FABULOUS TRAINING NIGHT

WOW! Last night there were 24 enthusiastic, excited Cadette leaders in the room for Cadette Essentials.  All but a couple were starting their first year of Cadettes with their 6th graders.  Most had completed at least one Journey at the Junior level.  Over half had girls who completed the Bronze Award.  All were looking forward to the Cadette Journey experience and the Silver Award process.

WOW, again!  What a difference from the first Cadette Essentials I taught, not that long ago, where no troop had taken a Journey, only a few troops had transitioned to the new requirements, and few troops were embracing the GSLE (Girl Scout Leadership Essentials) model.

NOW, the purposeful leadership, the letting it be girl led and the Journey leadership experience are part of everyone's lexicon! PLUS, everyone was ready for the new red Cadette Guide that has the new badges, all the awards for this age group, Silver Award requirements and other great GS information.  It's a shame that all these binders aren't available right this moment, but I don't think that's going to stop any of these leaders.  The suggestion was made to just start a Journey, and when the Girl Guides become readily available, start using them.  Yes!

We also talked about how they have THREE years of Cadettes. There is NO RUSH to get a Journey and a Silver Award done in the first 10 minutes!!!  Depending on age and maturity, it could take a good half to full year to get the girls up to speed with Cadette life.  New government structure, new ledger accounting (if they choose it), new LIA opportunities, new leadership role, etc.  Let the girls decide was the mantra for the training.  We leaders provide the structure and support to let this happen.

Of course, everyone knew that it wouldn't happen over night!  It's a process, and since this is Girl Scouts, I'd ask how to measure this?  I'm sure everyone would have said that the best measure would be when the leader sits in her chair in the back of the room, and watches the girls lead the meeting, make strong decisions and take the lead.

Truly, I am so proud of these leaders and wish them every success with their girls.  A big thank you to them for their enthusiasm and commitment. And thank you to all our volunteers who provide such great support for all our Cadette girls.  It just does my heart good!

LIA - Leadership in Action

“…to teach is to learn twice…”

I just saw this aphorism posted on the old Orco Block building off the 55 freeway.  There is surely some truth to the statement.

As a trainer, I am supposed to have a really good knowledge of the subject I’m to teach.  But I don’t know everything!  And I don’t really KNOW it until I’ve taught it several times.  To the content of what I teach, I add in the discussion information from each class, the great ideas and the failures.  So when I go to teach again, I am not only teaching the syllabus, but I am re-learning the information I’m teaching, adding in new tidbits as I learn them.  Teaching certainly reinforces what I’ve learned!

Isn’t that what the Leadership in Action (LIA) is all about?  We ask our Cadettes to identify a team of Brownies who are working on the same Leadership Journey.  Using the Breathe Journey as an example, the girls take some of what they’ve learned for Breathe (experiments, facts, fun crafts, etc.) and figure out how to teach it to the younger girls.  They learn it twice!  Once when it was new, and then again as they teach the Brownies. What great reinforcement!

And what a great way for these Cadette-aged girls to use their leadership skills!  These little Brownies LOVE the older girls!  The older girls are there only for them, paying attention, focusing their efforts and having successes. It’s a win-win situation!

I would be remiss if I didn’t say, don’t forget to reinforce this with the girls. Be sure to take the time after they’ve completed the LIA to talk about what the girls discovered about them selves, how they connected with the younger girls and how taking action makes a difference.  Be sure that they see the value of using what they’ve learned to help others…..so that they make the world a better place!