Studio2B

[ScoutNut 147]

Jamie - All I can tell you is that my daughter and the rest of her troop, who are all 18 yr old Senior Girl Scouts, agree with you. Why don't you go to the GSUSA national website, or the Studio 2B site, and send them an e-mail with your opinion. Don't know if it will help, but it sure can't hurt!

[AlphaCentauri 10]

Jamie --

 

You are correct that it is best to review S2B thoroughly before judging it.

 

But you are typical of most 21st Century Americans who have way too many things competing for their interest. We are the folks who pay extra if we want a book with instructions for the computer software we have bought, since most people don't spend time reading instructions anyway. We have to make quick assessments of which activities are worth our time. If S2B doesn't appeal to you, who are predisposed to look favorably on GSA, then how does it look to the disenfranchised majority of teen girls that S2B was supposed to lure back into scouting?

 

Certainly S2B may have deeper levels that are worth pursuing - I don't know either. But if it does, GSA had better do more marketing so girls know it. I wouldn't know a thing about it if I didn't get the leader magazines.

[Fat Old Guy 11]

Am I missing some cleverness in the name "Studio 2B"? Is there meaning behind the name?(This message has been edited by Fat Old Guy)

[AnneinMpls 10]

Yha...the name Studio2B is supposedly the result of market research. They tested a bunch of names and this was the one with the most appeal...

 

It's supposed to represent a "limitless space" and Girl Scouting's program goals are recast into the "Become Belong Believe Build" Studio2B motto.

 

Cutting through the "geeky" perception is admittedly difficult. I don't know yet if this new name does it. The trappings of the new program - the cutesey charms and bracelets - are very much like the ones in the department stores that are selling very well ...to Brownie-age girls. Seems to me they missed the mark big-time on that, since this program is supposedly for teens. Seems to me any market researcher ought to know that a teenager is going to want to steer clear of anything that totally appeals to 7 and 8 year olds. I think they basically threw a lot of money away on this program.

 

Anne in Mpls

[AlphaCentauri 10]

[ Yha...the name Studio2B is supposedly the result of market research. They tested a bunch of names and this was the one with the most appeal...

 

It's supposed to represent a "limitless space" and Girl Scouting's program goals are recast into the "Become Belong Believe Build" Studio2B motto. ]

 

 

At least if they'd named it Studio4B it would make some sense. It just sounds patronizing -- we'll give it a name that means absolutely nothing to fool you into thinking it's cool when it's nonsense.

[MomScouter 10]

Does anyone know where I can get some HONEST feedback from those who have tried S2B? My Council is now telling me that it is here to stay and that they will not be using the terms Cadette and Senior anymore. Also that the Silver and Gold awards have changed to use S2B instead of IPP's! I thought this was a 'supplement' to the exisitng program? Wasn't the Cadette/Senior program already 'by girls, for girls'? This program is expensive...there are 'collections' for each age group, new ones come out every year...there are 'focus books' where they do activities to earn charms ($4.95 a pop!), and there is a 'Basics' book.

[Fat Old Guy 11]

Organizations that change their direction and focus to attract people that wouldn't ordinairily join are in grave danger of losing their identity.

 

The Porsche Club of America has a great publication about Porsches. If you don't like fast cars, in particular Porsches, then your won't like the magazine. If the PCA started publishing articles about Mazdas on a regular basis along with articles on cooking with tofu, they'd start to lose the core of their membership.

 

The same is true of Scouting, when you start tampering with the program to bring in kids who wouldn't have joined anyway, you risk losing the kids who wanted to be there in the first place and the new kids, who are likely to be trend followers, will drift away leaving a shattered organization.

 

My daughter's troop is a mixed age troop. There are five girls who just earned their Silver award and became Senior Girl Scouts. These five girls go camping, hiking, caving, rafting in addition to playing soccer and one travels the world with a youth orchestra (I think that she plays the fiddle).

 

The problem with many, far too many, teens is that adults have programmed their lives. These teens don't know how to do things for themselves. This includes everything from playing games to going to college. I am amazed at the number of parents that I heard complaining about college applications. My cohorts and I had to do our own college research and complete our own applications.

 

I hear teens complaining about having nothing to do. I live within 15 minutes of three state parks with lakes and meadows and woods. I've suggested to them that they get a buck of chicken, a cooler of soda, a frisbee or football, and a few girls and go have a picnic. The response? "Nah, that's lame. We want to do something fun, like go to King's Dominion."

 

I see the problem in my Boy Scout troop. The individual patrols won't plan a patrol outing for love or money. There is one adult who DRAGS her son's patrols on patrol outings but that's too much like Cub Scouts for me.

 

The solution? Don't know but I felt the need to rant. I'll now go back into my cage.

[AlphaCentauri 10]

Same problem here, though I'm dealing with Juniors. Last year they were given a list of choices of activities and chose some. Each girl was assigned one to plan. Of course, the parent of each girl actually did it. (We want 10 year olds calling to schedule group activities?) The problem is they don't know they'll like something until they try it, so you do have to drag them a bit. Otherwise we do rock climbing every month. My plan this year is the adults plan something and let the girls disagree and change what they don't like, thereby planning it themselves.

