Feedback about Girl Scouts in Berkeley
Hello!
My daughter will be entering 6th grade next year and she is considering Girl Scout troop 33530. I was a GS as a kid and I think the right troop could be a good fit for her. Unfortunately, my work schedule is not conducive to volunteering much myself and this is intimidating to me, as I know that GS sometimes requires a lot of time from parents. So would appreciate feedback on this piece of joining as well.
My daughter is a goofy, imaginative, sensitive, sometimes socially clumsy but loving and friendly kid. She is a little geeky, loves Star Wars, Harry Potter and all Fantasy... She is relatively unexperienced with camping, etc, but I think she could grow to love it. She does love nature. One might describe her as kind of a "Ferdinand" from the children's book--dreamy, loves pondering flowers, moves slowly through the world. Wondering if our local troop here in/near Berkeley might be a good fit?
Thanks so much!
Parent Replies
Hi! I was a Girl Scout troop leader for seven years and want to offer up that the experience is very much what the leaders make of it. Some troops follow Girl Scout "curriculum" and are led by people who are kind of Girl Scout Leaders For Life. Others are more laid back. My best friend's kid's troop in Sacramento doesn't have a leader (except on paperwork) and the parents rotate meeting responsibilities and have VERY (maddeningly) high expectations of each other. I recommend talking directly with the leader about expectations.
Also...there are probably more troops than you realize near to you. The Girl Scout HQ for the Bay Area (on Edgewater) can let you know what troops are nearby this school year so you can reach out to leaders.