What do you think of Girl Scouts?

[Philothea53]

as a former leader I can fully support Girl Scouts. I felt it was (and still is) a wonderful organization led by very wonderful women.

In all my years involved I never once heard any mention of Planned parenthood however I have heard of them supporting many worthwhile charities and organizations - so if you stop supporting Girl Scouts you will also be supporting many organizations which we as Catholics support. My troup was very involved in our host church’s food pantry, for one. We volunteered at the our diocese run soup kitchen. We made baby blankets for a battered womans shelter. on and on and on.

Oh and I never received the homosexual “agenda”. Is that what they hand out at the homosexual meetings?? and none of those “objectional” badges that you mention are mandatory - no badges are mandatory. But the fact is that the greatest group getting Aids is heterosexual women who get it through sexual contact so there’s simply no point in pretending that you can talk about Aids without mentioning how not to get it. In fact the first way that the “aids curriculum” mentions on how to prevent aids is to abstain from sex. The curriculum also teaches the girls that they should be kind to people with hiv/aids. Gasp. how horrible!

What I did receive and what my daughter did receive is lots of information on how to be a woman. My daughter has used what she leared many times in leadership roles in our church and at her school. We never once received any objectionable material or were given any objectionable direction. My daughter was never exposed to anything I thought to be objectionable either.

As a Catholic and a mother maybe you need to do some research.

nationalreview.com/23oct00/lopez102300.shtml

all.org/stopp/scouts/

jimmyakin.typepad.com/defensor_fidei/2005/05/girl_scouts_pla.html

cwfa.org/articles/5431/CWA/misc/index.htm

intellectualconservative.com/article3139.html

freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1482219/posts

"The Girl Scout organization of South Jersey Pines owns a 490 acre camp in Newfield, N.J. where “Mountain Meadow Summer Camp” is being held. The camp offers a "feminist camping experience " for girls. The camp focuses on the 9 to 17 year old children of homosexual, single and “progressive” parents. The camp application asks campers if they are male, female or “other.” The camp director is a lesbian who says she was a founding member of Lesbian Avengers in Chicago, a militant lesbian group.
missionamerica.com/agenda.php?articlenum=2

You might also research your “facts” about AIDS. According to the CDC, the main group still getting AIDS is homosexual males.

cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/basic.htm#area

The only group who cites your statistics is AlanGuttmacher, the research arm of Planned Parenthhod and in their report they are talking about women in low and middle income developing countries.

You might consider allowing your daughter to receive information on how to be a woman from a well-informed mother rather than groups with political agendas and alliances.

 

[Renny]

Well, if you move on to another type group will these same girls want to join or will your daughter want them to join? If so, he mom’s are part of the deal.

Perhaps a better way to deal with it would be to establish firm boundaries and be assertive.

The cookie racket would be enough to do it for me. I would not want any part of that. But, one of the other posters mentioned something about being a solo scout and so you should check that out.

Well, if your style is unorganized, and the other moms want more organization can you delegate some of those tasks to them but remain in control? I don’t know, just a thought.

As a chronic control and organization nut, I would have difficulty if my kid was in your troop and you were disorganized. It’s fine for you but it would be hard on me… so maybe you need to find a troop of girls with laid back moms or try the solo thing. If her main deal is to get the badges and go through to a certainn level the maybe the solo thing would be fine with her.

Well, women are women no matter whether its girl scouts, play group, etc.

You might learn a lot from her, if you don’t feel comfortable officially affiliating with her, then just see if you can meet with her to discuss how she does things.

Well, you will have to deal with these women eventually. Just ignore them!

I think scouts or any group can be worthwhile for the child-- but if it’s not your thing, don’t feel guilty about stepping down or moving on. We all have disappointments in life, and your daughter will get over it if you end up puting a halt to scouts-- but, if you can figure out a way to do it or some other group I think it would be great to spend time with your daughter in this way.

All good advice & maybe I wasn’t clear, the moms in my group-which is small-just 4 girls & we 3 moms…are great. The overall attitude of the council is, grouchy & argumentative…I guess it’s just me, I spent 10 yrs as a 911 emergency (police/fire/ambulance) dispatcher & call taker & maybe I’ve just had my fill of argumentative folks, I don’t know. I guess, technically, part of my expertise is dealing w/people (not just women) like this, but…augh!!
And while I am disorganized, the meetings do go very well, the girls accomplish things & do, generally, have a good time…
I cannot tell you how very much I appreciate your straightforward & logical comments, thank you.

