Yesterday morning on my way into work, I was listening to Kevin and Bean on KROQ. The topic of debate was Girl Scouts. More importantly, how Girl Scouts just aren't doing their job these days.
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One of the hosts (Kevin or Bean, I'm not sure which is which), was going off about how kids these days don't even participate in their own selling events. Instead, it's the parents who go into the workplace and hit everyone up Soprano's-style to buy a paycheck's worth of Samosas and Thin Mints.
Isn't the point of selling goods for your group/ club (other than to rake in the scrilla) to teach children some valuable life tools? Like getting the courage to nervously mumble your well-rehearsed speech about being in troop #blah-blah-blah and explaining that the money will help buy more activity books and field trips? Or the responsibility of keeping track of all that filthy rich money in a tattered manila envelope without blowing it on Blow Pops and Big Sticks when the ice cream man comes around? Or the feeling of pure high-fiving accomplishment when they finally make a sale after practically begging people for 4 hours straight?
When I was in elementary school, I was a Brownie. In junior high, I played volleyball. In high school, I was in French Club. All of these groups required its members to sell cookies/ candy/ random shit to raise money. I don't really remember how things worked when I was a Brownie because that was a long-ass time ago, but I DO remember going door-to-door in junior high and high school, trying my hand at fund-raising.
I know some parents are all up in arms because they can't bear to let their kids out of their site for two seconds. I'm not saying these little tykes need to brave the mean streets of suburbia on their own.
But I don't see any harm in dressing them up in their club uniforms and sending them up to your neighbor's door to make the sale, while the parents stand back on the sidewalk.
If these kids showed up at my door, I'd buy the shit out of some Peanut Butter Savannas. (I'd probably also ask where I can get one of those cute little berets.)
What do you think? Is there anything wrong with these parents who take over for their kids when it comes to fund-raising? Is the importance in the lesson or the money? Am I being too old fashioned*?
*I'm not
