From Thin Mints to manners

Lydian Green, a senior at Memorial High School, taught elementary-school children etiquette lessons and earned a Girl Scout Gold Award.

The majority of people immediately think “cookies” when they hear the words “Girl Scouts.” I was in that majority when I joined as a Brownie. As I grew, my goals began to shift from “sell the most cookies” to “make a difference in my community.” I would read in publications like The Memorial Buzz about people shaping our Houston community into something even greater, and I thought to myself, “I want to do something like that.” By the time I became eligible to earn my Gold Award, that drive to make a difference was there.

Since I was a small child myself, I have wanted to work with children, so I knew my project would center around kids. I had the idea of teaching etiquette in an international world. I worked with fourth and fifth grade girls at Cedar Brook Elementary and taught lessons on diversity, food etiquette, writing thank-you letters, introductions and more. For example, one topic, phone etiquette, emphasized the importance of not being glued to one’s cell phone, and how to speak on the phone, which is something many people who have grown up texting and emailing struggle with. We had a guest speaker, Mr. Steve Benwell, who travels overseas for business regularly. Before my first day working with the girls, I was fairly nervous; I had previously worked with this age group through tutoring and babysitting, but never this many on my own.

“What if they have so much energy we never get anything done, or if they have no energy and don’t want to participate?” were some of the thoughts that crossed my mind. None of these fears came true, though; the girls were extremely respectful and attentive, eager to learn and participate. I enjoyed not just teaching them, but discussing with them. That is one thing I love about working with children, hearing their perspectives on things, their unique thoughts and opinions.

It was a wonderful experience to be a leader in something I created and had a passion for. I am extremely grateful to the Girl Scout Council, Ms. Marianela Amaya from Cedar Brook, and Sally Reynolds for all their help.

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