Before I was a counselor, I was a camper at Camp Sonshine for thirteen years—from the time I was four years old to the time I was sixteen years old. Over those thirteen years, I had a wide range of counselors who all seemed to have one thing in common: the desire to make camp about the campers. It wasn’t until years later, when I first became a counselor that I learned the motto for Camp Sonshine staff: “Camp is for the Campers.” This may seem as if it should be implied, but with the summer camp experience I had outside of Camp Sonshine, I’m rather sad to say that it isn’t. Counselors at the few other camps I attended seemed to care only about themselves, and they made that very clear with their negligent attitudes toward the campers.
So, we know that a bad camp counselor is a negligent camp counselor. Then what makes a good one? Through my experience as both camper and counselor, I have been able to narrow down a few attributes that make Camp Sonshine staff shine, as the name implies. First and foremost, a good camp counselor has to prioritize the safety of every camper that they are responsible for. In addition to that, a good camp counselor must connect with campers on an individual level, and, of course, lead by example. According to Steve Brenneman, my current boss and past counselor, who serves as the Wilderness Adventure Specialty Camp (WASC) Programmer, there are two types of camper safety that should be prioritized: physical and mental/emotional. The physical safety is fairly obvious. Keep the campers safe from anything that could physically harm them. That means surveying the area for potential hazards: bee hives, sharp glass, poison ivy, etc. (I list these hazards because I’ve unfortunately had to deal with all of them as a camper and a counselor, and they’re just not fun). In addition to scanning for hazards, it is important to visualize any potential hazards in order to launch a preemptive strike against any physical danger. I have found that putting myself in their position can really help me understand how I can prevent any incidents. I usually ask myself, “What can I, as a ten-year-old boy, do to be destructive?” and then I act accordingly. I think, “Hey, I think it’s a great idea to push little Johnny around a boiling pot of water over a fire!” and consequently, I move the handle away from the edge and make rules against horseplay around the fire. Mental/emotional safety is a little more abstract, but it is equally—if not more—important to ensuring a child has a good time at camp. In this instance, in addition to keeping campers physically safe, a good camp counselor must ensure that campers feel mentally and emotionally safe. Camp should be a place for campers to be themselves. Steve used to always tell me when I was a camper, and he still tells me now, that camp isn’t the school cafeteria; camp isn’t the local Boy Scout troop; camp isn’t about who is popular and who isn’t. Camp is about making everyone feel loved, appreciated, and accepted. This means that it is extremely important to really observe the overall dynamic of the group. If there is any semblance of bullying, it must be ended immediately. Since bullying is such an unfortunately common occurrence among children, setting a zero-tolerance policy right away and remaining strict about it can really ensure the mental and emotional safety of every camper. Once safety is ensured, it is important to build relationships with every camper individually. These one-on-one moments are the memories that will truly stick with the campers. The Director of Camp Sonshine, Kirk Carey, always says that children might not remember which activities they did in the future, but they will definitely remember how they felt when they were doing them. This idea can be applied to counselors too: campers may not remember all of the specifics about the counselors they have had throughout the years, but they will remember that a certain counselor made them feel special and important. Building this sense of importance requires an individual connection with a camper, and the best way to make a connection is to once again get down to the camper’s level. This means physically getting down to their height, so that they do not feel intimidated by someone standing over them, and it also means getting down to their level of interest. Getting down to their level of interest makes campers feel like what they are interested in is important and, therefore, that they are important. This skill is especially important when working with children with Asperger’s. (Stay tuned for an entire post on working with children with Asperger’s coming soon). It is easy to figure out their interests through a series of questions, such as “What do you like to do?” However, many children are not too quick to open up about their interests, so another great conversation starter that eventually yields an interest is “Okay then, what do you hate to do?” If the children share similar interests, an immediate bond is formed between the counselor and camper. If the counselor doesn’t know anything about the camper’s interests, there is a great opportunity to have them explain their interests, making them feel important. Another important aspect of being a good camp counselor is leading by example. In addition to following all of the rules set for counselors, it is important to follow the rules set for the campers themselves. If campers aren’t supposed to be talking while other counselors are talking, then it is important for counselors not to talk while other counselors are talking. Additionally, campers aren’t going to want to be themselves unless the counselor isn’t afraid to act in a way that makes the campers feel comfortable with being themselves. At Camp Sonshine, we say that counselors have to “rip up their cool card,” meaning, in the words of LMFAO, “Get Crazy, Get Wild!” (Those are the only lyrics from that song I’m going to quote because the rest definitely do not pertain to being a good camp counselor). Steve says it best when he says the following “When you become a camp counselor, you are walking into a world where these kids are going to be looking at everything you say and everything you do under a microscope. You can’t be fake with these kids. They know when you are being sincere or hiding behind a mask.” That being said, good camp counselors can’t pretend to commit to ripping up their cool cards, but must fully commit because the campers will see right through any ingenuine attitudes. Honestly, it’s okay to scream the words to Let It Go from “Frozen” while on an hour-long bus ride. It’s not going to lower the amount of likes you get on Instagram. After truly committing to ripping up your cool card, campers will see the real you and will feel more comfortable to be themselves, which really leads back to making them feel mentally and emotionally safe. Essentially, it’s all connected! Now, I know that was a lot of information (honestly, this might be an entire day of training), so I will bullet the main points again below. Good camp counselors do the following:
Until next time! Logan *Big thank you to Steve Benemann for helping me synthesize this information!*
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Logan DechterUniversity of Maryland student by fall and spring, camp counselor by summer. Archives
February 2018
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