no more girl scout badges?
 

I work with a Girl Scout troop and I heard this weekend that badges are going to be phased out for Cadettes and Seniors and replaced with charm bracelets. The concept is the same (you work toward knowledge in specific areas), just the symbol you get for it is different.

I guess girls in high school and junior high feel like big dorks wearing badges, and it makes sense to make the change if that's keeping girls from staying active.

Still, it makes me sad. Badges have been a part of Girl Scouting from practically the beginning, and I loved earning them as a junior (never made it beyond for reasons that are beyond the scope of this post). But it's just nostalgia ... Girl Scouts has always done a terrific job of updating itself with the times without losing its core values or diluting its program, and this is another example.

I don't see anything about this on the national Girl Scouting site, though. Has anyone else out there heard anything about this?

Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!

Sorry.. I had to add that!

:eek: I've been a leader since 1970 and I hadn't heard that! We haven't gotten our Leader Magazine this fall, though.

Sure they feel dorky with badges but it's not a good idea to do charms--they go in and out of fashion too. When I was a teenager, charm bracelets were dorky because they were a relic of the fifties and no doubt they'll cycle back out. Then what will we do?

Maybe they'll move onto tattoos or britney spears collectable tank tops? J/k

I don't think I had any really serious feelings about the uniform or badges when I was younger. I just remember having a really good time!

One more thought ...
 

On Halloween I saw as many college girls dressing as girl scouts as there were girls dressing as school girls, nurses, etc.

I have been a Girl Scout since second grade, I got a lifetime membership for high school graduation... I haven't heard anything about it either... I don't really like the idea.. I went all the way through Cadettes and Seniors and I never felt dorky or stupid for earning badges. I might not have worn my uniform around for kicks but I took a lot of pride in the times I did wear my insignia. I wonder if this is just a rumor--I hope it is!!

carnation, my mom was our leader for like 8 years too! :)

Speaking of Girl Scouts, I think it is a program that really prepared me for/interested me in sorority life. They share many elements--philanthropies, values, ceremonies, badges, self-betterment etc. I think that's why Pi Phi appealed to me in part, because it seemed to be a way to continue the type of friendship I had with my troop (we stayed together all the way from second grade to senior year and were all best friends.. we still do alumnae activities together!).

Found with a little web sleuthing:
http://scoutingweb.com/scoutingweb/D...TUDIO%202B.pdf

http://www.studio2b.org/intro_s2b.html

http://www.gssp.org/index_convention.htm

It's a lot more than just charms.

This kind of rubs me the wrong way... those are some pretty sweeping changes. Call me a traditionalist, but I liked the old names, and I liked the badges... :(

I wish there had been Cadette and Senior troops where I grew up... I had to drop out of Girl Scouts in 6th grade because there wasn't a troop in my immediate area. :(

I just read through the first link....

I think it's pretty stupid. Some of the ideas (phasing out uniforms/restructuring the useless age groupings) are cool, but I don't like the idea of no badges at all. I feel like charm bracelets will be viewed by the girls as kitschy. Maybe I'm wrong...?!?! Oh well.

That second link...can we more blatantly say "adults trying to use teenage slang and completely embarassing themselves"? I know they need to update occasionally, but this sounds like they are completely pandering to things that are so transient.

Girls don't drop out of Girl Scouts because the badges aren't cool or any of that...it's because the college pressure is starting at that age and they need to study more. That, and boys. :)

33girl is totally right about adults using slang. Adults are awful judges are what kids like, and we end up with campaigns like, "Hey, kids! Not using drugs is like totally def!" Ugh!

But if you let kids shape the program - which I think they did here to a great extent - kids only know what they like then and don't have a sense of the long-term. GS should roll with the times (just because Juliette Low didn't have a computing badge doesn't mean we shouldn't today), but anything drastically trendy will age too fast. Like the name, Studio 2B, it sounds like the already-passe "B2B" phrases the business world was throwing around a year ago. If you have to radically revamp a program every two years, there is a problem.

I'm rather on the fence about this new program, and I'm glad it's being piloted right now rather than being rolled out everywhere as a done deal. Personally, I liked the structure and orderliness of badges and uniforms, but then, I'm an old bird of 26, so what do I know!

ROTFL about adults using teenage slang! Even in the sixties, adult magazine writers would write "my fave guy is totally groovy" or whatever and we would just die. Despite what you may think from seeing the Brady Bunch, noooobody said "groovy" back in the day.

Anyway, I got my Leader later today and I'm not really impressed with what little they've said about Studio2B. I know that the national office is faced with declining numbers--and so much of it is due to the wide choices of activities that young women have these days--but there seems to be little meat in this program. It sounds like Britney Spears came up with it. Groovy.

okay, I don't know how many of you actually were cadette's or seniors but I was both (along with Brownies and Juniors, they just started Daisy's when I joined!), do I think the charm bracelet thing is lame, yes! but they have to change it. It's from Juniors to Cadettes/Seniors that they have the worst retention rates.

I never owned a uniform or sash, my troop was the largest in the area (with a whopping 16 people) and it was like the mob. We never spoke of it in public. The negative image is something they are trying to combat. I agree that it's sad to see the badges go, but honestly besides the silver/gold awards etc., I didn't have the time to do badges and neither did the rest of the girls I was with. We stopped meeting on a regular basis because we couldn't coordinate our schedules. Our leader would basically call us up and make us aware of things, much like the advisor position they describe and it worked for us.

