Scouting for Girls: A Century of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts

by Tammy M. Proctor

This volume examines scouting―the largest voluntary movement for girls―in its first century of existence, seeking to understand how the organization has lasted and how it has changed.

Scouting for A Century of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is the first global history of Girl Scouting and Guiding that addresses the successes and pitfalls of the 100-year-old organization from its beginning in Great Britain through its international expansion. Since 1910, millions of girls worldwide have been exposed to Scouting. While much has changed since 1910, the core values of Scouting/Guiding are still recognizable in today's programs, namely the empowerment of girls through adventure, character-building, home skills, outdoor pursuits, and active learning. But has Scouting's very willingness to change with the times undermined its original ideologies and fundamentally changed the movement?

As Girl Scouts and Guides move into their second century, their challenge will be to remain true to their founding values while remaking themselves on a regular basis. Given the changing nature of today's societies and the serious problems girls face on a daily basis, Girl Guides and Girl Scouts will need to be true to their motto, "Be Prepared," in order to march forward successfully into the future.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Elsie Birnbaum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scouting for Girls is truly the definitive history of the Girl Scouting/Guiding movement. Which is to say it's a mile wide and inch deep but oh boy is it an amazing mile! The coverage of the World Wars is unparalleled in much of what I've read. I learned so much about the non-anglosphere war effort, I don't know why the Grey Ranks isn't better covered by common discourses on Girl Guides/Scouts during WWII! My only compliant is that the book teeters out after the mid-century, I'm really interested in some of the social discourses of Scouting in the seventies and nineties but it makes sense that the history is less settled on those decades.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very engaging. It was an easy read, covering 100 years in the history of Girl Guides (or Scouts). I had never understood the interrelationship between Guides, Scouts, and the Camp Fire Girls, and this book gave an excellent summary of the issues among them. The author discussed several challenges facing Girl Scouts and Guides through the decades, in a way that both sides of any debate made sense. Highly recommended for those interested in the culture of girls and young women.