I am SO ANGRY - Girl Scouts Rant (LONG): UPDATE Pg.12

[Wickedmom75]

Wow, I don't know a lot about GS but from one nerdy girl to another for your DD. I hope this gets resolved, and that the troop leader gets reprimanded or even asked to leave. Children are so vulnerable and for her and her daughter to do this to your DD (even the non GS events) Is just plain cruel. People forget there is such a thing as Karma .

 

[OceanAnnie]

I'm sorry to read about this. Any updates? Hope it's good news, like the Troop Leader was relieved of her duties and her DD is assigned to community service if she wants to remain.

 

[Laurabearz]

((Hugs)) I am so sorry your DD has had to go through this....

I agree, email MissSnottypants and get it in writing.... then BLAM present it to the counsil.

I also agree with antoher poster, who said that she wondered if all those 'unofficial' events didnt tap into the troops funds. I would ask for an audit too.

Jullietts is also anohter wonder program.

((hugs))

 

[OceanAnnie]

I never heard of Jullietts! Is it like the GS?

 

[kimmikayb]

I never heard of Jullietts! Is it like the GS?

Juilietts is when the girls register individually and work on their own. It usually happens when the girls get older and their troop usually disbans because of disinterest. Then the few girls left can register as Juilettes.

OP, this is absolutely not acceptable. I don't know the right course of action first, but there is no doubt you should contact your service unit director and counsel. Don't let it rest. This lady has no business being a leader in any troop. This is not what GS is all about. I'm afraid this will sour your DD on GS. I hope not, it has so much to offer to our girls. Please update us as soon as you can.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Juilietts is when the girls register individually and work on their own. It usually happens when the girls get older and their troop usually disbans because of disinterest. Then the few girls left can register as Juilettes.

Thank you.

 

[aprilgail2]

That is horrible! I feel so badly for your daughter, what a witch that leader is. I would not even call her, I would go right over her head to concil, tell them the whole story and then have an audit done of their books, what a terrible thing for a so called "adult" to do to a child!!

 

[mcco5543]

I can't you and your DD enough! My heart breaks for her and for you. I am not a mom. I am an elementary school teacher though and any injustice to children makes me nuts! I must admit, my heart breaks for Snottypockets Jr. who has a mother who clearly has no intention of teaching her how to treat other people with kindness, respect, and without judgement, that little girl is going to have one heckuva time in the real world. Your daughter is EXTREMELY lucky to have you. I would also call council and I would find her another troop. I had a very very bad experience as a child with my first "group activitiy" experience and never joined another group until college. It took me that long to be willing to try again. Group activities can be the best thing in the world ( I couldn't live without the group I am in now they are my "family"). But i'd hate to see her be totally turned off this early....please please let us know what happens and give all our love to your child!

 

[auntpolly]

Tell your dd that the good news is that the girls that were acting this way when dd was that age -- well let's just say they didn't age well.

Call it karma or whatever, their lives just didn't turn out so special as they might have liked, if you get my drift. Get her out of that troop - nobody needs that kind of treatment from losers like that. But make alot of noise on your way out - make sure the council knows about it.

The thing you have to do is just get your dd through this weird age, when girls turn into evil snobs, and make sure she knows there is hope. Tell her about my dd, and how we just knew that they weren't the kind of friends that were worth having. DD didn't have a giant pack of friends in middle school, but the ones she had were true and for life.

Seriously, I'm not just saying this, dd went from the girl that the snob girls made fun of in middle school to the girl those girls wished they could hang out with in HS.

Thos 9 year olds think this will last forever? Not a chance.

 

[MrsPete]

Any thoughts?

I don't think your problem is with Girl Scouts, your problem is with three people:

1. A snotty kid who has been given way too much power at too young an age; pity her -- in not too many years, the real world will turn her over its knee and spank her good.
2. A foolish leader; pity her too -- she's going to watch her daughter live with disappointment after disappointment as an adult.
3. A spineless co-leader; pity her too because she knows what's right and is afraid to do it.

As a scout leader, I can assure you that this leader IS breaking scout rules. You should, indeed, call the local council office and report this troop to both your county (or perhaps service unit -- you know your area better than I do) membership specialist AND to the council's CEO. If you're close to the council office, I'd go over there in person.

Point out that SafetyWise (the GS bible) says that troop money is to be used for the whole troop; at no point is that money to become the property of any one girl -- but by leaving a particular girl out, that's exactly what they're doing. Point out that the GS law says that girls are to be FAIR and that they are to BE A SISTER TO EVERY GIRL SCOUT. This troop is not following GS standards, and they should be disbanded.

At the same time, ask the council about other troops in your area. They can put you in touch with another leader who'll treat your daugther better.

 

[snowball22]

Hugs!!! Definately report her to the GS council. This is so wrong.