Renny

 

[fnz2thrght]

As a Catholic and a mother maybe you need to do some research.

nationalreview.com/23oct00/lopez102300.shtml

all.org/stopp/scouts/

jimmyakin.typepad.com/defensor_fidei/2005/05/girl_scouts_pla.html

cwfa.org/articles/5431/CWA/misc/index.htm

intellectualconservative.com/article3139.html

freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1482219/posts

"The Girl Scout organization of South Jersey Pines owns a 490 acre camp in Newfield, N.J. where “Mountain Meadow Summer Camp” is being held. The camp offers a "feminist camping experience " for girls. The camp focuses on the 9 to 17 year old children of homosexual, single and “progressive” parents. The camp application asks campers if they are male, female or “other.” The camp director is a lesbian who says she was a founding member of Lesbian Avengers in Chicago, a militant lesbian group.
missionamerica.com/agenda.php?articlenum=2

You might also research your “facts” about AIDS. According to the CDC, the main group still getting AIDS is homosexual males.

cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/basic.htm#area

The only group who cites your statistics is AlanGuttmacher, the research arm of Planned Parenthhod and in their report they are talking about women in low and middle income developing countries.

You might consider allowing your daughter to receive information on how to be a woman from a well-informed mother rather than groups with political agendas and alliances.

I think perhaps you need to do some non-biased research. 99% of the junk on the internet about Girl Scouting is completely false. COMPLETELY false. I’m reading some of your sources and I’m laughing hysterically because anyone who would believe such propaganda needs a reality check. It’s beyond funny. The Camp you speak about is a camp for children of gay/lesbian and transgendered children. One year it rented property from the Girl Scouts but it had no affiliation with them. and the application doesn’t ask if the child is “other”. God forbid people out there want to make life easier for children in difficult situations. How horrible.

However, as a parent I have the DUTY to make sure my children know that the world is a complex and socially diverse place. I have the DUTY as a Catholic to make sure that I support those less fortunate. Jesus commands us to help “the least of his brothers”. The aids curriculum is based on developing countries as it’s done under the auspicies of of WAGGGS (world association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) and the basis is stopping the spread of Aids in women in developing countries. Further the program has been developed in conjunction with the Joint United Nations Program on Hiv/Aids. I also have the duty to expose to educate myself and my children and to not believe spurious facts.

Further, my daughter’s first troop was run by a Catholic woman who had a very prominent position in our dioceses. Our 2nd troop was run by a woman who was the director of religious Ed at her parish. Our 3rd troop was me. Her 4th troop was the choir director at our parish. Her final troop is run by a woman who is now married with 3 children and has told me that for most of her life she was considering becomming a nun. These are all FINE examples of Catholic womanhood. I couldn’t ask for better role models for my daughter.

Any and all information disseminated by girl scouts is at the hands of the leaders of the troops. No activities are mandatory - not even cookie sales. You’re very very mistaken about the intent and scope of girl scouting. You’re taking very specific situations and condemning the entire organization. Sad that you’d be standing up yelling if someone said “the Catholic church is no good because you know they have gay priests”…
same thing.

 

[lampstand]

I didn’t like it much myself. But I would leave it up to the kid. Let them try and if they like it, so be it. I wouldn’t push them to stay there unless they wanted to.

 

[Maxply]

From what I understand, the organization stresses decentralization of its program, and the result of this is that there were a handful of “errant” local councils that did programs with troops involving PP. The National Review article is widely scoffed by GS leaders as being false. They are much more careful about the issue of PP as a result of these past mistakes.

 

[1ke]

All good advice & maybe I wasn’t clear, the moms in my group-which is small-just 4 girls & we 3 moms…are great. The overall attitude of the council is, grouchy & argumentative…

Well, I guess this is where my lack of experience with GS shows. I think I get it now-- you have a little troop that is happy off doing its own thing and then you have the Council that your troop is under that includes other troops and council officials who are the ones with attitudes.

Well, then, I’d just avoid the other troops and be conveniently “busy” for any council level meetings. If there is any way you can be completely independent of them or just ignore them, then I’d do that.

