In a way, it's all about Taking Action.....first in the Journeys and then for the Awards. Its a progression through the Bronze, Silver and Gold to ask the girls to do the best they can to make a difference in the world. Not a collection project, but a Take Action Project that makes a change in the community. And that would NOT be the Girl Scout community! No more Brownie Play-Days for the Silver. No more neo-natal cap sewing and dropping off. No more birthday boxes....but MEANINGFUL projects that Take Action to make the world a better place.
And as Shellie pointed out, I'm not putting down Service Projects, in the slightest! Our girls have big hearts, and you, as their leaders have given them the opportunities to help others. All those Binky Drives, Scouting for Food, Tennis Shoe Collections, etc. are, hands down, GREAT! And our girls provide valuable service to the community by doing them.
However, Taking Action is bigger, more sustainable, uses more girl leadership, asking the girl to stretch to achieve her goal. As one advisor said, "I figure if it's easy, she's not working hard enough!" Or her approved project wasn't big enough. Or both.
As we say in training, let the girl do the work! Start with the issue, not the project. Girls need to use their critical thinking skills to work their way through to a project. They need to understand what the issue is and what the root cause is. Critical thinking! As Lesley Finch says, "ask them to dive deep!" and get involved with the issue. Look at it from a variety of ways before deciding which issue to address.
We want the Silver Award Take Action Project to stand out! And we want it to be something that the girl is proud of. So that one of these days, in a Gold Award Interview, I'll ask, "so, what did you do for the Silver?" and I'll get a great, enthusiastic response. Unlike the responses I've been getting to an even easier question, "how did you Take Action for your Journey last month???!!!" But that's for the other blog....
