When I started my project, I knew that for it to be successful, I needed input from other highschool Girl Scouts. I had to make sure that I am not the only one who feels like I have a lack of resources. During my first week, I made a Google Form to send out to various circles of girls I had worked with before. I noticed that a lot of the girls had similar experiences to me, where their troop has become less active, but them as individuals have become more active within the Girl Scouts programs.
Something else I noticed was that a lot of them were wanting to have more experiences where they could meet girls from other troops. One of the responses to the question “What is your favorite part about Girl Scouts,” was, “Being around other girls my age and doing things with them.” I feel like I was overlooking that in my project. At the time, my essential question was “How can I create meaningful programming for girls in an ever-changing world?”. I think I was focusing too much on the resources that girls can use individually, because that is the direction my Girl Scout experience has gone in over the past few years. Because of these responses, I shifted my focus a bit. My essential question now is, “How can I create an active and supportive community for high school Girl Scouts?”
Meeting new people is also one of my favorite parts of the organization, but I almost forgot about it since COVID-19 shut down a lot of the events where I would meet new people. GSGNY used to host badge workshops after school at their headquarters. They were free, and would provide all the materials and you would earn a badge in a day. I really want to work towards using that model online. So rather than only having the written badge guides, I can host events where girls can meet one another.
My initial essential question is also still important to me, and I really want to continue focusing on different programs, aside from badge ones. I’m reaching out to people about hosting beginner yoga classes, career presentations, and also just craft nights or watch parties to add to the meeting new people part and just having fun.
I really like how you improved your essential question based on your findings!
Love the change in essential question! It encompasses both the individual elements that you initially planned for and the communal element that is inherent to Girl Scouts.
I also really like that you are moving beyond badge guides, since limiting your work to that might shut out some input that you would have received by hosting a live event.
And the ideas you give in the bottom paragraph sound really fun!
As someone who always found the community and camaraderie of girl/boy scouts appealing I find it so important that you are committed to making sure this community stays alive and connected as the participants age. I am curious how cross troop interaction works among girl scouts – clearly this is something you are also thinking about as you address it in your studies. Amazing work!