If you are forced to be a part of their activities or interact with them and it is really weighing on your peace of mind then switch to an equivalent group that your daughter an the 3-4 others can be a part of and blow of the GS organization. Or maybe all 4 girls can switch to being “solo scouts” and then just happen to do all their “solo” activities together!

And while I am disorganized, the meetings do go very well, the girls accomplish things & do, generally, have a good time…
I cannot tell you how very much I appreciate your straightforward & logical comments, thank you.

Renny

I think you’ve got a pretty good handle on who you are and what you want. Now all you have to do is get a little more info on how autonomous you can be in GS, info on other groups, make a decision and pull the trigger.

 

[KarenElissa]

All good advice & maybe I wasn’t clear, the moms in my group-which is small-just 4 girls & we 3 moms…are great. The overall attitude of the council is, grouchy & argumentative…I guess it’s just me, I spent 10 yrs as a 911 emergency (police/fire/ambulance) dispatcher & call taker & maybe I’ve just had my fill of argumentative folks, I don’t know. I guess, technically, part of my expertise is dealing w/people (not just women) like this, but…augh!!
And while I am disorganized, the meetings do go very well, the girls accomplish things & do, generally, have a good time…
I cannot tell you how very much I appreciate your straightforward & logical comments, thank you.

Renny

I was in GS all the way through (including Silver and Gold Awards) growing up and my mom still has a troop of older girls even though both my sister and I have grown up, so I hear lots about it through her.

Council politics can be a pain, but I don’t think there is really a way to get out of that. You find many of those same politics in most organizations, even in churches some times. It is what happens when you get a bunch of rather imperfect people together to do anything. My mom has had LOTS of problems with her council, but she stays because she loves the girls. She just tries to stay out of it as much as she can. And it has worked fairly well for her.

Can you give an example of what they are arguing about? There are some things, mostly safety related, that you really don’t have much of a choice about, but it seems most other things are pretty flexible.

Also, there is a big reorganization of councils going on right now which I’m sure is causing LOTS of stress for those involved. That might be part of the problem. And even if it isn’t, in another year or two, there may be totally different people around and hopefully it will get better!

 

[JustAnotherThou]

1st off I will admit I have not read every post on this thread, so if this is a repeat, sorry!

When I give any money to any charity I check where my money is going. This is a good link. charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=6551
GS 12% goes toward administrative cost, which I think is on the high side IMHO. I had a friend that worked for BS national headquarters. She was telling me of the high salaries, nice cars, big houses, and lavish vacations the top guys of the organization were getting. Theirs administrative cost is only 9%
There is also other useful information on this site.

 

[Sierrah]

I was luck back twenty something years ago when I was a girl scout things were pretty good. My troop was very active and we didn’t have any political correctness issues to marr our good time or functions. Now I understand things are pretty liberal politically speaking but I still buy the cookie and would support a local troop. I’m just not happy the way the top honchos want to push their liberal agendas on the girls.

 

[fnz2thrght]

Also, there is a big reorganization of councils going on right now which I’m sure is causing LOTS of stress for those involved. That might be part of the problem. And even if it isn’t, in another year or two, there may be totally different people around and hopefully it will get better!

that’s a really good point! The entire national organization is streamlining local councils to make better use of personnel and facilities and allowing them to make more programs available to more girls. Many people hate change. And like any organization sometimes egos get in the way of a good thing.

Also, I’ve never had to have my troop go on council sponsored events. They’re all optional. So if you don’t want anything to do with the council that’s your option - however you still need to follow all the safety rules (and they are sticklers for safety) but your troop never need actually associate with any other troop.

 

[Swan]

I think perhaps you need to do some non-biased research. 99% of the junk on the internet about Girl Scouting is completely false. COMPLETELY false. I’m reading some of your sources and I’m laughing hysterically because anyone who would believe such propaganda needs a reality check. It’s beyond funny. The Camp you speak about is a camp for children of gay/lesbian and transgendered children. One year it rented property from the Girl Scouts but it had no affiliation with them. and the application doesn’t ask if the child is “other”. God forbid people out there want to make life easier for children in difficult situations. How horrible.

