An Exchange

This was a conversation I had today with a parent who was interested in getting his daughter in a Girl Scout troop. The Italics are my thoughts...

Parent: "Hello. Yes I would like to get my daughter into Girl Scouts."

Me: "Ok, well what grade is your daughter in?"

...

P: "I don't know much about Girl Scouting. What kind of things do the girls do?"

Me: "Well, it depends. Troops are girl led -- we want their interests to dictate what the leaders do. We have programs for everything from financial literacy to the environment, the outdoors to self-esteem."
Me (thinking): great, not this question again. Do I have a recording I could press for this one?

P: "Oh. Ok. Well, are they graded?"

Me: "Umm, no. They earn badges and such, but no. We don't grade the girls."
Me (thinking): WHY in on God's green earth would we grade them? This is the Girl Scouts!!!

P: "Oh. Well, how do they show they have accomplished something?"

Me: "Well, that is why they earn patches and badges. And when they get older they can earn the Bronze, Silver or Gold Award. But this isn't like Karate. We don't have colored belts to show advancement."
Me (thinking): Dude, your daughter is in third grade. She doesn't need to worry about college quite yet! Besides, let her have some fun!

...

So, that was just a snippet. Sometimes these parents puzzle me!