24 July 2008
Jawing About Journeys
Posted by admin under: policies .
Jane Chastain at WorldNetDaily says that the Girl Scouts of the USA program “Journeys” was influenced by New Age radicalism and that Girl Scout leaders are being given talking points to react to this criticism.
Many troop leaders, volunteers and staff have grown increasingly uneasy. However, some say that if they voice their concerns, they are excluded from any chance of being in the area leadership or a representative to the National Council.
The recent Communications Alert is a series of “talking points” to help put down the current rebellion. It states, “Among the accusations (made in columns like mine) are that Girl Scouting has been captured and brainwashed by New Age theorists.”
Personally, I’m a little put out because I get all the alerts and I didn’t receive anything about this. I guess I’m not important enough. However, I don’t feel that people who speak out are being excluded. I’ve gone to training and meetings and made my point of view known that I’m not happy with some of the changes in the program. Basically, the national leadership is urging that the girls pretty much go where their hearts lead them and do as little or as much as they feel inclined to earn these new awards. Well, the old program is still there and the same so we just focus on that. These new additions are superfluous for the most point. The only thing my family worries about is that the national organization will make these new programs mandatory. They did that with the Studio 2B activities. They were additional things in the beginning and now they are required to attain the Silver (and I assume the Gold) Award. That’s where we get a bit irate.
However, that’s a long way from being directed how to handle the media or being excluded from leadership. My wife just became a co-manager for our service unit. I wouldn’t call that being excluded. WorldNetDaily has some authors I really like, but even I have to admit it’s a right-wing site. Hopefully, they won’t get so defensive that they forget what a great organization Girl Scouts of the USA still is. And what’s wrong with yoga?
Update: Jane’s really got a bee in her bonnet about this subject. She’s written about it previously - just a couple weeks ago. She doesn’t even support the Girl Scouts any more.
Possibly Related Posts:- Different Take on Journeys Transformation
- Girl Scouts Ditch Badges - Adopt Journeys Exclusively
- Journeys Info on GSUSA Site
- Chastain Chastises Girl Scouts Again
- Any Questions, Girls?
6 Comments so far...
Cici Says:
24 July 2008 at 11:07 pm.
Do you have a link to this article? (I’m too lazy to look for it myself) 
Eric Says:
25 July 2008 at 10:56 am.
Interesting how it’s always the Girl Scouts with this kind of stuff, and never the Boy Scouts. I hope my sons achieve their Eagle rank, but I have no interest in my daughter staying in Scouting beyond about 5th or 6th grade because of this kind of thing. And my understanding is that’s around the time they start inviting Planned Parenthood in. No thanks!
admin Says:
25 July 2008 at 12:15 pm.
I updated the links for you Cici.
Eric, you probably already know this, but girls can join the Boy Scouts at age 14 by becoming a Venturer. I still think the Girl Scouts of the USA is a great program because the core stuff is still there and no troop is obligated to do any of this new stuff. The badges are still there as a program. The Gold Award is still the mark of a successful girl who has gone through the Girl Scout program. I understand people who are frustrated with Girl Scouts because we like the activities, focus on the outdoors, and the feeling of connecting with girls and women over the past 100 years (well 1 century in 2012), but the national council has decided that changing the program to reflect modern interests is the new focus. I think that sleeping in the wild, pitching your own tent, and cooking under an open sky never loses its ability to teach self-confidence and self-reliance. I’ve also found that girls are different from boys (imagine that!) and they naturally prefer working as a big unit rather than individuals or smaller units and therefore are learning cooperative skills for accomplishing tasks.
With that said I can’t fault anyone for switching to Venturing as they get older even though they lose that special freedom of being only with girls. My son is in a Venturing crew in addition to being the SPL of his Boy Scout troop. There is a completely different set of avenues to explore there. I just hope that everyone remembers that a Girl Scout troop is what the girls and parents make it because it’s all about the volunteers. I don’t think any group as a whole will exactly fit all the members. So, we focus small and have as much fun as the girls can handle.
Have fun!
Cici Says:
25 July 2008 at 2:54 pm.
Eric, have you explored this website yet? There are some discussions on July 15th and July 17th that reflect your comments. (GS unveil new uniforms & WAGGGS wants to talk about sex) There are many of us Boy/Girl/Cub scout families out here. It’s nice to have one place to check on info for both organizations.
Carole Says:
2 August 2008 at 10:38 am.
Journeys are only supposed to be an additional program to supplement the already existing resources or badge work of Girl Scouting. We all could use a change now and again, an update to the future, or just a little encouragement to try new things. These new program materials will benefit many girls, both in very rural settings and major cities, who do wish to work on projects unto themselves and not with a large group. Yes, girls do like to bond with other girls and sometimes that works out great, but then there are those times when it just works out to work alone. Journeys are more introspective, but especially at the Cadette level (middle school) girls can work on the importance of how to handle bulling, gossip, and how they fit into the scheme of life. I feel that it is important to give girls all the opportunities to move forward with success and if that mean a discussion on sex education, then so be it.
» Chastain Chastises Girl Scouts Again Says:
20 November 2008 at 5:09 pm.
[...] WorldNet Daily, a conservative site, has taken the Girl Scouts to task again in her latest column. She has previously warned about “New Age” values in the GSUSA and her opinion about how leaders are being directed to follow the party line. Well, of course [...]
