The Value of Camping
by Kathleen Bradley
This is rambling- please forgive me. Girl Scouts means so much to me. I could never have survived the tougher times in my life without what I learned in Girl Scouts.
I hate to see the GS Movement turned into a virtual business with no heart. The girls should always come first- not allegiance to the latest program- which no doubt was developed because GSUSA got a grant and the latest flock of staffers thought this program was a good one for "our" purposes. And yes, it is a canned program for busy adults who don't have the time anymore to develop a week to week program based around GS values and traditions with badges and camping and all the rest. But it should be optional. As long as a program follows the basics- The GS Promise and Law- and latest Safety-Wise- a leader should be able to teach and lead and mentor other activities.
Well- I am from that generation mentioned in the article. I belonged to a very uncool group- Girl Scouts. I didn't have a uniform in high school (wouldn't have fit over my body cast and brace anyway), but I did wear my Brownie, Intermediate and Cadette uniforms (I was in during the transition) to school on meeting day. I did stay in until I graduated and if anyone at GSUSA had asked me to join as a young adult I would have done so- I was loyal to the max. Actually LEGSC had no place for me when we moved here- but I was registered. My sister was able to join a wonderful mounted troop lead by Georgianna Bonds, but I was allergic to horses. Some things never change- apparently there were no other senior troops in the area.
I had terrible asthma, but each year when I went to GS day camp and troop camp- it almost totally went away. No wonder I loved camping and nature! We had no resident camp in Appleseed Ridge GSC until I was in high school. So we camped with tents borrowed from a Boy Scout troop, dug our own latrines (because there was no out house), cooked over an open fire because we didn't know anything else. Lashed and whittled and all that stuff. Our first projects were sewing dunk bags and making sit-upons. We were allowed to go with a buddy to gather firewood- we didn't always have to have an adult on our heels. We learned to be independent and very self-reliant. It did not occur to us that we could not do something.
In addition to being deliriously happy at being an instant mom (when I married a guy with a little daughter) I got to be a Girl Scout leader when she wanted to be a Daisy GS in 1985. I was back in the old sorority. I finally felt at home. Inner peace descended.
I hate to see the GS Movement turned into a virtual business with no heart. The girls should always come first- not allegiance to the latest program- which no doubt was developed because GSUSA got a grant and the latest flock of staffers thought this program was a good one for "our" purposes. And yes, it is a canned program for busy adults who don't have the time anymore to develop a week to week program based around GS values and traditions with badges and camping and all the rest. But it should be optional. As long as a program follows the basics- The GS Promise and Law- and latest Safety-Wise- a leader should be able to teach and lead and mentor other activities.
Well- I am from that generation mentioned in the article. I belonged to a very uncool group- Girl Scouts. I didn't have a uniform in high school (wouldn't have fit over my body cast and brace anyway), but I did wear my Brownie, Intermediate and Cadette uniforms (I was in during the transition) to school on meeting day. I did stay in until I graduated and if anyone at GSUSA had asked me to join as a young adult I would have done so- I was loyal to the max. Actually LEGSC had no place for me when we moved here- but I was registered. My sister was able to join a wonderful mounted troop lead by Georgianna Bonds, but I was allergic to horses. Some things never change- apparently there were no other senior troops in the area.
I had terrible asthma, but each year when I went to GS day camp and troop camp- it almost totally went away. No wonder I loved camping and nature! We had no resident camp in Appleseed Ridge GSC until I was in high school. So we camped with tents borrowed from a Boy Scout troop, dug our own latrines (because there was no out house), cooked over an open fire because we didn't know anything else. Lashed and whittled and all that stuff. Our first projects were sewing dunk bags and making sit-upons. We were allowed to go with a buddy to gather firewood- we didn't always have to have an adult on our heels. We learned to be independent and very self-reliant. It did not occur to us that we could not do something.
In addition to being deliriously happy at being an instant mom (when I married a guy with a little daughter) I got to be a Girl Scout leader when she wanted to be a Daisy GS in 1985. I was back in the old sorority. I finally felt at home. Inner peace descended.