Leader Ideas for Earning the Respect Authority Magenta Petal

Our Facebook leaders gave their advice:

We’ve included some patch suggestions to give to participants. See all our fun patches.

• Deb suggests: Your troop can go to a water park or public pool. Have a lifeguard lead a group discussion about different authority figures, water safety rules and why it’s important to follow them. Then play and swim for awhile putting respecting authority (lifeguards) into practice.  We did this at a small indoor water park in the middle of a cold midwest winter and the trip was a huge hit.
  
• Brittany shared: We made little charts and cut outs of authority figures for the girls to place under the correct heading. Mom goes under “home,” teacher under “school” and police officer under “community “, etc.
  
• Mary Beth responded: We used sidewalk chalk to draw a town on the playground. Different places such as the police station, fire station, church and library were included. We then had a discussion about the proper way to speak with each type of person we would encounter in the different buildings. The girls then role played conversations they could have with those people while showing them respect. It was an easy way of accomplishing the petal without taking a field trip.
  
• Courtney shared what her troop did: A couple who are both veterans own and operate a restaurant in our town. The wife is the first female Marine to get her gold wings for jumping from planes. Prior to that, female Marines weren’t permitted to jump. She spoke with our girls about flag etiquette and respecting the flag. We went to the restaurant on the weekend of Veteran’s Day. The girls handed out cards to every veteran at the restaurant that day and thanked them for their service. They earned three patches that day including the Respect Authority petal, Flag etiquette, and Honoring Our Veterans. You can reach out to a local American Legion hall and see if they would allow your troop to visit. You can also ask if they will put you in touch with a veteran willing to teach the girls about respecting the flag. A female veteran would be even better.
  
• Tabitha’s troop also reached out to the military: We had a former female army member come to our meeting. She also taught the girls how to respect the flag and fold it.
  
• Danielle suggested: We took our troop to a dojo for a karate lesson and incorporated the Respect Myself and Others petal in addition to the Respect Authority petal.
  
• Ashley, Elizabeth and Jen all suggested visits from school officials: The principal, vice principal, librarian or art teacher may be willing to visit with scout troops.
  
• Tracy incorporated games from her childhood: We played Red Light, Green Light and Mother, May I? at our meeting. The girls could also plant flowers and give them to teachers or moms.
  
• Terri also thought of several visitors that could help: Lifeguards, teachers, principals, coaches, CEOs, COOs and forest rangers.
  
• Lauren shared: We asked a local police officer to come to our meeting and speak with the girls.
  
• Linda had another suggestion: Any adult can be considered authority and just teach the girls about respect.