Teen Level Girl Scouts: Our Virtual Pathway

When our Girl Scout Troop bridged from Junior to Cadette Level Teen Girl Scouts, we expected some changes.  Even so, these past few weeks have been an amazing roller coaster ride - and we’re just getting started.

As expected, we lost a few girls, and a leader, but we gained several girls and adult volunteers.  Leaders have been phased out, anyway.  With Teen Level Girl Scouts, the adult volunteers are merely advisors.  Now, it’s a totally girl-led experience!

In just a short time, some - or all of us - have tried: Outdoor Cooking, Kayaking, Cake Decorating, Rock Climbing, and still managed to organize a Mission Possible Read Aloud Event and Book Drive.  They’ve exchanged their first swaps at the Hershey Park Camp-o-ree, and agreed on a group identity and slogan that describes their mission - Team Candy: Making the World a Sweeter Place.

Between the traditional meetings, online planning, and field trips these girls have earned charms, patches, and hugs.   Some have completed one or more Studio 2B Focus Books, the Science Magic program, and the Paddle, Pole, and Roll Interest Project.  Several are well on their way to earning the Sweet Shoppe, Couch Potato, and Be Xtreme Interest Projects Patches.

How did this girl-led initiative come about?

Some of this stems from the progression of opportunities for leadership that the girls have had over the years.  The three girls who chose to stay with the troop are all recipients of the Bronze Award - the highest award earned by Junior Girl Scouts.

A lot of our current success stems from efforts to open up multiple avenues for communication; as well as, a clear message that everything they knew about the Girl Scouts troop experience was history.  Mostly, the girls have accomplished so much in so little time because we’ve created our own virtual pathway.

A New Look - When the girls bridged, they each received the Teen Level khaki vest (paid for from troop funds.)  They were excited about having the cool new color and a new surface for all the stuff they want to earn.  And yes, even with charms & pin options, they still want to earn patches.  They know that they will only rarely wear the vest, but they like to have a place to display their memories.

New Books - I gave them each a hot pink flexible 3-ring binder with a clear pencil case and a couple of plastic pocket folders (all $1-2 at Staples.)  Included in the binder were: a color copy of the Studio 2B Basics (so they could see the Focus Book charms); the Go For It! Silver Award insert (placed in the pencil case with a silver flash card ring); and the two Focus Books needed to earn the Silver Award.

One-on-One Time - There were a few weeks after bridging where we met to work on a Mission Possible service event, but not all the girls could attend.  During this time, I sounded out the girls individually about hopes & dreams, and talked to them about how one of my goals as an advisor is to help them make their dreams a reality. 

New Programs - Since we were working on drafting a press release for the Mission Possible project, I showed them the Public Relations Interest Patch Program and introduced them to the Interest Patch Program book.  Later, I handed out copies of the IPP Book Index & the new online IPPs for the girls to highlight what they like.  I also mentioned the Silver Award (the highest award in Cadette Level Girl Scouts,) and told them that the first step to earn this is earning three related Interest Projects. 

New Communication Tools - I informally asked the girls about how we can keep in touch since they are now so busy & rarely see each other at school.  Some are now in different schools, and even the ones who are in the same school, don’t always share classes.  Some of the girls chat on AOL’s AIM, but that’s just for them - not the advisors.  Instead, we decided to create a Yahoo Group for our troop. 

Our Troop Yahoo Group Virtual Pathway

Safety First -  I handed out copies of the Girl Scout Internet Safety Pledge, and asked the girls to discuss & sign it with a parent.  I also asked them to return it with their own Email address (I didn’t want “family” Emails because I want them to be comfortable discussing matters in a female-only setting.)

It’s taken some effort to get all the girls to use this forum.  Some of the girls quickly discovered how to use most of the Web Tools, others were more hesitant.  We’re still working on getting everyone on board with personal tutorials, and frequent check-ins.

Messages - The message boards are the most popular feature of this forum.  The girls love to “chat”, easily producing many posts each day, and it’s a great way to cover Girl Scout discussions.  

We started our online discussion by asking the girls to post suggestions for a group name.  After a couple of weeks, the girls had generated a long list, which they then used to create a poll  to determine the most popular name.  (This was not a perfect solution as we had a “winner” with only two votes, but the girls worked out a compromise afterwards.) 

The message boards have also been an excellent way to suggest new activities or outings, and to access the girls’ interest or availability.  We used to waste so much time planning events at meetings, only to discover conflicts when the girls conferred with their family calendars. Now, the girls can consult their calendars before they commit to an activity, and they can also post their requests.

Calendar - We also created a  Yahoo Group Calendar to record upcoming events, and to send out alerts.  For each event on the calendar, there is also a notes section where the girls can RSVP directly, and I can keep track of signed Permission Slips.

Polls -  I started the first poll, asking the girls to declare their favorite activities.  Apparently, polls about their favorite activities is not among their favorite activities.  Only half the girls have responded.  Another poll that one of the girls created about candy preferences elicited a more positive response.  

Database - It was a little more difficult to walk them through using the Yahoo Group Database.  I created one for them to log in their TV consumption for the Couch Potato IPP, but we had to help each girl figure out how to add records to the table. 

Meanwhile, I’ve created several databases.  Some enable me to help the girls keep track of the recognitions and service hours that have been earned or are in progress.   One database lists a Talent Pool of adult mentors that the girls will be able to turn to when enlisting help.  Another provides a list of media contacts for promoting future projects.

Links - I’ve also been building up a treasure trove of links that I’ve organized into a variety of folders including some for: day trips, overnight travel, SWAPs, etc. Then, for some of these, I’ve opened folders within folders.  For example, within the  Interest Project folder, I’ve opened up folders for individual IPPs.  Into these, I’ve been adding links - as I run across them -  that I think might be useful when the girls work on those projects.

Overall, the Yahoo Group Virtual Pathway has been a fabulous addition to our Teen Level Girl Scout experience.  I expect that this creative communication solution will enable the girls to not only keep in touch, but to accomplish so much more than they ever could with just the traditional GS troop.

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Tagged as: girl scouts, Teens, Yahoo Groups