However, as a parent I have the DUTY to make sure my children know that the world is a complex and socially diverse place. I have the DUTY as a Catholic to make sure that I support those less fortunate. Jesus commands us to help “the least of his brothers”. The aids curriculum is based on developing countries as it’s done under the auspicies of of WAGGGS (world association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) and the basis is stopping the spread of Aids in women in developing countries. Further the program has been developed in conjunction with the Joint United Nations Program on Hiv/Aids. I also have the duty to expose to educate myself and my children and to not believe spurious facts.

Further, my daughter’s first troop was run by a Catholic woman who had a very prominent position in our dioceses. Our 2nd troop was run by a woman who was the director of religious Ed at her parish. Our 3rd troop was me. Her 4th troop was the choir director at our parish. Her final troop is run by a woman who is now married with 3 children and has told me that for most of her life she was considering becomming a nun. These are all FINE examples of Catholic womanhood. I couldn’t ask for better role models for my daughter.

Any and all information disseminated by girl scouts is at the hands of the leaders of the troops. No activities are mandatory - not even cookie sales. You’re very very mistaken about the intent and scope of girl scouting. You’re taking very specific situations and condemning the entire organization. Sad that you’d be standing up yelling if someone said “the Catholic church is no good because you know they have gay priests”…
same thing.

You go, sister!

 

[HappyMom4]

Help, this is the first time I have ever posted anything on any website. However, this weight so heavy on my heart that I got my self a user name and here I am.
My parish has a Girl Scout Troop, but I choose to put my daughter in an American Heritage Girl troop. While so many things you read on the internet are untrue…one thing can not be denied. Read the oath of the GS. The astrick allows you to insert any god you want. For my family God was not an option.
That being said, the GS do offer many wonderful programs and many troops are hosted at churches and reflect that in thier program. However the fact is that a GS troop can associate with any groop as long as all parents agree. You may not support what a particular troop does, but your membership and money supports an organization that allows these associations.
The American Heritage Girls do draw a line in the sand that can not be crossed. At the same time they support girl strength and leadership in an enviroment that centers around God and family.
Thanks!

 

[Philothea53]

I think perhaps you need to do some non-biased research. 99% of the junk on the internet about Girl Scouting is completely false. COMPLETELY false. I’m reading some of your sources and I’m laughing hysterically because anyone who would believe such propaganda needs a reality check. It’s beyond funny. The Camp you speak about is a camp for children of gay/lesbian and transgendered children. One year it rented property from the Girl Scouts but it had no affiliation with them. and the application doesn’t ask if the child is “other”. God forbid people out there want to make life easier for children in difficult situations. How horrible.

However, as a parent I have the DUTY to make sure my children know that the world is a complex and socially diverse place. I have the DUTY as a Catholic to make sure that I support those less fortunate. Jesus commands us to help “the least of his brothers”. The aids curriculum is based on developing countries as it’s done under the auspicies of of WAGGGS (world association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) and the basis is stopping the spread of Aids in women in developing countries. Further the program has been developed in conjunction with the Joint United Nations Program on Hiv/Aids. I also have the duty to expose to educate myself and my children and to not believe spurious facts.

Further, my daughter’s first troop was run by a Catholic woman who had a very prominent position in our dioceses. Our 2nd troop was run by a woman who was the director of religious Ed at her parish. Our 3rd troop was me. Her 4th troop was the choir director at our parish. Her final troop is run by a woman who is now married with 3 children and has told me that for most of her life she was considering becomming a nun. These are all FINE examples of Catholic womanhood. I couldn’t ask for better role models for my daughter.

Any and all information disseminated by girl scouts is at the hands of the leaders of the troops. No activities are mandatory - not even cookie sales. You’re very very mistaken about the intent and scope of girl scouting. You’re taking very specific situations and condemning the entire organization. Sad that you’d be standing up yelling if someone said “the Catholic church is no good because you know they have gay priests”…
same thing.

While you were ranting and laughing you were unable to give even one verifible source that your information is right and I am wrong. While you say that I am quoting propoganda, you are offering anecdotal evidence which means almost less than nothing. Show me your unbiased research. To date you haven’t provided any.

Anyone who would support any United Nations programs and bring up the recent Priest scandal as a way to add some punch to their argument needs to be prayed for. I am praying for you.

