3 April 2009
Changing Scouts Necessary?
Posted by admin under: Girl Scout Reorganization .
Time and again I hear from people paid to endorse the changes in Girl Scouts that the organization needs to change in order to appeal to the youth of today. They cite the use of online technologies as what kids are into, but this story seems to back up my assertion that the Scouting program should stay grounded in the outdoors. Facebook already has a hold on kids and their social networking. I don’t think the GSUSA is going to get market share on that. I have a story that seems to back me up.
By Phillip Ramati – pramati@macon.com
A couple of weekends ago, a group of Boy Scouts fired off a series of bottle rockets at Al Sihah Shrine Park. It was a pretty good way to have fun and use a low-tech method to demonstrate the principles of physics.
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Margaret Skene, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia, said the national organization has been looking at ways to adapt in the 21st century.
“We’ve surveyed the girls, and one of the things we’re doing now is text messaging,” Skene said. “They love that. We use Twitter, we have blogs, we have two Web sites. One is for girls talking to girls about online issues and the second one is for parents. … Kids move faster than the (organization) does. Now we are getting the girls engaged, and I think it’s very contagious. … The values haven’t changed, but how we deliver it is very different.”
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“Successful organizations have to change with the times,” she said.
The Boy Scouts are taking a slightly different tact in their approach to technology, said Garrett Williams, scout executive for the Central Georgia Council. While the Boy Scouts use the Internet, they don’t do a lot of online social networking. Rather, they encourage their members to explore science, technology and computers through merit badges.
Williams said he thinks the low-tech, traditional activities of the Boy Scouts is what appeals to today’s youth.
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With the changes both organizations have instituted over the years, membership has stayed at consistent levels, both Skene and Williams said. Williams said there are about 5,000 Boy Scouts in Middle Georgia, covering 24 counties. There are about 16,000 Girl Scouts in the Heart of Georgia region, Skene said, which covers most of the state except for the Atlanta-area region.
Despite the efforts of the organizations to modernize, the traditional aspects of scouting, especially those based around outdoors activities such as camping, fishing and hiking, still seem to have the broadest appeal among scouts in Middle Georgia.
Deandre Coates, 16, a junior at Dodge County High School, said he got into scouting because his younger brother was involved. For Coates, getting away from the modern conveniences and technology was the biggest appeal of scouting, he said.
“It’s a fun atmosphere with all the things we get to do, like camping,” he said. “We go outside and study nature. It gives me the chance to get away and do something different.”
Amanda Brown, a 14-year-old from Lizella, said she enjoys the public service and social activities that scouting offers.
“I like to meet the other girls,” she said. “We learn a lot of leadership skills. At Girl Scout camp, we do painting and spend a lot of time with horses.”
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Skene said the Girl Scouts have constantly evolved over time to meet with the ever-changing demands of society.
“Part of our transformation is to make the Girl Scouts more flexible,” she said. “When I was growing up, my mom was the troop leader and we met weekly at our church. But moms are now working, and we now have girls with special interests — camps, cheerleading, science, travelling. We’re gearing more to the individual. If a girl only wants to go to (Girl Scout) camp, that’s fine. They’ll continue to love scouting and be with their friends.
“It’s really a different world. Their lives are so busy. When customers change, delivery has to change.”
This is what I expressed to our local CEO. Why would any national organization roll out a fundamental change without testing it first? As far as I know the changes the Girl Scouts want to implement haven’t been tested to prove that they are more effective at recruiting and retaining girls. Forget my argument that changing the organization makes it something besides the GSUSA. Just figure out the fundamental question: does it work? I’ve yet to see that Soccer and Scouting retains more Hispanic families than the traditional program. Sure kids sign up for the games, but how long do they stay in? Does it work any differently than simply starting a soccer league? If not, why are we doing it and why does it need to have the BSA name on it?
- Soccer and Scouting
- Girl Scouts – Shrinking or Growing?
- Different Take on Journeys Transformation
- Any Questions, Girls?
- Lack of Outdoor Activity Leads to Other Girl Groups
One Comment so far...
Mike Walton (Settummanque, the blackeagle) Says:
9 April 2009 at 3:13 am.
To answer the question “Why does it has to have the BSA’s name on it?” the answer is simple: because as the leading youth-serving agency in the nation, the BSA need to reach out to Hispanic (and non-Hispanic) families whose kids enjoy outdoor sports like soccer.
Universal Football (what we call soccer) is the world’s biggest sport, played in some 100 countries around the world. The BSA is simply trying to capture interest in that sport and couple it with outdoor interests which comes naturally to their programs.
Will it work anywhere in the USA? It could, but then, I can organize a Troop anywhere in the nation and it’ll work there too. Much of the approach to organizing Scouting units is personality-driven and not something that comes from training or engineering from a binder or book. The BSA tried this successfully with the Varsity Scout program back in the late 80s… it worked because those groups wanting to use the program found that young men want to compete against other young men in activities other than knot tying, first aid, and cooking. They wanted to do extended orienteering events. They wanted to play mini-golf (”Putt Putt”). They want to bowl, do archery, and participate in air rifle events.
If we can squeeze in some Scouting values, merit badge work, and leadership development along the way, that’s icing on the cake.
Some have said when it’s all come down to it, it’s another way to increase the numbers and give professionals another way to “get into” communities which have “shut out” Scouting for some reason or another. Could be…but the “numbers” haven’t jived with those justifications. While Varsity Scouting and Scouting Sports’s numbers really haven’t impacted anything — those organizations and groups which DO use the program has seen an increase in the activity level and interest by their youth.
Isn’t that what Scouting’s all about?
Settummanque!
