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Guiding Lights Revisited
Dec. 19th, 2022 02:19 pmThe two contenders for Brownies 2.0 have been announced: Comets and Embers. If I were eligible to vote (which I'm not), I'd go for Comets.
The word "comet" has a lot of positive connotations for me. It suggests youthful energy and enthusiasm. That's not necessarily astronomically or even astrologically or ecclesiastically accurate but there you have it. Alternatively, one might associate it with Santa's fifth reindeer. Or how about an essential tool for Josephine the Lady Plumber? Of course, that reference would be lost on the average 7- to 8-year-old but we are, after all, trying to encourage more interest in the skilled trades, especially on the part of women. Though come to think of it, we don't necessarily want girls to feel that the only role they can aspire to is cleaning up the messes made by Joseph the Gentleman Plumber with his snakes and wrenches and puppy-dog tails.
In my entry of November 22, I did suggest continuing the fiery analogy begun with Sparks. I suppose Embers fills the bill on that. The problem is, embers (to me, at least) are usually what you find when a fire is dying down. Isn't that rather a depressing image when applied to seven- and eight-year-olds? A more apt metaphor might be Kindlings because kindling is definitely something you use at the start of the fire-building process. But then it would seem more appropriate to use for the youngest girls, now called Sparks, because after all they are little Kinder, likely in Kindergarten or possibly Grade 1; the former Brownies could then be the Sparks. Or Little Match Girls, maybe?
Guiding is all about positive role models for girls and women. The fire imagery might strike a little too close to the history of witches being burned at the stake, although witches and witchy wisdom also have the potential to be good role models.
I guess we'll see what happens in 2023.
The word "comet" has a lot of positive connotations for me. It suggests youthful energy and enthusiasm. That's not necessarily astronomically or even astrologically or ecclesiastically accurate but there you have it. Alternatively, one might associate it with Santa's fifth reindeer. Or how about an essential tool for Josephine the Lady Plumber? Of course, that reference would be lost on the average 7- to 8-year-old but we are, after all, trying to encourage more interest in the skilled trades, especially on the part of women. Though come to think of it, we don't necessarily want girls to feel that the only role they can aspire to is cleaning up the messes made by Joseph the Gentleman Plumber with his snakes and wrenches and puppy-dog tails.
In my entry of November 22, I did suggest continuing the fiery analogy begun with Sparks. I suppose Embers fills the bill on that. The problem is, embers (to me, at least) are usually what you find when a fire is dying down. Isn't that rather a depressing image when applied to seven- and eight-year-olds? A more apt metaphor might be Kindlings because kindling is definitely something you use at the start of the fire-building process. But then it would seem more appropriate to use for the youngest girls, now called Sparks, because after all they are little Kinder, likely in Kindergarten or possibly Grade 1; the former Brownies could then be the Sparks. Or Little Match Girls, maybe?
Guiding is all about positive role models for girls and women. The fire imagery might strike a little too close to the history of witches being burned at the stake, although witches and witchy wisdom also have the potential to be good role models.
I guess we'll see what happens in 2023.