Personally, I spent a lot more time working with younger girls than I actually did working on badges and awards and it developed my leadership ability and willingness to serve the community more than earning the badges did, plus it was fun. That's my 2cents.

I do have to say that the name is super dumb!

Do boy scouts experience these same problems?

That's something that's always annoyed me. For some reason it becomes vastly uncool to be a Girl Scout, but never a Boy Scout. and EVERYONE knows what the Eagle Scout is, and basically no one knows what the Gold or Silver Award. It's not something people brag about so much (but I found by junior and senior year of HS people Girl Scouts were cool again because we had cookies :)) I agree that some changes need to be made... But some elements of this program sound pretty transient. I guess the proof will be in the pudding.

Sorry it's a little off topic but the girl scout topic reminded my of a little off humor tune, its kinda funny.
"Oh I wish I was a little Girly Scout, Oh I wish I was a little Girly Scout, cause' I'll tramp tramp tramp, through the Boy Scout camp, Oh I wish I was a little Girly Scout."

I was in the Brownies, then a Girl Scout until I was in 6th/7th grade. I loved being a Girl Scout. It was alot of fun. Fyi girl scout cookies are so good, the Samoas are my fave. LOL

I say they should stick with the badges, its tradition.

Ally

Grrrr about the Eagle Scout/Gold Scout thing. Adults are part of the problem. Last year Blazer Cheer and Ballerina both got their Gold Awards at the same time that several guys they knew got their Eagles. Each guy got his own article on the front page of the paper. My girls (and anyone else who got a Gold) got a group article way back in the schools section.

Scouting, especially the camping program, has helped make leaders of my girls. Our oldest 6 have been either CITS (and subsequently, counselors) or WITS (and later, wranglers)!

say it isn't so
 

I haven't been able to get the first link to open (some problem with my PC) but it breaks my heart to hear that Girl Scouts may be getting rid of the badges. I was a girl scout all the way through Cadettes (no Senior group in my area). I looked forward to getting as many badges as possible and loved wearing my sash so everyone could see them.

Somehow if Girl Scouts think that charm bracelets is going to make it acceptable to teenagers I truly don't think its going to work. But that's my 30 something opinion so maybe i'm out of step with the times.

Wow! I hadn't heard anything about this. Yes, I too was a girl scout from brownies to juniors to cadettes. My troop died out the summer before my last (junior/senior) year in high school, so I never did bridge to seniors, which was sad :(

I loved scouting and I totally agree that it helps develop leadership skills in young women, especially if you stick with it when you get a little older. My troops were always very active and they lead to my certification in canoeing and sailing. I wanted to be a SCIT the summer before my senior year, but I didn't turn 16 in time.

Somewhere in my pile of stuff to put in a scrapbook, I have my vest that's covered with patches and badges. I hope they think about all of the repercussions before they do anything rash. Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't (nor would any of my students who are all pretty much in the age range between 11 and 17) join something known as Studio 2B.

I still have my badges from the Brownies. My mother was the troop leader. :)

I was in Girl Scouts from K-6th grade, I think I skipped one year. Why did I stop? Because it was dorky. And I say that in the most non-pejorative way possible. But, the fact of the matter is that a lot of 12 year old girls, myself included, aren't interested in being nature woman (the name we called my baby-popping, breast-feeding at the meetings, hippie wannabe leader). A little updating never hurt anything.

Yeah, "Studio 2B" is a name that's just trying too hard. But I think that if the focus is on girls developing into women, and developing friendships, that an update is needed. Popsicle stick crafts are not cool at 12 years old. Programs that appeal to the more tech-savy girls, and that are just not as corny would be a good thing in keeping people from leaving for the exact reasons I left.

I also have issues with the cookie selling, but that's another discussion all together...

I had some friends who were in girl scouts when they were younger, but dropped out as they got older. Why did they drop out? Their troop was boring. Sorry to be so blunt, but we all know those troops are out there and, unfortunately, probably outnumber the great troops.

I think that the enthusiasm and involvement of the leader is directly proportional to the enthusiasm and involvement of the girls. Honestly, my troop leaders were the best. They always managed to not only teach us how to work together, but always found topics that each of us loved.

Wow, I think this new plan is so silly sounding.

I was a Girl Scout through Brownies, but I had to quit simply because there wasn't an older troop in my area. I would have absolutely loved to continue, though, and even now envy people who got to go further in scouting. :(

I think this new plan sounds like they're pandering to the Britney generation. Really, the Boy Scouts still have plenty of membership, and they haven't had to come up with silly new names and abolish uniforms and badges.

My thoughts are this- they should emphasise opportunities for community service and leadership, since they can help with the whole college application process. They should also try to get rid of the whole "baking and sewing" image that I've always noticed people having. I really think the push for younger volunteers they're doing is GREAT...that is a step in the right direction. Maybe they should try to figure out what made Boy Scout's Eagle Scout rank so well known, and see if it might be possible to make the Gold Award more well known.

Well, that's my two cents. Of course, I don't really know much about scouting, but I think real, substantial changes in the way the program is run and public perception would be a bigger help than superficial changes like getting rid of badges and trying to sound "cool."

Not about badges
 

This isn't really about badges but I figured some of you ladies might enjoy reading it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/25/ny...COU.html?8hpib

-Rudey