"Dissatisfaction is a great starting point,
for it is right there that we have
the most power, strength, and energy
to push change through."
- David DeNotaris, motivational speaker
I'm thinking about our Silver Award Training tonight, and came across this quote in my inbox. (Thank you Rick Ruiz!) And it seems a good one for the day.
We have a piece in the training about, "what's the issue?" And we talk about how the girls need to look around themselves to see what's in their community. Maybe another way to express that is to find where they are not comfortable? or where they aren't satisfied with the way things are going. It's that dissatisfaction that could lead to investigating an issue and learning more about it.
As the quote says, identifying that "thing" that makes the girl uneasy, dissatisfied or plain angry is a GREAT starting point for coming up with a Silver Award Take Action Project. Remember, 65% of this aged girl, nationally, is likely to speak up and just know that she is correct. She holds strong values and opinions, and she doesn't mind sharing them.
That's a very powerful position to be in! Our job as advisors is to guide the girl to harness all that certainty and power, identify what she wants to change, and then let her go do it! If she has the passion for her issue, she will be more likely to succeed than if she is just going along with someone else's idea.
At training last week, we had a leader talk about how she thought three girls were going to do a group project...until she heard them talking about how diverse their interests really were. So now, she has three projects! The first thing we all encouraged her to do was to GET HELP! Enlist parents and other project advisors! Spread the wealth around!
These girls can do it! We may have to nudge, okay nag, to get them started, but with their certainty and abilities, they are poised to do wonderful things!
Exercise your right as a US citizen and cast your ballot, today! Let your voice be heard!
Hurray for the democratic process!!!!
Just got this in my in-box this morning from a GS friend of a GS friend. "Squeaky" was a counselor at Skyland Ranch in the 70's with me. She has retired, and now she and her husband are traveling the US. This pic came from Starved Rock State Park in Illinois.
What a great thing! The first words of the Girl Scout Promise for everyone to see! It truly is an iconic symbol of Girl Scouting.
Big words for our girls. They are "on their honor" to do the work for their Journeys, and "on their honor" to do the work for the Silver Award. Sure, we leaders/advisors will see some of it first hand, but not everything. The girls are "on their honor" to do the work.
And the result? Girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. It's a good thing.
"By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be." -Mark Victor Hansen, author Chicken Soup for the Soul
We have Gold Award Interviews the end of this month, and I'm looking forward to seeing what great Take Action Projects the girls will have chosen.
And I'm hoping to see some great paperwork come through! I'm hoping to see applications that show that the girl has put time and thought into her project planning, And I'm hoping that her Advisor/troop leader/parent has worked with her, and given her good feedback, so the plan is clear and easily understood.
Truly, I'm hoping for word processed pages that make sense! I'm also hoping for clear issue definition and an understanding of what the root cause is of the issue that is being addressed. Yep, I'm pretty hopeful!
And in the same breath, fearful! Fearful that the girls are rushing through the application to "get it done and submitted" and that the advisors are merely rubberstamping mediocrity! I think Mark Victor Hansen had it right, when he said to record dreams and goals on paper. By putting the Gold Award plan into writing, stepping back, looking at it again, and then realizing it's a great plan, it truly does set the tone for the whole project.
Committing to a project verbally is not quite as meaty as committing to it to paper. Paper commitment requires thought processing, critical thinking, some linear thinking, and letting passion leak through. That's what's going to make a GREAT Gold Award Project! Having the passion, committing to change and creating a plan to make it happen.
It's the Discovery of an issue, the Connecting to a community group to work through, the gathering of a team, and then the Taking Action that will make all the difference. It's about working toward a goal, as a leader of a team. Making a difference in a local community. Inspiring others to succeed. Leaving a sustainable plan behind.
All the pieces of a great proposal and project. Hoping that's what I find on December 1st, to be sure.
So, how do we do this? We use the tools that the National Program Portfolio provides for girls and adults: the red Cadette Girl Guide and 3 Cadette Journey books. Altogether, they give us the skills to use (Girl Guide) and the leadership experience (Journeys) to get our girls ready to do great things!
Can the girls/advisor choose NOT to do any Journeys? Sure, but then they are missing the heart of the GSLE program! And if the girls are interested in earning a higher award, they will not meet the single requirement: to complete a Journey.
The Journeys are meant to be program pieces, not just something to "knock out" at a weekend camping trip. Not something that "OMG, we have to slog thru all of this"! They are meant to be interesting and age appropriate for your girls. As one advisor said at training this week, "my girls LOVED aMaze because it dealt with all the issues they're dealing with at school." It sounds like they all embraced the Journey as a way to navigate their 6th grade year, and they all came out the better for it.
