How to Build Leadership in Young Girls

Just a few weeks ago we discussed the importance of Growing Mentors the Girl Scout Way and how the Teen Mentoring Awards, specifically the Counselor in Training program at camp, helped a girl grow into a leadership role. And while camp and the CIT program are both awesome, not everyone can go to camp for that program and younger girls also make great mentors. So where else can we give girls opportunities to guide and teach others besides camp and Teen Mentoring Awards? And the answer is anywhere. As long as older girls are involved in the planning and the leading of the activities (from Brownies teaching daisies to make their first SWAP to ambassadors giving Cadettes tips on dutch oven cooking) and younger girls are actively participating mentoring is occurring.

Where does my troop start? Start by inviting others to mentor you! Younger girls need to see it, before they can do it. Brownies can invite a Cadette troop to help them with a Journey. The cadettes can earn their Leader In Action (LiA) award and the Brownies get a chance to learn and spend time with teenagers-a win-win for both groups.  Each of the Brownie Journeys Brownie Quest, A World of Girls, WOW Wonders of Water contains a detailed description of the steps and also activity ideas that are needed to complete the award. Check out this link for an example of the steps from Brownie Quest LiA. Then pay it forward by helping a daisy troop Bridge to Brownie and start honing those mentoring skills.

 

When the troop bridges up to Juniors, remind them how much fun they had learning from the Cadettes and helping the Brownies bridge. Ask if they’d like to take the lead again as Junior Aides and help a younger troop. Girls will be excited when they realize they’re now the experts and can share their skills with younger scouts. You can even have the girls pick their favorite activities or badges from when they were Brownies and recycle those activities to use with the younger troop. Plus what Daisy and Brownie leader wouldn’t love having another troop help them plan activities for at least three meetings?

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Help your girls take their first step toward becoming amazing mentors. Don’t forget to include guiding younger girls in your troop plans this year!

Act Now for Next Year!

Now is the time to being planning for an experience of a lifetime for the girls in your group.  The reason for planning now is to inspire girls to re-register next year, start planning and budgeting in advance for big trips or projects and give plenty of time to execute the plan and achieve the girls’ goals.  

Girls will love to brainstorm ideas for their future troop experiences.  Here’s an easy process to use with girls to get you going:

Materials Needed:

• Large paper to visually record the groups ideas
• 2014-2015 Calendar
• Markers
• Journey Descriptions: It’s Your World-Change It, It’s Your Planet-Love It, It’s Your Story-Tell It or use this summary.
• Use the Badge Explorer to let girls check out their options.
• 2014 Summer Camp Brochure
• Program Opportunities Book: Remember that events change each year so you will have to revisit this in the fall to make plans final.
• Information about highest awards if you have Girl Scout Juniors and above.

1. Debrief the past year: Talk about some of the fun things that you did this past year in Girl Scouting.  Was there anything they wanted to do that they didn’t get to?
2. Brainstorm: Hang large sheets of paper with the below titles around the room then take them through each topic letting them brainstorm ideas.

• Awards and badges: Talk about the different Girl Scout Journeys available to girls and use the Badge Explorer to help girls find topics that interest them.
• Take Action and service:  How would the girls like to connect with their community?  They don’t have to choose a project now, they just need to save some time in their schedule to investigate, plan and implement a project.
• Trips and outings:  Where do they want to go this year?  Are there places they need to go to help them earn a badge or learn a new skill?  Is there a trip that would compliment their chosen Journey?  Are there other Girl Scout events in the community, service unit or council that they would like to attend with their sister Girl Scouts?  What about summer camp?
• Traditions and holidays:  What are some of their favorite Girl Scout traditions?  Are there traditions that they would like to learn more about like Girl Scout Thinking Day?  Are there other special holidays they would like to observe like Women’s History Month?
• Logistics:  Where should they meet?  Is this location still working for the needs of the troop?  How will the troop share responsibilities like food, snack and supplies?
• Money Earning and financial literacy:  How will the troop earn money to support their projects?  How will the Girl Scout Cookie Program work into their plans?

3. Decision Making:  After gathering all of the ideas on large paper, allow the girls to vote on their top choices. Now you will have agreed upon activities from each element of a troop experience.  Everyone will have an investment in helping these choices come to fruition since they provided input. Using the calendar, have the girls place their choices on the calendar.  With younger girls, the adult may have to do the calendar scheduling, but don’t underestimate the girls input even at a young grade level. 

Pump Up Your Service Projects!

“The work of today is the history of tomorrow, and we are its makers”. Juliette Gordon Low

Girl Scouts has a long tradition of doing service projects. Why not take the opportunity to take your project to the next level? Service learning is an amazing way to increase awareness of social issues, broaden perspective on diversity issues, develop civic responsibility and enhance critical thinking.  In Girl Scouting, we also refer to service learning projects as Take Action projects.

Service learning and take action projects don’t have to be complicated. Basically, it is adding in learning about a problem in the community and why your project is important. To learn about the five steps in service learning (investigate, prepare, act, reflect and demonstrate), check out Girl Scout resources at this link: GSWO website.  You can also simply do a Girl Scout Journey.  All Journeys have this process built right in.

