There's nothing like it. Somehow, the quiet tranquility of nature manages to become the perfect setting for the boisterous, hectic, and unremittingly silly atmosphere of camp life. At camp, kids are kings, so you either become student-...ahem...camper-centered, or get out of the way!
Growing up allergic to just about everything green, my allergies wouldn't allow me to spend more than a few hours in the great outdoors. So when I got older (and a hold of some Reactine), I made up for lost time by spending 7 years (!) working at summer camps.
As I learned the ins and outs of camp culture, I took on more responsibility from year to year, training, supervising, and evaluating new and experienced camp counsellors. I learned how to build community through fostering a strong bond between my counsellors, campers, and our camp as a whole. I made it a priority to work in partnership with my counsellors and campers to find ways to for each of them to take on leadership roles, opportunities that allowed them to build on their strengths and to work on their weaknesses in a positive, trusting, and non-judgmental context. I was also in constant communication with camp parents through telephone and email, and prepared individualized camper progress reports twice per session.
I found a mentor in Ginny Maxwell at Lochearn Camp for Girls, where she put her research into practice, teaching me about character education and, most memorably, how to care for homesick campers by providing them with a safe, supportive, and secure home away from home, even when said campers were initially very sure they wanted nothing to do with camp at all. I learned that when kids feel safe - to express their emotions, to make mistakes, to be themselves - they can grow and flourish and generally surprise you with what they will do, try, and succeed on their own. This heavily influenced the way I now welcome students who are not yet sure about their place in our learning community.
Growing up allergic to just about everything green, my allergies wouldn't allow me to spend more than a few hours in the great outdoors. So when I got older (and a hold of some Reactine), I made up for lost time by spending 7 years (!) working at summer camps.
As I learned the ins and outs of camp culture, I took on more responsibility from year to year, training, supervising, and evaluating new and experienced camp counsellors. I learned how to build community through fostering a strong bond between my counsellors, campers, and our camp as a whole. I made it a priority to work in partnership with my counsellors and campers to find ways to for each of them to take on leadership roles, opportunities that allowed them to build on their strengths and to work on their weaknesses in a positive, trusting, and non-judgmental context. I was also in constant communication with camp parents through telephone and email, and prepared individualized camper progress reports twice per session.
I found a mentor in Ginny Maxwell at Lochearn Camp for Girls, where she put her research into practice, teaching me about character education and, most memorably, how to care for homesick campers by providing them with a safe, supportive, and secure home away from home, even when said campers were initially very sure they wanted nothing to do with camp at all. I learned that when kids feel safe - to express their emotions, to make mistakes, to be themselves - they can grow and flourish and generally surprise you with what they will do, try, and succeed on their own. This heavily influenced the way I now welcome students who are not yet sure about their place in our learning community.