be easier. :)

[bluemongoose]

For the reasons above, we are going with AHG. I know they are conservative, and that may not suit some, but it fits us better than GS and the New Age/PP stuff.

[Sophia]

My oldest dd begged me to take her out of GS when she was a junior.

I don't recall if they were going through Journeys, but her reason was that everything was about goals and achievements which doesn't sound bad in and of itself, but she is very strong in her Christian walk and believes all goals should be focused on bringing glory to God...which was not emphasized.

I was surprised she wanted out because she did have dear friends in the group, but she was that bothered by the focus on self (as she put it.)

[Pixie]

Nope, no GS for us. The reference to God in the pledge has been taken out--contrast that with our BS meeting last night when we learned more of an initiative to focus more on our Duty to God--as prescribed by Lord B-P. GS has had the New Age element for many years, coupled with their use of Planned Parenthood materials as well as their partnership with them and well, no thanks. That's one of the things I am SO proud of BSA for--they've stuck with their mission--I only hope the SE doesn't mess this up with his new Scoutreach nonsense.

 

The GS promise is still, "On my honor, I will try to serve God and my country, to serve people at all time...." The reference to God is still there.

My girls love GS, we were in a very active council but we moved and couldn't even find a troop here.

As far as the journey books, check if they are actually using them or not, my co-leader and I last year decided to stick with the regular badge books for our brownies. My oldest's Junior troop did the same. I actually don't think any of the established troops in our former town used the Journey books, only the new daisy troops who did both the journey books and the petals since with the new age groups, the petals activities are not enough for 2 years.

[WishboneDawn]

This is funny. We quit Girl Scouts because we are atheist and our troop was too religious. And, my husband had helped out with the troop for years, but couldn't be an official leader because leaders are required to proclaim a belief in God. :glare:

 

That's not true at all. Not that I'm accusing you of lying but that whoever you were dealing with was wrong.

 

I'm a Guide leader in Canada and although there are differences both groups still belong to WAGGGS, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts and it has a diversity mandate (this isn't namby-pamby liberalism, it's simple fact for an organization that's currently in 145 countries worldwide) and does not endorse anything like what you've described.

 

I think even the Girl Scouts of America would be interested in hearing what happened to you as they, as far as I know, embrace the WAGGGS mandate and are an inclusive organization.

 

The Boy Scouts of America is a whole different matter, different from GS and even BS outside the US.

[OhM]

This is funny. We quit Girl Scouts because we are atheist and our troop was too religious. And, my husband had helped out with the troop for years, but couldn't be an official leader because leaders are required to proclaim a belief in God. :glare:

 

The above poster mentioned this, and I just want to add - this is simply incorrect. Though God is mentioned in the GS Promise (the official position is that girls are encouraged to discover what their own definition of "God" is), there is no requirement for leaders to proclaim a belief in God.

 

However, I do think there is a rule about men being leaders - I know part of our safety training mentioned that men are not allowed to accompany the troop on overnight outings.

 

And as for the new Journeys program - our troop (of 6th graders) has made the decision to focus on the "old style" program - earning badges (which focus more on interest and activities) and doing service projects. Yes, we sell cookies, which is our main money-earner, and we also do quite a bit of travel. We get out quite a bit locally and around the state, and we're taking our second "big" out-of-state trip this summer (to Savannah, to see Juliette Gordon Lowe's birthplace.)

 

So it's all about the troop. I know GSUSA, and by default, our local council, are pushing the new program, but troops make their own decisions, kwim?

Edited January 13, 2010 by OhM
"just"

[WiseOwlKnits]

I'm a conservative Christian GS Daisy leader and I don't use the Journeys stuff at all. I was told at my training that it's optional. To me it looked like a waste of time and a $-maker for them (7 girls x $15 each just for my troop alone.......). So you might look around and see if anyone is doing it without the Journey stuff. :)

[WiseOwlKnits]

The above poster mentioned this, and I just want to add - this is simply incorrect. Though God is mentioned in the GS Promise (the official position is that girls are encouraged to discover what their own definition of "God" is), there is no requirement for leaders to proclaim a belief in God.

 

However, I do think there is a rule about men being leaders - I know part of our safety training mentioned that men are not allowed to accompany the troop on overnight outings.

 

And as for the new Journeys program - our troop (of 6th graders) has made the decision to focus on the "old style" program - earning badges (which focus more on interest and activities) and doing service projects. Yes, we sell cookies, which is our main money-earner, and we also do quite a bit of travel. We get out quite a bit locally and around the state, and we're taking our second "big" out-of-state trip this summer (to Savannah, to see Juliette Gordon Lowe's birthplace.)

 

So it's all about the troop. I know GSUSA, and by default, our local council, are pushing the new program, but troops make their own decisions, kwim?

 

It's still in there, but it's perfectly acceptable for you to change or omit that part to suit your religious affiliation (or lack thereof). That's one thing that has been stressed in all of my training. There is a wide variation in how much religious content is in troops though - some people say their troops were too religious...my troop is secular.

 

Oh, and when I did my training this fall I wasn't required to make any sort of belief statement.

 

Last, fathers ARE allowed to go on camp-outs. There are just specific rules that must be followed for it to happen - like separate shower/bathroom facilities must be available as well as separate sleeping quarters. And they should have a background check like anyone who is going to be involved with the girls.

 

Hope this helps!