Where do you start? Spring is a great time to get involved in your community in a variety of ways. You could try:

 Earth Day – April 22, 2014, will focus on green cities, mobilizing a millions of people to create a sustainable, healthy environment by greening communities worldwide.  Instead of doing an Earth Day clean up, start working on the It’s Your Planet-Love It Journey and help the girls connect Earth Day to greater global causes.

Global Youth Service Day – April 11- 13, 2014, is the largest service event in the world! This event celebrates and mobilizes the millions of young people who improve their communities through service.  Help the girls in your troop choose a Take Action project that helps them use their new knowledge and skills from recent badge work or a Journey experience.  Use the five steps listed above to complete the service learning cycle.

Arbor Day– April 25, 2014, is a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees.  This is another great way to connect girls to It’s Your Planet-Love It Journey.  Use this day as a kick off for this Journey or participate as a next step after earning the naturalist badge for Girl Scout Brownies through Ambassadors.

Girls Go For the Gold!

Congratulations to our 2014 Girl Scout Gold Award recipients!  What better way to start Girl Scout Week than with the annual Gold Award Ceremony on Girl Scout Sunday!  On Sunday, March 9, 2014, Girl Scouts of Western Ohio hosted our first councilwide Gold Award Ceremony bringing all four regions together to honor the 44 girls who earned the highest award in Girl Scouting.  The University of Dayton, Kennedy Union Ballroom set the scene for the honorees who were able to attend this mementos event with their families, leaders and friends.

Keynote speaker, Col. Cassie Barlow, 88^th Air Base Wing and Installation Commander at Wright Patterson AFB motivated the audience and recognized the hard work of the Gold Award recipients.  The room was full of family and friends of the recipients along with Girl Scout alumni, volunteers and honorable dignitaries.

Girl Scout Week is a great time to talk to your girls about what they want to achieve in Girl Scouting.  The Girl Scout Gold Award gives girls an opportunity to give back to their community in a big way while also building their resume.  Even if you have Girl Scout Daisies or Brownies, you can start leading the girls through a Take Action project.  Each Girl Scout Journey leads the girls and the leader through the discover, connect and take action process.

For Girl Scout Juniors, girls can begin working on their Girl Scout Bronze award which follows a similar process as the Gold Award.  The same goes for Girl Scout Cadettes and the Silver Award.  These two awards are great practice for the independent, large scale Take Action project that is the result of a girl earning her Gold Award.  There are Girl Scout Silver and Gold Award workshops offered at each regional Girl Scout Center.  Start today and build the leaders of our community and future Gold Award recipients.

Take Action

Check out this inspiring story about one Girl Scout Brownie troop who made a difference in their community by using the It’s Your Story-Tell It Journey.  Girl Scout Week is a great time to start working towards a Take Action project with your girls. 

National Engineers Week

Two Girl Scouts work together during the 2013 Design It, Build It, Go STEM event cohosted by Girl Scouts of Western Ohio and Cincinnati State

February 16-22, 2014, is National Engineers Week.  This is a perfect week to begin introducing girls to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) careers and topics. It’s okay if you aren’t an expert in these areas yourself because the girls will love seeing you discover along with them.  You may be wondering why this is so important to girls.  Here are  few facts that you should know:

Career Opportunities: 

• STEM careers are growing five times faster than any other occupation.
• By 2018, nine out of the 10 fastest-growing jobs in the United States will require significant training in science and mathematics.
• STEM workers command higher wages, earning 26% more than their non-STEM counterparts.*

*SOURCE: Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, July 2011

The status of girls:

• Not enough girls are pursuing STEM careers.
• Only 20 percent of engineering degrees, 25 percent of math and computer-science degrees are earned by women
• 40 percent of earth, atmospheric, ocean and physical science degrees are earned by women.

Why are girls underrepresented? 

• Girls have less confidence in their STEM abilities even though they have the same capabilities in mathematics and science as their male counterparts.
• Girls have less exposure to hands-on STEM activities.*
• Girls have few female role models in their lives that are engaged in STEM fields.
• Girls are more interested in careers that “help people” and lack an understanding that STEM careers can help people.
• Girls are unaware of STEM career opportunities.

*SOURCE: Lemelson-MIT Invention Index

What can I do?

• If you are a Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador leader, contact your local Girl Scout Center to find out more about the Imagine Your STEM Future curriculum.
• Help connect girls to women in STEM fields.  Get the parents associated with your troop to tap into their networks to invite special guests to share their careers with girls.
• Many colleges, universities and museums offer STEM programming for youth that would be perfect for a Girl Scout field trip.
• Share the above research with the parents in your troop so they know the barriers that girls face.
• Learn more about girls and STEM by reading the Generations STEM study conducted by GSUSA which is where we pulled most of the data listed above.  If that’s too lengthy for you, this summary has all of the essential information.
• Check out this resource which will tell you how some of our National Portfolio links to STEM topics.  These tips are helpful too!
• Do some research about each aspect of STEM on the internet.  You’ll discover all sorts of free resources.  Discovere.org is a great place to start.