[ScoutNut 147]

Your council has it right. The "trial" program is here to stay. The official levels of Cadette and Senior are history as of October 1, 2004. Girls are now Girl Scouts ages 11-17, or Studio 2B Girls ages 11-17 (brought to you by Girl Scouts). According to National girls can still call their group Cadettes or Seniors if they feel like it. Actually, they can also call themselves anything they want to. A group of girls could call themselves the Nosepickers if they felt like it, but officially they are simply Girl Scouts ages 11-17.

 

Studio 2B, IMO, is no longer simply just a supplement, if it ever really ever was. There is a new IPA book in the works which is supposed to make the IPA's more like the focus books where the girls get to pick what they want to do to earn the award.

 

The requirements for the Silver and Gold have indeed been changed. And, yes, they DO include focus books. Their is an option to use IP's also. The patches/pins for some of the requirements have been changed to charms. The final project hours have also been increased. All of the changes will be in a Studio 2B binder insert which will be out later this year.

 

So the "more, more, not less, more" mantra is not exactly correct anymore. National is forcing girls to cough up LOTS more money for this "supplemental" program which was supposed to be optional. But, in a way, I guess it is optional. Troops do not have to do the GSUSA program/s. Since it is now "By Girls, For Girls" (yup, that's how it was supposed to be for all along, but hey, what do I know!) the girls can choose to not earn any awards and just do whatever they want. If they want patches for their vests (which are also optional) they can order them from Patchco or Joycrest at MUCH less than the cost of those charms.

 

If you would like to hear more from leaders on Studio 2B, Yahoo has a group that is pretty good:

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Studio_2B/

 

I guess we have no option but to just go with the flow. Gee, I hope GSUSA is not going to hold hard and fast to their copyright rules. Coping those focus books and the rest of the Studio 2B stuff is the only way to make it affordable.

 

 

[Fat Old Guy 11]

"I guess we have no option but to just go with the flow."

 

Nah, you could join Venturing :-) BSA doesn't care if you photocopy any of their publications.

[AlphaCentauri 10]

But there's no Venture Scout Cookies! :-(

[Fat Old Guy 11]

"But there's no Venture Scout Cookies! :-( "

 

Cookie making! What a great focus for a Venturing Crew!

 

BTW, being the pedant that I am, I need to point out that there is no such thing as a Venture Scout. Youth members of Venturing are called Venturers.

[MomScouter 10]

I just picked up some of the S2B stuff for my Service Unit. All I can say is...THIS is what is replacing the current Cadette/Senior program? What a load of fluff! The only book that had anything substantial was the Collections. The Focus Books are a bunch of questionairres intended to get the girl thinking introspectivley...Ok that's fine except: 1) not all girls/troops can afford to pay $4.95 for a flimsy little booklet that is intended to be written in and used by 1 girl only 2) the only one that seems to teach any kind of skills is the 'Got Money?" booklet, the rest are about 'how do you feel about this or that' type stuff 3) there is no clear set of rqmts; the girl 'sets a goal' and when she is satisfied that she has completed her goal, she gets the award 4) the awards are charms that cost $3.95 - $4.95 (are we supposed to use up all our troop money to buy Focus books and charms?)

 

THe worst product I saw (and refused to buy) was the 'binder'. Each girl is supposed to have one of these, to which periodic 'inserts' will be sold (about $4.95 each) . The binders are flimsy little notebooks of cheap plastic, containing some cardboard separators....goes for $9.95!! I can get a better product at the Dollar Store.

 

By contrast, the 'old' Cadette/Senior 'Interest Projects' contain rqmts for the following awards, to name a few: Car Sense, Home Improvement, Space Exploration, Desktop Publishing, Architecture and Environmental Design, Backpacking, Emergency Preparedness, High Adventure, Outdoor Survival.

 

If S2B were intended as an optional, supplemental program, it would be fine. GS has always had supplemental booklets/programs for the girls to choose from. But to make it the primary program for girls 11-17? Phase out Interest Projects and the skills that are learned with them? If that does in fact happen (although I bet it doesn't once national starts getting some real feedback), my daughter and I are moving to Venturing as soon as she is 14!

[AlphaCentauri 10]

"BTW, being the pedant that I am, I need to point out that there is no such thing as a Venture Scout. Youth members of Venturing are called Venturers."

 

"Venturer Cookies" -- makes you wonder if you're taking a risk trying them ;-)

 

"I just picked up some of the S2B stuff for my Service Unit. All I can say is...THIS is what is replacing the current Cadette/Senior program?"

 

We may have to start a movement to continue to old program on our own. The toughest will be keeping the patches "in print" -- to get them for less than $5 each, you need a run of 40 or 50 each. We'd need a lot of troops to go in on it.

 

 

[Fat Old Guy 11]

"We may have to start a movement to continue to old program on our own."

 

Is that legal in GSUSA? In BSA that would be like me deciding that I liked the 1965 requirements better (I actually do) and to run a 1965 style program. That just isn't allowed.