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Thursday Jul 26, 2007
Girl Guides Move With The Times
The Guardian featured a great bit of news yesterday about The Girl Guides – after surveying 1,000 Guides, they plan to include lessons on managing money, assembling flat pack furniture and practising safe sex.
Reading the article, it's hard to believe some of the badges that used to be awarded many moons ago – anyone up for the "Homemaker" badge for example?
Fair play to Girlguiding UK though, listening to the needs of your audience is central to the success of any advice giving service.
The "top skills that every modern girl should have under her belt" for 16-25 year old Guides were:
- Money management (93%);
- Performing CPR (85%);
- Speaking confidently in public (84%);
- Practising safer sex (80%).
Not surprisingly, money worries and safe sex come pretty high on the list of priorities for users of www.TheSite.org as well – the Sex thread on our discussion boards is always well populated, and the same goes to a lesser extent with Home, Law & Money.
I'm really surprised at the middle two though, and would be really interested to get anyone's thoughts on why they feature so highly.
Is speaking confidently in public really more important than learning to drive, for example?
Does this list reflect the demands placed on girls growing up in the Noughties?
Answers on a postcard please.
Just flicking through the archives here, and found this post!
I'd say the top skills are what they are because it's the things that aren't easily accessible everywhere else, or taught in schools. It's an expected part of life that at 17 or 18 years old, people learn to drive, but what about people with no confidence in public speaking? And who teaches us to manage our money well?
I believe it is these opportunities (non-formal learning, delivered away from school) and the social aspect that young people value when it comes to youth organisations such as Guides, Scouts, Boys' Brigade and St John Ambulance.
This is why it's important that youth organisations continue to listen to their young people, to make sure they're offering just what it is that young people want.
Posted by Will Matthews on October 22, 2007 at 08:56 AM GMT+00:00 #