Our Juniors have started working on the aMuse Journey. In this journey the girls will build confidence by trying roles they choose for themselves by being creative, telling stories and inspiring others to try new roles, too.
At our last meeting each girl was given a banner with 7 pennants and had to decorate each flag with a single word/phrase to describe themselves. They decorated them and shared with the group. Then, they were told to hang them somewhere special to remind themselves of who they are…to be true to themselves always.
Today we worked on Roles and Stereotypes and how often times, fair or not, they influence each other.
The girls were given a variety of roles, printed on post its, to try on for themselves and assign to their troop mates. We talked about why they each chose the roles they did for themselves and discussed why their troop mates might have chosen some of the other roles for them. It was very interesting to hear how they each view themselves compared to how others view them.
Then we spent a really long time talking about stereotypes. We did this by giving them each several “should” sentences and telling the girls they HAD to determine whether or not their “should” was for boys or for girls. The ensuing OUTRAGE at being FORCED to pick when, CLEARLY, any and all can be for BOTH. We then talked about how “traditional roles” have paved the way for the stereotypes of today. The girls also got a lesson in how lucky they are to go to school and live where they do because there are, sadly, still places in our world where girls can’t even do that!
Great, fulfilling meeting! Can’t wait to start telling our story and learning about amazing women in our community.
Girl Scout Troop 2214 