(no subject)

[rivka]

Alex has really been looking forward to becoming a Girl Scout when she hits kindergarten age. (They've redone the age levels since I was a kid - it used to be that you didn't start until first grade, when you were a Brownie. Now they have Daisy Girl Scouts for grades K-1 and Brownies for grades 2-3.)

We recently joined a local homeschooling group, and they have an all-ages Girl Scout troop with clusters of girls at each level (and a "tag-along club" for boys, which is nice). I e-mailed the leader to ask if we could visit a troop meeting even though Alex isn't technically of age yet. She wrote back immediately to say that the troop is really only just getting started, and in fact they're having their Investiture ceremony on Thursday, and did Alex want to just visit or would she like to join now?

I just got another e-mail from her with information about preparing for Investiture. We'll need to go out and buy Alex a uniform and insignia. But here's the part that brought tears to my eyes:

The girls are working on their Promise and Law Patch. Girl Scouts are an all inclusive organization, meaning that there are many ways to say the 3 fold promise. It is a very personal thing. I have introduced the promise, omitting part of it to include all the girls, regardless of beliefs. Now it's upto you the parent to help your daughter to personalize it.

I will include the promise in the entirety. Please go over it with your daughter and decide which version works best for your family. Thanks

On My Honor I will Try
To Serve ________ And My Country ( Option: To Serve My Country)
To Help Other People At All Times
And to Live By the Girl Scout Law

The Blank could be: Science, God, Mother Earth, Allah, Hashem, My Ancestors, Buddha, etc.

I was a Girl Scout when I was a kid, and then I was a Girl Scout Camp counselor. They were an awesome organization then, committed to feminism and inclusion, but I have to say it looks like they're even more awesome now.

Comments

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

How fantastic that she gets to start now! My daughter, who is about a month younger, will start when she gets to kindergarten in the fall and given that we (a) don't have boy scouts in our schools as they have been banned because of their bigotry and (b) even if they were allowed in the school our boys would not have been permitted to join (or wanted to) because of same, I cannot wait to get the scouting experience for Catie.

I still have the vest I got as a junior when I had too many patches for the sash, and my Guidebook circa the late 70s. I don't know what the pledge language used here is, but given the multiculturalness of our neighborhood and school, I'm sure it's as broad as possible. I think they do the investitures on the beach - or that's the graduation to the next level. Not sure...

Now to go see if there is an LJ comm for parents of Girl Scouts....