That's how a Journey should feel! Like it's part of your everyday GS happenings. Maybe your girls have chosen BREATHE for their Journey this year. And they are also camping nuts, so how can some pieces of BREATHE be naturally incorporated into your weekend? Without an iron fist or heavy hand, but just as a natural part of program.
So, how does that fit with the Series concept? A series is offered by (generally) others, with the specific task of ONLY doing that Journey for the time the girls get together. It's adult planned, as the dates/times are set ahead of time, but the opportunity for leadership within the sessions is huge. In a pre-series meeting, girls can sign up for what they want to do, express interest in pieces they really want to explore and meet new girls. The series leaders help facilitate and make it happen.
I encourage all of you to think of the Journeys as program, and have your girls get the benefit of the leadership opportunities they offer. For sure, earn badges too, and have the girls develop the skills they'll need. Journeys don't have to be hard, and they should be fun parts of the girls' Girl Scout Leadership Experience. I mean,really, you and the girls SHOULD have fun...it's Girl Scouts!
I am in such a good mood! And part of it is because I cleared my desk, I'm sure, and part of it is because I'm going to train the Cadette Essentials class in Irvine tonight.
I just love talking with all these new (and not so new) advisors as they transition from Junior leaders to Cadette Advisors, Some have already started the process, and some have not. As one leader said, "I just don't want to let go!" And as the advisor next to her said, "You have to, and you and your daughter are going to love it!"
I couldn't have said it better myself. We talk about how these girls are moody, hormonal, loving, sure of themselves, believe what they know with a vengeance and want to be the big girls. And we talk about how we need to give the girls the opportunity to start spreading her wings, standing on her own two feet, and learning how to become a leader in her own life. (Sorry, too many metaphors in one sentence!)
We saw how these 8th grade girls are getting to be the big girls on Sunday. We had our very first ToGetHerBoating Event at The Dunes. And while the majority of girls were 9th-12th graders, these 8th graders just jumped right in and participated! No one was holding their hands, and everyone played nicely together. One comment said, "Kayaking really requires good teamwork!"
The evals said it well, when every girl said that the more experienced girls helped all the less experienced girls as they needed help. No judgement, and what great reinforcement for the older girls! Truly, win-win.
Looking forward to a great evening!
Yes, we completed our BREATHE Journey that we started in June. Our Celebration! was a fun time. The girls had a chance to reconnect with each other, make thank you cards, yes, the attitude of gratitude was prevalent and in general, just have a good time.
We also did some work! We finished the AFFIRM and each girl had a chance to write a personal "I am an Heir Apparent" statement (from the guide) to tuck into their Journey book. And each of the girls had a chance to randomly choose another girl, and think about what flair this girl brought to the Journey. Each girl made their award at our closing ceremony.
One group wrote a play, "The Wizard of O2", and acted out the scenes, complete with costumes to talk about the importance of NOT polluting. The costumes were a hoot! And the girls worked really well together, helping each other and prompting lines. Even Rizzy got into the spirit of the play! She was the gatekeeper to the Wizard, and she had the line, "Well, whaddaya want?" Which she and the girls practiced many, many times! Their presentation talked about how to get the video "out there" and into multiple hands. Posting on FaceBook pages (every adult's!) and on the GSOC page are first up. And then sending it to their friends and family members, etc. It will be fun to see how many "likes" they get, and from where. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liC9z--R6qY&feature=channel&list=UL
Our second group chose smoking and air pollution as their topic. Two girls wrote a coloring book story, and the other girls drew pictures to support the story. We got it in order (quite an ordeal for me!) and we printed up several hundred. The girls then chose where to make their presentations about how harmful smoking is to classrooms of younger kids, church groups, Girls Inc. And they were able to go back and see if they had made a difference.
One of the tough challenges for the girls in doing these TAPs, is not seeing direct changes of behavior in those they served. But they can at least see indicators that their message is reaching a wider group. I think that this is one thing that I'd like to work on for the next series I help in: how to make the Action more robust? Extend the timeline of the series? Space out the meeting days more, so that there's time to see success? I hate dumping it back on the parents or leaders, especially in the fall, when everyone gets soooo busy.
Happy with how it went, but sure think we could help make it better! And for all of you thinking about doing a series, don't forget to have a GREAT co-chair! I worked with Anne Rizzacasa and she is FABULOUS! She just completed her Masters in Biology, and she's now working on her secondary school credential for MIDDLE SCHOOLERS! Not only is she learning all sorts of new things, but she is MORE than happy to try these new ideas out on the girls. Hats off to you, Science Girl!
