Sarah Jackson
WST 3015
March 27, 2010
Activism Log 4
Activism
It's interesting to see how the Girl Scout troops of America work so hard to sell these cookies. I've never really noticed before but they have so many different locations and times for sales. They sells thousands of boxes, just as a small troop, going through boxes and boxes of shipments. All of this money earned for this Outreach troop went towards their goal of a sleep over at the Nickoloden hotel. It was fun to see the girls go into "Sales-woman" mode in front of all of the costumers. The younger girls seemed nervous to speak, but the older girls had a memorized list of facts to say whenever anyone asked one question. The older girls were also alittle better at the math than the younger girls. But all they all seemed to have to count on their fingers no matter what the problems were. I didn't know if I just don't remember if this is normal for girls this age (since I'm soooo old now) but I wondered if this had something to do with the fact that "girls don't do math as well as boys." I hope its just because they're so young and not because they are not getting the attention they need in school during math lessons.
After our two main visits with the Brownie troop, group members worked to reinforce concepts learned by assisting with cookie sales around UCF campus and in the Central Florida area. Cookie sales are a time when the young girls become assertive and proactive. Adults are meant to act as advisors and observers only. Girl Scouts are meant to do all of the selling, discussion with customers, and the handling of money and cookies. While working with them on campus to help sell cookies, I assisted the girls with sales by holding on to the money and change. When a girl came up to state that she had made a sale, I would walk her through the math required to find the sales total and also confirm the change required for the customer. All of this helps the girls play an active role in their cookie sales so that they are responsible for achieving their troop’s sales goals.
Reflection
It's interesting to see how the Girl Scout troops of America work so hard to sell these cookies. I've never really noticed before but they have so many different locations and times for sales. They sells thousands of boxes, just as a small troop, going through boxes and boxes of shipments. All of this money earned for this Outreach troop went towards their goal of a sleep over at the Nickoloden hotel. It was fun to see the girls go into "Sales-woman" mode in front of all of the costumers. The younger girls seemed nervous to speak, but the older girls had a memorized list of facts to say whenever anyone asked one question. The older girls were also alittle better at the math than the younger girls. But all they all seemed to have to count on their fingers no matter what the problems were. I didn't know if I just don't remember if this is normal for girls this age (since I'm soooo old now) but I wondered if this had something to do with the fact that "girls don't do math as well as boys." I hope its just because they're so young and not because they are not getting the attention they need in school during math lessons.
Reciprocity
"A psychological explanation of poverty may argue that people are poor because they have low self-esteem, lack self-confidence, and take on self-defeating behaviors," (Kirk & Okazawa-Rey 52). According to materials provided by the community partner, 90% of all women will be solely responsible for their financial self-sufficiency at some point in their lives, and 48% of single women ages 21 – 34 say they live from paycheck to paycheck (Girl Scouts of America). With numbers like this, it is also fair to say that a large percentage of women run the risk of dropping below the poverty line at some point in their lives. Because of these statistics, "The Penny Project" proved to be an important seminar for the young girls. Especially coming from lower-income families, the lessons taught to these young girls will better their chances of managing their finances to keep them out of poverty.
Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. Fifth Edition. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2010. Print.
—. "The Penny Project: A Guide For Adults." New York: Girl Scouts of the USA, 2005.
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