What is she really learning?

I’ve talked before on this blog about our experience with Girl Scouts.  My daughter was a Daisy Scout in kindergarten.  The experience wasn’t exactly pleasant.  I was forced into the co-leader position only to discover the other leader and I had very different styles of doing things.  We parted ways at the end of the year with plans to join a different troop.  My daughter later decided she didn’t want to do Girl Scouts in first grade.  Okay, fine by me.

My daughter is now in second grade and asked at the beginning of the school year if she could rejoin Girl Scouts as a Brownie.  I wasn’t keen on the idea because I really wasn’t sure what she got out of her first experience with scouts.  But, with a little persuading from my husband, I decided to let her join back up with the Girl Scouts.  I sucked up my pride, apologized to the leader for our inability to work together before, and Amelia was welcomed back into the troop.

We are more than half way through the school year and I’m right back where I started.  Again, I’m not sure my daughter is getting anything at all out of the Girl Scout experience.

Our troop meets Friday nights in a small church classroom.  The girls never wear uniforms and many never even wear their sashes with their patches.  The leader is never on time and always arrives late and complete frazzled.  The majority of meetings are spent trying to get the girls to settle down and listen to a 30 minute lecture on something related to some lesson about girl power.  And that’s it.  So far this year we’ve made cards – thank you cards, birthday cards, friendship cards, etc.  We’ve filled out worksheets, sang a couple of songs, and been badgered over and over with one fundraiser after another.  That’s it.  I volunteer to help with what I can, offer supplies and ideas, and even try to do as much reinforcement of the stuff at home. But most of the time my daughter is as clueless to what they did when she leaves as she was before the lesson began.

I look at my son with his Boy Scout troop and they’ve camped, hiked, toured a fire department, made emergency plans, toured a movie theatre, had guest speakers, created healthy eating plans, built rockets, earned beads, earned badges, and earned belt loops.  They meet with the pack once a month and get a glimpse of what all other troops are doing, enjoy celebration over accomplishments, and are held accountable for how they are spending their time.  He wears his full uniform to every meeting and always comes home with projects and tasks to further enhance what they’ve learned.

Again, we’ve made cards, filled out worksheets, and been lectured about stuff I can’t even remember.

Maybe it’s the leadership in our troop.  Maybe our county isn’t very organized.  But, is this how Girl Scouts is supposed to be?!  Is this what is supposed to build confidence, a sense of pride, and the ability to be empowered to create change?  We two years into this whole experience and I’m not sure one girl in our troop can recite the Girl Scout Promise or the Girl Scout Law.  That’s crazy to me!

My daughter seems indifferent to the whole experience.  She doesn’t love it, but she doesn’t hate it.  She just goes with the flow.  She is as tired as I am of selling stuff, though.  She doesn’t want to go door to door selling cookies or magazines.  And, I don’t think she has any idea what all that troop money is supposed to do.  I don’t either for that matter!

I can’t say that my opinion of Girl Scouts has changed much this year.  Sure, I’m giving it the good college try for the sake of my daughter.  But if all she’s getting out of it is art time I’m not sure it’s worth it.  She’s gaining more confidence and self-worth through her karate class that she just started a few months ago.

I don’t know where I’m going with all this.  I don’t know if we’ll continue with Scouts or pull out (again!) at the end of the year.  But I do know this:  If this is what is expected to teach girls esteem, confidence, survival, and empowerment – well, they’re doing a fucking lousy job.

Meanwhile, my 6 year old son can survive in the woods with a stick, duct tape, and a gallon of pee while telling you what to do if you’re house is on fire.  She can at least write him a thank you note for his efforts.  Is that sexist or what?!