Girl Scout Observation Report

There isn’t one word, phrase or term that can define folklore, but one group that mirrors what a definition of folklore could look like is the adult Girl Scout “troop” that meets weekly in Bowling Green Kentucky. The group is made up of 12 members who were former Girl Scouts but paid their membership fee to become lifelong Girl Scout Members. I had the pleasure of interviewing the woman who created the group and has kept it going for several years. Her name is Elizabeth Brown and she was in Girl Scouts for 15 years. While interviewing Ms. Brown I observed how the group communicated and shared their traditions, values, and beliefs with insiders and outsiders. I started my observation by staying in the background as much as I could. I made it known that I didn’t want them to act any differently because I was there. I wanted to be able to fully take in their meeting and define folklore to pick out meaningful information that I could use to connect earlier units of study from the course. I started by …show more content…
The group participates in several ceremonies such as: Bridging ceremonies, Flag ceremonies, Founder's Day, and Girl Scout Bronze, Silver, or Gold Award ceremony. The ceremonies are centered around the Girl Scout values and beliefs that go into their rich traditions.
Their third tradition is the Girl Scout motto. The Girl Scout motto is "Be prepared." This slogan has been taught and passed down from generation to generation. The motto symbolizes that you never know what is going to happen so you need to be prepared for the unexpected things in life. The young women recite the motto during every meeting.
Their fourth tradition is The Girl Scout slogan, which is "Do a good turn daily." The slogan is used to inspire all Girl Scout members to do good things every day. Those things can range from something as small as holding the door for someone or even something large like giving a homeless person a