Celebrating Black History Month

A Girl Scout birthday celebration, circa 1960s.
Image:Girl Scout National Historic Preservation Center

One of the most powerful things about Girl Scouting is the connection that girls have to the rich history of women in Girl Scouting who came before them.  Black History Month is a great opportunity to celebrate African-American women as you help girls make a connection to the important role that African-American women have played in the history of our country and the Girl Scout Movement.  Here are some ideas of how to help make that connection:

• This is the perfect time to kick off the It’s Your Story-Tell It Journey .  This Journey introduces girls to inspiring women through various forms of story-telling.  While the Journey has women interwoven throughout each Girl Scout grade level, you can add in a few additional African-American women in honor of Black History Month.  You can even have girls do their own research and bring the story of an inspiring woman back to their next meeting to share with the group.
• You might be saying, “I’m not a history buff!” That’s okay!  It’s great for girls to see you learning right along side them.  Visit www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov to get inspired yourself! The menu on the left side of the screen has great tools.  The images tab has photos of great leaders in our history along with information about them.  Have fun exploring yourself and then let the girls take the lead.
• GSUSA has great information about Girl Scout history on their website which includes women from all backgrounds.
• Search for Black History Month celebrations and exhibits at local history museums, cultural museums, art museums and universities.  These type of events are a great way to learn along side the girls and get out in the community.  Did you know that we have an AMAZING museum called the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center right in our council’s jurisdiction?  Check it out!
• Simply talk to the girls about what they are learning about in school during Black History Month and what they think about it.  This approach might help you find out what the girls are really interested in and allow you to let them explore in a way they may not get to in school.

Take Action!

A big part of being a Girl Scout is taking action to make the world a better place.  This video does a great job of teaching girls how to create a PSA (public service announcement).  This is a great way for girls to rally their friends, family and community around a cause that they believe in.  The more people the girls get involved, the bigger impact they can have.  Each Girl Scout Journey guides girls towards a take action project that can impact their community.  Use this video to help teach girls about different ways to spread the word about their plans. 

Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

Today marks the national holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr.  This is a great opportunity to tie the history lessons that girls have learned in school about Martin Luther King Jr. to their Girl Scout Leadership Experience.  When Juliette Gordon Low founded Girl Scouting, she intended it to be for all girls.  Many girls today have heard the stories of Rev. King who headed the civil-rights movement fighting for equality for all people, but they don’t know that he too recognized that Girl Scouting was progressive in the civil-rights movement and served as a good vehicle in breaking down the barriers of racial segregation. In 1956, Martin Luther King Jr. described Girl Scouts as “a force for desegregation.” (Black History and the Girl Scouts of America. AARegistry.org. January 14, 2014). 

Girl Scouting has gone through many changes since the 1950’s, and the advocacy that Martin Luther King Jr taught the nation and the hopes of Juliette Gordon Low still rings true in Girl Scouting today.  The Girl Scout’s National Portfolio focuses on social justice, skill building, inclusion and creating systemic change to create confidence in ALL girls to become the leaders of tomorrow.  Through Girl Scout Journeys, girls work together to Discover, Connect and Take Action on important issues facing them and their communities.  Girls get to try new things and gain new skills through The Girls Guide to Girl Scouting; and don’t forget Girl Scout’s Highest Awards (Gold, Silver and Bronze).  These awards have girls plan a project to make a sustainable impact in their communities.

If doing a Journey, badge or award isn’t on the schedule for this week, that doesn’t mean that you can’t share the important role that Girl Scouting has played advocating for the equality of all people as you celebrate Martin Luther Kings Jr. and his legacy.

Here’s to honoring the mission of Martin Luther King Jr. today, and everyday, as Girl Scouts.

Girl Led: Expanding Girl Scout Journeys

You may have noticed that the sessions in the Girl Scout Journeys are called sample sessions.  That’s because Journeys are designed to be customizable based on the interests and needs of girls in your group.  One way to customize a Journey is to add badges found in The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting along the way to let girls learn about specific topics that interest them.

As you probably know, The Girl’s Guides to Girl Scouting contain all of the Legacy, Financial Literacy and Cookie Business badges but you can also add more badge sets to your Girl’s Guides for Girl Scout Brownies through Seniors.  To figure out which ones your girls are interested in, you can use the Badge Explorer on the GSUSA website before you make your purchase at the Girl Scout Shop.  Let the girls take the lead in navigating the site and reading the badge descriptions to their peers.  Each Journey has a badge set that complements the that particular Journey, but that doesn’t mean that other badges won’t work well too.  The Badge Explorer is also great for looking ahead to the next grade level and seeing what is in store for them as they continue in Girl Scouting.

Another way to get girls exploring badges is to give them an at home challenge to work with their parents to identify three badges that sound fun.  This will get their parents involved and give them a chance to share their unique interests with the group.  Of course older girls could do this exploration on their own.

Some of you may be asking, “What about Girl Scout Daisies and Ambassadors?”  There are also great ways to expand their Journeys too!  Check out this post to get some ideas about how to connect with parents and community partners to broaden their experience.