Studio 2B
Encyclopedia
Studio 2B is a level of Girl Scouting
Girl Guides
A Guide, Girl Guide or Girl Scout is a member of a section of some Guiding organisations who is between the ages of 10 and 14. Age limits are different in each organisation. It is the female-centred equivalent of the Scouts. The term Girl Scout is used in the United States and several East Asian...

 in the Girl Scouts of the USA
Girl Scouts of the USA
The Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 and was organized after Low...

 and consists of girls between the ages of 11 through 17. GSUSA created the program to attract older girls into the scouting program and replace Cadette and Senior Girl Scouting.

History

Studio 2B was created as a response to a lack of interest in Girl Scouting in the United States of America. A study named Ten Emerging Truths: New Directions for Girls 11-17 was conducted by the Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI) and targeted teenaged girls both in and outside of the GSUSA program, volunteers in the program, and the families of the girls. The study found that girls in the 11 through 17 age group wanted to discuss topics that were of interest to them, chose their own activities to participate in, create and be a part of their own program, and be advised by adults they can relate to. Similar studies by the GSRI concluded that nearly a quarter of the girls surveyed had less than three adults they could go to for help. The Girls Scouts of the United States of America developed Studio 2B in October 2002 as a solution to the lack of adult mentors for the young women.

Organization

Studio 2B is the largest structural change to GSUSA since the early 1960s. It is based on a concept called the Four B's standing for Become, Belong, Believe, and Build. Activities are organized using a By Girls, For Girls approach. This encourages girls to take charge of the program of activities and make as many of the decisions and arrangements themselves as possible. In supplementing the book of Interest Project
Interest Project
An Interest Project is a merit badge of the Cadette and Senior Girl Scouts of the USA. They are earned through completing skill-building activities and certain requirements. Each Interest Project comes as a patch or badge and each represent an achievement in a different area such as camping or...

 Patches, which are similar to Boy Scout merit badges
Merit badge (Boy Scouts of America)
Merit badges are awards earned by youth members of the Boy Scouts of America , based on activities within an area of study by completing a list of periodically updated requirements. The purpose of the merit badge program is to allow Scouts to examine subjects to determine if they would like to...

, Studio 2B has Focus Books full of activities that the girls can choose from to earn a charm for their bracelet, or a small slide for their uniform. Like all other Girl Scouts, Studio 2B Scouts pay membership dues and live by the Girl Scout Law and Promise.

Studio 2B is designed to cater to individual needs and give girls a positive place to express themselves with help from "mentors" or "advisers", who are generally 18 to 29 years of age. Meetings are optional, and girls can scout independently if they do not join a troop.

Studio 2B differs from many other Scouting programs because of the absence of the patrol
Scout method
The Scout method is the informal educational system used by Scouting. The aim of Scouting is character training with the goal of helping participants become independent and helpful,and thereby become "healthy, happy, helpful citizens"....

 system of organization. Instead, girls are encouraged to form small temporary groups around a common interest, within their Studio 2B troop.

Focus Books

Focus Books are the Studio 2B equivalent to the Girl Scout Senior and Cadette Interest Project
Interest Project
An Interest Project is a merit badge of the Cadette and Senior Girl Scouts of the USA. They are earned through completing skill-building activities and certain requirements. Each Interest Project comes as a patch or badge and each represent an achievement in a different area such as camping or...

 Book. They contain similar activities needed to complete an Interest Project, but the Scout earns a charm for the Studio 2B charm bracelet or slide for the uniform in lieu of a badge. Girls earn charms by meeting goals tailored to their own interests and abilities.

Silver Award

The Silver Award is the second highest award of the Girl Scouts of the USA. Studio 2B participants between sixth and ninth grades
Education in the United States
Education in the United States is mainly provided by the public sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. Child education is compulsory.Public education is universally available...

, or aged 11 through 14, can work on the award, but it can only be completed by girls in the seventh through ninth grades, or aged 12 through 14. After taking a series of awards to build her skills, a girl embarks on a project to benefit her community, taking at least 40 hours total to complete.

Gold Award

The Gold Award is the highest award of the Girl Scouts of the USA. Studio 2B participants can work on the Gold Award once they are 15 years old or join tenth grade.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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