Comments on: A Wish To Be in the Brownies

By: Danielle

Danielle — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:13:25 +0000

I do believe strongly there is a place in Girl Scouts for all girls. However, if a girl is truly endangering the other girls in the troop than that is not a good fit. I am not saying that is the case. However, I cannot tell based on one side of a story whether this was a case of discrimination or a case of a leader having to make a difficult decision that the placement was not safe. The mother was understandably focused on her child but no where does she mention what was going on with the other girls in the troop during these incidents with her daughter. The troop leader’s job would have been to look out for their well being as well as the girl who was having problems. In my opinion if the leader was concerned about the safety of the other girls she should have involved council before asking the girls parents to leave the troop, but I am hesitant to believe that a mother with a disabled child who volunteered to lead a troop of disabled children was simply ‘discriminating’.

For those wary of Girl Scouts, I urge you to reconsider. GS philosophy is very inclusive and the GSA makes every effort to include all girls who wish to participate. This not only includes those with disabilities but also girls with other challenges such as socioeconomic disadvantage or parents who are incarcerated. I have daughters who are Girl Scouts and I am a leader and I have found it profoundly satisfying.

By: Mari Klges is a Brownie Again

Mari Klges is a Brownie Again — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 18:29:16 +0000

[...] Mari Klages—-whose was asked not to return to a Girl Scout Brownie troop for girls with special needs in [...]

By: Joseph

Joseph — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:28:46 +0000

“Thing is, it isn’t always a good fit to mix different needs. Especially when many with disabilities are fragile.”

And when many with disabilities have different abilities? At my high school, anyone too disabled to take the stairs got a key to the elevators for the duration. You could get a key for using a wheelchair for life or for using crutches for a month, but you couldn’t get one for being deaf. Likewise, Gallaudet’s admins seem to pick which disabilities they want to focus on instead of welcoming blind hearing students as much as sighted deaf ones.

By: Navi

Navi — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:58:32 +0000

Thing is, it isn’t always a good fit to mix different needs. Especially when many with disabilities are fragile. If the parents hadn’t seen a similar child before, I can understand there concerns, especially if it wasn’t made clear her parents would always be there. I know the ppi classroom Tristan started in wasn’t a good fit now that he’s had better. I imagine Magi would do better in a smaller group of typical girls.

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:34:55 +0000

ABC news has picked up this story and includes mention of Adam Race and Wendy Portillo:

the Girl Scouts has been historically open to anyone and prides itself on its anti-discrimination policies.

The Klageses say the local council called them this week to help find another troop for Magi.

“They want to work with us and we’ll continue to work with them,” said Michele Klages. “Magi really wants to be a Girl Scout, but it’s important to find a troop that’s a good fit for her.”

But Magi won’t go back to the troop that kicked her out. “These leaders need to be educated and they can’t pick which disabilities they want in the troop,” her mother said. “It’s not their call.”

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:08:37 +0000

Gregory and Christine Lisiak, the parents of a girl in the Oconomowoc Brownie troop, respond; their daughter has a physical disability, as they note.

620AM WTMJ

By: DavidA

DavidA — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:21:34 +0000

My experience is similar to Siliconmom. My oldest son and my other son, who is on the spectrum, both went through scouts and earned their eagle rank. At the troop level, boyscouts is run almost entirely by volunteers. Therefore, there are enormous differences from region to region, council to council, and troop to troop. The attitudes of the troop will be largely determined by the troop leaders in place at that particular time. I participated for a fairly long time in order to span both son’s involvement and I saw enormous changes when the leaders would change.

Since I participated as a leader, I did see the issues from both sides. A number of times I was put into a difficult position because a parent would expect me to provide a level of help and service that I had no experience or training in. It can be an uncomfortable situation which, in the end, requires both the parent and the leader to work together.

I know that scouting has made a lot of news about its intolerance. However, as I said, at the troop level, which is where the boys activities are managed, the attitude of the troop is determined by the volunteer leader. Therefore, the attitudes of boyscout troops will span the spectrum of attitudes of people. I did not see any indication that the intolerance was systemic to the scouting organization.

My experience is that scouts is not for everyone. It has some good and some bad that a parent must weigh against each other. The biggest plus is that, generally, a parent can be involved and can make a difference.

By: Eleanor

Eleanor — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:00:37 +0000

As for the Boy Scouts, I’m not at all surprised that they condone discrimination against the disabled; after all, they teach intolerance and bigotry against gays–why would we expect any better of them? The Girl Scouts, however, had a reputation for being more tolerant and inclusive. I’m disappointed in them.

By: Kristina Chew, PhD

Kristina Chew, PhD — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:24:55 +0000

I was hopeful that Boy Scouts would be something for Charlie but the troop in the town we used to live in didn’t seem like the right setting for him. Seems it might have been easier when kids are younger, perhaps (well, for some kids—I think this would have been the case with Charlie).

By: Daisy

Daisy — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:04:42 +0000

It’s a sad situation on all sides. Magi may have adapted well within a few meetings. It sounds like the parents faced the situation realistically and provided support for their daughter. Brownie leaders are volunteers, too; I’m sorry the leader didn’t have support from other parents in the group in order to keep the troop going.
–former GS leader, leader trainer, and mom of special needs child