Chiming in...I am a 2nd grade Brownie troop leader, so this our our third year together.
I could be wrong, because I haven't gotten extremely involved at any level other than the troop yet, but I think I caught wind of something flying over that they voted to add some rediculous verbage to the constitution (or whatever they call it) just this fall. Something along the lines of religion being a private matter. It was worded in that sneaky way that you can say it means you
shouldn't force a girl to share, but as a thinking adult you know that its really saying you
aren't allowed to share. When I saw it before the vote, I emailed our council office and asked that our delegate to the proceedings know how awful i thought it was. I didn't talk to her, but at the fall adult meeting, she looked like a dear old grandma. SO If she understood, I bet she voted against it, but if she isn't in touch with what's going on, she might not have read between the lines.
There are still religion awards that the girls can earn, but in my training I was told they are encouraged to gloss over it. But the trainer was excited to share it with me and strongly encouraged it.
Difference being, our troop is from a private Christian school.
Don't rat me out...but here's how I teach the "GIrl Scout Promise" ... I told them you should NEVER agree to something that doesn't go along with the Bible, and we compared the parts of the promise to general Biblical principals. I intend to revisit that as they mature.
I can definitely see getting involved in the next national conference, or whatever its called.
We belong to the Methodist Church, and sadly enough, we have some similar things going on there.
So the real question becomes, fight or flight??? And what do we teach the kids? Here's something we value, and we are going to put our light on the hill. Or, those people are bad, lets segregate. Obviously, I have chosen to NOT fight the fight with the schools. But when they are doing Girl Scout activities, I am with them (or an adult I know well and trust). And really, what effects the girls USUALLY (your experience breaking the rule) is the troop and the adults with whom they are in direct contact.
It gets harder and harder, doesn't it? "Don't ask, don't tell" is considered bad form and discriminatory when applied to homosexuality, but now they want it to apply instead to our belief systems. Hello, one of the major tennents of my faith is that I do tell!
