Yeah I was wondering too. I was like…the girl got it right!
How embarrassing for Dogzilla!
Doing his share to bring up another generation of women with justifiable disdain for mansplaining. 
Awesome… so their cheat sheet was wrong!
Note: regardless of my poor math skills (I would probably not pass the Grade 6 FCAT) and that of the Girl Scouts, I donated my change, which I was told would be given to the Ronald McDonald House. Fine by me.
Good Lord, do you have any idea how grating this is? (forget about your math skills) If that were me, I would’ve taken my kid and walked off.
My niece Facetimed me and sold me five boxes. Technology makes hitting up relatives so much easier than it was in my day! I’m not sure how I get the cookies though. I’m guessing another Facetime, where I can watch her eating them for me.
No, I had no idea how grating this is. The GS moms cooed and smiled and hushed and let me quiz their kids. They acted like they thought it was cool that a stranger would try to help the kids work on their math while using their sales skills too.
Apparently, I cannot multiply in my head and I’m a jerk. Now I know.
Obligatory Andy Rooney on Girl Scout cookies. “I like peanut butter and I like cookies, I’ve never liked peanut butter cookies.”
That poor poor little girl. You probably just destroyed all her confidence and now she’ll never raise her hand in class to answer questions which will lead to her terrible grades and because of those she’ll drop out at 16 and start hooking. But hey at least the GS taught her how to approach strangers asking them for money.
J/K I like your math quiz. It shows the girls they can have a nice conversation with a stranger and not be worried that every stranger is a stranger danger.
I like Dogzilla’s approach too, if not his multiplication skills.
I get hit up for cookies largely from girls I know. I always make them jump through a couple of hoops first, mainly by asking questions like “Why should I buy these cookies?” and “Why should I buy from you?” (I always buy 'em if I ask–if I already have 14 boxes I’ll just say no, thanks–but it’s clear that some of the kids haven’t ever thought about these questions, and selling your customer on your product, talking up its good points, is an important part of the process too.)
The best answer I got, or at least the most compelling for me (I was a math teacher at the time): “Because some of the money will go to help girls learn more about math and science. THAT’S why.” I bought an extra box just for that answer!
I actually work with someone who knows he’d better bring his kids’ order form into the office so he doesn’t piss us off.
I must confess that I don’t care a whit about Juliette Gordon Lowe or her vision. I just want cookies.
The Thin Mints are actually two servings. One sleeve = one serving. Samoas are indeed single-serving boxes.
Onions! Well, la-di-da! We’d have killed for something that decorative…
I went door to door on my own, in my ill-fitting uniform and undecorated sash. My style of selling was to knock incredibly lightly on the door, then shift from foot to foot while hoping no one would answer, and if someone did answer, I’d mumble, “You don’t want to buy any cookies, do you?” I was not the top seller. Thankfully, one of my mom’s co-workers asked her to bring cookies in when she found out I was a Girl Scout.
This is what my co-worker does. He makes the order form available, but his adorable daughters distribute the cookies and collect the money.
Most of the GS parents I’ve met will encourage the children to do the math (and count out the change) on their own.
I did learn valuable life lessons from the year I spent as a Girl Scout:
I hate uniforms.
I don’t like group activities all that much.
It’s fairly easy, if pointless, to weave a tiny mat to “sit upon”, but you can’t count on the adults leading your group to actually take you outside once it’s made, even though your brother gets to go on overnight hikes with the Boy Scouts.
Sales is not the occupation for me.
Boys got to do way cooler things than girls in the 70s.
When my girls were Scouts, I’d walk around the neighbourhood with them. Then I’d take the order form in to work for a day or two, and my wife did the same. (We weren’t actually allowed to sell things at work, but if I had a piece of paper lying on my desk and other people wanted to write on it…) When the cookies came in, I’d walk around the neighbourhood with the girls again, and then my wife and I would deliver cookies at work.
The usual places for the troops to set up tables here are in front of WalMart and the commissary.