AlphaCentauri

They are girls who are registered as girl scouts but who don't have access to a troop -- for instance, in rural areas. They can participate in council events and cookie sales, and work on the scout program on their own with guidance from a parent, etc. ("Juliette" was Juliette Low, who founded the Girl Scouts).

Oh, the Girl Scouts get pretty loosey goosey too... One thing I've noticed is that the badge requirements are very complicated. They don't expect girls to do them independently. They do them in groups at badge workshops or at summer camp. But then everyone sort of is herded along and gets a badge at the end, and rarely do the girls really do six requirements in as much detail as the badge book spells out. And the council sponsored events do it just as much as the activities done by one troop. I'd like to see the requirements in the book reflect the reality -- girls do have fun and learn

I had also ridden many miles on my bike, fallen several times, but never injured anything a helmet would have protected. I frankly couldn't imagine my ever going fast enough to fly headfirst over the handlebars and hit the top of my head. I only started wearing one when my kids got bikes, because I feel it is dumb to tell kids to do something that is a good idea and then make it conditional on their being under a certain age. Well, last month I took my first spill since beginning to wear the helmet. My foot got caught and I couldn't jump off the seat as I fell; the tire slid sideways

I haven't worked with girls in Studio 2B yet, but it wouldn't have appealed to me at that age any more than traditional scouting. The last thing I wanted was someone telling me to do things that were good for me. I got that all day at school. Instead of going into Cadettes or Seniors, I joined an Explorer post and did a lot of canoeing, camping and hiking, with absolutely no introspection at all. But I learned a lot about leadership without realizing it. If you have to function as a team or crack up your canoe on a rock or end up stranded two days from civilization without toilet paper, y

Well.... The first meeting the girls ran their own meeting to set up an agenda for the year. They worked hard and did a good job. But the troop leader's daughter chaired it, so she couldn't undermine anyone else. She's a good leader but not much of a follower. The second meeting, the girls who were assigned to lead an activity did a good job. But the other girls got distracted by stuff going on outside the room and ignored the activity for a short while (the adults had to redirect them to the appropriate activity). They all finished the project and (for them) were pretty focused.

Try http://shop.girlscouts.org/bookshop/prodpages/safety-wise.asp?cartID=10225AAB I give you credit staying with scouting with those kinds of hassles. But why don't you form a troop and let psycho-mother stay with the old troop?

The popcorn setting in my new Panasonic microwave. You just set the weight of the bag and it stops at the perfect time every time, every brand. I would have said my Goretex Vasque boots, but on the last campout, the bottom layer of one sole peeled off. I'm gonna glue it back -- they're the best thing in the world for shoveling snow. Keep your feet warm, dry and comfy.

I'd like to throw something more in about the personality disorder angle. She's probably not a sociopath if she's not in jail yet, but there are other types of personality disorders. The main feature of a personality disorder is that everyone can see the person has a problem except the person with the problem. That person has spent her entire life developing these habits as coping mechanisms and considers the behaviors completely appropriate. Getting them to change is difficult even in long-term counseling. I work with a woman who is very similar, married to one of the top executi

Boy Scout wear uniforms because they are practical. They are sturdy clothes that are durable enough to camp in and comfortable enough to sleep in. Moms don't mind their boys wearing them to camp and crawling in muddy ashes, because they aren't ruining their regular clothes. Boys don't mind wearing them because the older boys and adults wear the same uniform. A girl may buy the Girl Scout uniform, but where can she wear it? The sash or vest is a hazard when working around an open flame, and the short little skirts preclude sitting on a floor. The khaki pants are fine, but aren't too spe

Thanks -- we have our first full troop meeting of the fall this week, with parents attending, so we'll be trying some new things, including patrols, tho there may be only 2 or 3 girls in each. We'll see what works.

If a scout has a handicap, some modifications of the program can be made to accomodate him while keeping the spirit of the requirements. If he can't get a leadership position in his troop because he is socially behind the other boys, maybe he could become a regular assistant in a cub troop. The younger boys might really worship a bigger boy with lots of energy, and being the focus of their attention could help him stay focused.

Sounds great. But I think we should plan on sleeping under tarps instead of inside tents :-)

If Boy Scouts don't work with boys in groups for merit badges, how do you avoid the situation where a boy is alone with an adult merit badge counselor?

Sure sounds different from Girl Scouts! The Girl Scout badges are complicated and many are extremely difficult for a girl to do without either parental help or the troop participating together. Badges may involve participating in a group activity. Or they may involve interviewing an adult stranger -- it's not real appropriate for 9-11 year old girls to be calling a newspaper reporter themselves to ask what his typical day is like and how much he is paid (an actual requirement). The problem is that the girls dread getting halfway through the requirements for a badge and feeling obligated to d

I write right, but switch back and forth for most things as one arm tires. I think any mother develops ambidexterity learning to do things with a sleeping child over one shoulder. Still can't brush my teeth lefthanded tho.

I guess I should say that part of the problem is that one of the worst kids is the troop leader's youngest daughter. Her mom can't do much with her, tho she is in therapy. We can't exactly hold the other girls to a higher standard. Her mother is a real asset to the troop otherwise, but I don't imagine she'd stay with the troop if her girls were all out of scouting. Anyway, the worst behavior is the passive aggressive stuff that doesn't make much of a story when you tell the parents about it later. If they were "doing" things we could tell their parents, but it's the doing the least they

I'm assistant troop leader in a Junior troop. Half the girls are in sixth grade, half in fifth. The problem is the older girls are pretty unmanageable. They just wander off instead of participating in whatever the troop is doing and disrupt everything. Getting them to do kapers involves following them around continually and telling them to do each tiny task. They aren't learning responsibility, and they are a terrible example to the younger girls. In fact, they sometimes pick on girls who don't go along with them. I can deal with most of them one on one, but as a group they fee

I agree with suggesting professional evaluation. A trained counselor can often find out things that may surprise a parent. Depression would be a good thing to have, because it responds well to counseling/medications in most cases. But schizophrenia could start with similar behavior. If the scout were a girl, I'd be wondering about sexual abuse with the unkempt behavior, too. If he's unsure about his own sexual orientation, he may be pretty uncomfortable in most social situations right now. If he's just shy, he ought to be able to form a friendship with one other outcast-type boy or girl,

I agree. Kids can be cruel, but it is often due to feeling uncomfortable themselves at being ignorant. They may also wonder how this disability occurred and feel the need to convince themselves it could never happen to them. Kids respond well to being educated about the issue. If they know more about this scout than most adults would, they will see themselves as his protectors instead of tormentors.

It's interesting that the other boys in the troop are expected to put up with this sort of behavior. Our society is great for expecting children to "stand up to" bullies and not "tattle," when the same behavior by an adult bully would be considered a felony, and the proper response would be to notify the police instead of taking matters into one's own hands. Fire setting is often a symptom of very serious psychopathology. It is often seen in children in foster care with attachment problems. They fear getting emotionally attached to anyone, and they almost dare the foster parents