 

[luvflorida]

YOU MUST BE AN ADVOCATE FOR YOUR CHILD!!!!!!!!!!!!

I read and reread the original post, and the thing that bothers me more than anything is that it sounds like this woman and her child have been allowed to get away with this horrendous behavior for far too long.

You say that your child has been part of this troop for three years, and that she has been excluded from activities before. I know they weren't Girl Scout activities, but who cares? I would not want my child to have to deal with that type of behavior.

The FIRST time that woman said or did ANYTHING hurtful toward my child would be the LAST time she ever did it. I also would not want my child spending time with another child that constantly belittled and degraded her. Just not acceptable.

I can't even tell you how angry this makes me.

 

[MrsPete]

Tell her that if she does not IMMEDIATELY resign from her position then you will do 2 things: 1.) hire a lawyer and 2.) go to the press. The news would eat this up if they had it, and I'm sure she'd love if all of her rich friends found out she was picking on a child.

I agree that the news would eat this up, BUT it would come out as "this is how GS troops behave" -- that's the way the media is. It would end up hurting all GS troops, the vast majority of which have done no wrong.

 

[MrsPete]

I would also e-mail the leader, and politely mention that it "sounds like a great way for the girls to use the cookie money they all worked so hard for."

I am a leader...currently...but our troop is about ready to disband. So I will give you a little advice - sprinkled with GS troop money rules.

The troop money is owned by the entire troop. At that level, there are no "shares" of the troop that each girl would have earned individually. None. So the leader is extremely out of line taking the money and using it for something that not the whole troop has been invited to. (FWIW - if the girls are still a troop in their teens, they can do additional fundraisers, and have "shares of the troop money" if they are planning a big trip, but everything has to be spelled out and agreed in writing by all the girls and the parents.)

Anyways - handling this by e-mail should give you a either a response of "yes, there is a trip on Saturday, I'm sending out the info tomorrow" or no, we are not including your DD.

I would also ask her how the girls are going to be going through the park, from a "Safetywise" standpoint, and what preparations are they going to take, if someone gets lost, someone doesn't want to ride on a particular ride, how will the buddy system work with an odd number of girls etc.

If she doesn't allow your daughter on the trip (and you will have the e-mail to back it up) then find out who at your council office can assist. You may want to do a little research on the council's website, so you know how things are set up. Our council has service units (which break the council up into smaller zones), and then every service unit is divided up into schools - with a school organizer at each school. The school organizer & service unit manager are volunteers - which is why I would approach membership manager at a minimum. Our council website has all the names/titles/phone numbers/e-mail addresses - so contacting someone at the council office would be VERY SIMPLE to do.

Good Luck.

chl2 has given good advice here!

 

[Pam]

I would call the council and report this. She has no right to exclude ANY scout from ANY outing. I also would start looking for a new troop.

That is the correct response! That "leader" (and I use the term loosely) needs to be replaced ASAP! That's a direct violation of Scout policy and the adult should be mortified and ashamed that she is stooping to the level of her spoiled, bratty daughter!

 

[auntpolly]

LOL I just went out for a run and couldn't stop thinking about this - you should show this thread to your dd - I hope she knows that there are at least 100 angry DISers that would gladly go with her to her next meeting to, um, *reason with * this so called leader and her evil spawn.

We got her back, is what I'm saying!

 

[sha_lyn]

Is there any chance that the co-leader will back you up? It sounds like she knows it is wrong, but feels intimidated by the leader.
Lots of good advise here, depending on how you think the leader/co-leader would react. Personally just from what little you have posted, I would call the co-leader back and give her the choice, back you up, or get caught in the fall out. Then go straight to the service unit director and the council. Ask for an audit. I have a gut feeling that Gs money has been used before for activites your DD was not included in.

 

[ZuZugal]

The so-called leader is not running a Girl Scout troop.

She is snotty, self-centered, shallow woman who happens to organize activities for a group of like-minded girls under the guise of the name "Girl Scouts".

Your daughter AND YOU deserve better! No one should be treated like they are in junior high, which is what the leader and her little followers are doing.

I think after reporting her (and humiliating her as much as possible) you need to take the first step to moving on. Staying with them after this incident would only agitate you further.

Start a troop with some other girls that are without a troop right now. Look into some of the wonderful programs that local YMCA's offer. Agree to meet once a month with your dauther, her friends and their moms (planned outings.)

 

[mickeysgal]

Then go straight to the service unit director and the council. Ask for an audit. I have a gut feeling that Gs money has been used before for activites your DD was not included in.

Very good point. Given the attitude of this leader, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if monies were used in the way she deemed fit which may or may not jive 100% with the way its supposed to be used.

 

[GotGhosts]

$600 dollars? How the heck can you spend $600 in stuff at Disneyland anyway?