I work for non-profit organizations focusing on science and the environment. We use our knowledge and resources to assist girls with some of the science badges which can be more difficult for a troop to earn. On one property we have a river and a spring so we have worked with some troops on the Water Journey except the activities we did, did not meet any specific requirements in the Journey book. We attempted to set up a program where local troops could visit multiple times and earn their entire Journey award but we found the amount of reading that would need to take place at every meeting would limit the creative capacity we have. Girls learn by doing hands-on activities, they read enough in school and GS is supposed to be fun. There are very few badges even relevant to the non-profit I work for (Bugs, Trees, Animal Habitats) but the lack of options within each badge is what I find absolutely astonishing. What happened to choices? For example, Animal Habitats lets you pick one of three regions endangered species live in to learn about. I work with chimpanzees which are endangered in Africa but that is not one of the very specific requirements allowed by GS. The new program is stifling creativity since there are no options to create your own activities. I also do workshops for Boy Scouts and their badges are so in-depth it can take them 3-4 times longer to earn a badge than it does Girl Scouts. Most GS programs only take 2-3 hours to earn a badge start to finish so I feel Boy Scout badges cover the program materials more thoroughly. ~Comment from the GS Members and Supporters Survey gsmembersupportersurvey.weebly/
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 15:30:00 +0000
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