Journeys - why bother?

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!

Take Action

"Never confuse movement with action."

Ernest Hemingway, American Author

I think ole' Ernie had it right!  We want our girls to learn how to Take Action.  We want them to learn how to find what needs fixing/help, and take the steps to make the change.

Just as we can postpone decisions or tasks by "looking busy", so can our girls.  And that's okay!  I hear leaders tell me on a regular basis that sometimes, all the girls want is busy-ness.  It's all about talking, nails and the Oscars.  It looks like they're taking some action, but really, it's just motion.

The Journeys are a good practice for learning how to Take Action. Each Journey has a Take Action Project, and each Journey asks the girl to do the planning and thinking ahead of time before the TAP.  What a great way to learn!  These projects can be on the Journey-lite side, and they can also be robust, on the pre-Silver side,  and make more of a difference.

Movement merely looks good.

Action makes a difference in the world.