 

[Renny]

Help, this is the first time I have ever posted anything on any website. However, this weight so heavy on my heart that I got my self a user name and here I am.
My parish has a Girl Scout Troop, but I choose to put my daughter in an American Heritage Girl troop. While so many things you read on the internet are untrue…one thing can not be denied. Read the oath of the GS. The astrick allows you to insert any god you want. For my family God was not an option.
That being said, the GS do offer many wonderful programs and many troops are hosted at churches and reflect that in thier program. However the fact is that a GS troop can associate with any groop as long as all parents agree. You may not support what a particular troop does, but your membership and money supports an organization that allows these associations.
The American Heritage Girls do draw a line in the sand that can not be crossed. At the same time they support girl strength and leadership in an enviroment that centers around God and family.
Thanks!

Oh, I think this is very well said, thank you.
Renny

 

[fnz2thrght]

While you were ranting and laughing you were unable to give even one verifible source that your information is right and I am wrong. While you say that I am quoting propoganda, you are offering anecdotal evidence which means almost less than nothing. Show me your unbiased research. To date you haven’t provided any.

Anyone who would support any United Nations programs and bring up the recent Priest scandal as a way to add some punch to their argument needs to be prayed for. I am praying for you.

Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t think I needed to dumb it down so much. If you want accurate information as to what Girl Scouting is and what Girl Scouting represents go directly to gsusa.org If you want information about the camp in question you may go directly to the camp’s website. I’m sure your google skill are sufficient that you can find it.

I brought up the priest scandal as evidence that an entire organization shouldn’t be condemned for the actions of a few individuals. if that comparison hits too close to home, how about all Muslims being condemned for the actions of some terrorists. Or all Chrisitians being condemned for the actions of White Supremacists. And I’m praying for you if you don’t believe that the United Nations does vast good for people all over the world. I’m praying that Christ opens your heart to the needs of people outside your very small circle of understanding and awareness.

 

[mmm1]

Help, this is the first time I have ever posted anything on any website. However, this weight so heavy on my heart that I got my self a user name and here I am.
My parish has a Girl Scout Troop, but I choose to put my daughter in an American Heritage Girl troop. While so many things you read on the internet are untrue…one thing can not be denied. Read the oath of the GS. The astrick allows you to insert any god you want. For my family God was not an option.
That being said, the GS do offer many wonderful programs and many troops are hosted at churches and reflect that in thier program. However the fact is that a GS troop can associate with any groop as long as all parents agree. You may not support what a particular troop does, but your membership and money supports an organization that allows these associations.
The American Heritage Girls do draw a line in the sand that can not be crossed. At the same time they support girl strength and leadership in an enviroment that centers around God and family.
Thanks!

Welcome, HappyMom4! What a great 1st post. It took me about 2 years to learn how to quote, & 3 years to figure out how to get the cute smiley faces to appear.

My girls were in Brownies & go to camp as independents, & I know my local council is very conservative. But, I do have more & more discomfort with supporting the GS if the national level is so extreme. The very little bit of money that goes to the national level does bother me.

 

[HappyMom4]

Renny,

I am very curious. You received lots of great (name removed by moderator)ut. Have you come to any conclusions?

 

[Renny]

Renny,

I am very curious. You received lots of great (name removed by moderator)ut. Have you come to any conclusions?

HappyMom4,
I HAVE received lots of great (name removed by moderator)ut & not what I thought I would receive, either b/c I really did not know about the connection to Planned Parenthood w/GS. And, although I was aware of being able to insert another name or word for “God” in the creed, it never crossed my mind to do that…I didn’t carry it any further in my mind…one reason why I love these forums, they help me think of things maybe I normally wouldn’t!
One thing that had occurred to me is the somewhat feminist attitude of some of the leaders on Council here locally, which I don’t like (in addidtion to the somewhat nasty attitudes I’ve already mentioned…).
I’m still not 100% sure what I’m going to do, but I am researching the American Heritage Girls & I am going to get w/the woman in our church who is over the Girls’ Sodality & get a better idea of what happens there.
I really like the idea of an all-Catholic girls’ club for a lot of reasons.
When I do decide, I’ll update here.
Thanks again for your point, my husband thinks it is the most important one & what you said is what he told me when I mentioned the girls could substitute any name for God.
Renny

 

[stayathomemommy]

we have done little flowers for 2 years and love it!

 

[Renny]

we have done little flowers for 2 years and love it!

Are you doing this solo or w/a group?