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“Summer Camp is fun but when are you going to get a real job.” I have heard this or similar statements for years. From family to friends so many times I have been asked why I was wasting my time “having fun” instead of developing my resume or getting my name into professional fields. Even now as a director I still have some people ask “how long is this going to last before you get a good job.”
The culture we live in now pushes college-age kids towards the need to decide their futures as soon as they enter their university and in many cases before that. With that pressure comes the need to develop a career through each and every opportunity that they take. That means everything from classes they choose to summer employment needs to be directed towards an end goal of their job. We have made college a time that is no longer about discovering what you want to do for your future but merely a place to further your predetermined career aspirations. And in that culture, we have created the perception of a fun summer working with kids at summer camp just doesn't fit. The opinion still stands that summer camp will never prepare you for the ever-present “real world” that is waiting to devour unprepared young adults. I would like to offer a counter-argument to this idea. I may have some bias as a long time summer staffer and now a camp director but I have seen the impact of camp employment not just on me but on my friends who are involved in all aspects of the “real world.” This isn’t just something that I believe its something that people in cooperate America are realizing as well. Companies around the world are looking for camp counselors they just don’t know it yet. The skills that employers see as valuable are the same ones that camp staff are developing working with their co-workers and campers every day. Michael McCutcheon, a career coach at Wanderlust Careers in New York City, says "The great thing about overnight camp counselors is that they have actual, real, valuable skills, Like the ability to work with people from all sorts of backgrounds, the ability to hold the attention of antsy audiences, outside-the-box thinking." I don’t know when the last time you tried to entertain a group of 2nd graders with some construction paper, markers, and your own wit but I can tell you that it is a challenging experience. That's just one of the thousands of situations that summer staff deal with on a daily basis. The skills developed as a camp counselor are ones that translate to the “real world” because summer camp is a perfect example of the “real world.” Camp is a place that people of all different backgrounds and cultures come together and coexist with the guidance of the summer staff. If that doesn’t prepare a student for the world that we live in, I don’t know what else will. Staffers practice conflict resolution, communication, problem-solving, and working through exhaustion every day while keeping a very inattentive audience happy and entertained. So don’t let people tell you that “summer camp won’t prepare you for your future” or that “you need a real job this summer” tell them you will get that experience and more working at summer camp.
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In the age that we live in now, families are bombarded with different programs, schools, and systems that promise to teach their child how to be the best. Whether it is sports, school, or the arts, there is something out there that will get your kid to be the best at it. And as parents, I think that there is a hope that your child will succeed and be happy in whatever they choose to be “their thing.” One of the many options available to parents every summer is to have their children go to summer camp.
Summer Camp can be a scary decision to make if you are a parent. Your child will be away in someone else's care for at least the day if not a week or more. They will not have you around to help them or protect them, so the question arises “Is summer camp worth it?” To that, I say yes every time. Summer camp offers children a chance to discover what it is like to be themselves outside of their typical daily lives. They have an opportunity to develop new skills that may never have been needed or used before. When a camper arrives at summer camp, they instantly have been transported to a new environment where they quite possibly know no one. While this is a scary thought, it also allows them to decide who they want to be. They no longer are roped into whatever box they have when they are in school or at home, at camp they are whoever they decide to be. After this realization, they also now have to learn how to communicate with an entirely new set of peers and mentors. This creates a safe space for them to learn and develop their communication skills and make new friends in the process. Now with a new attitude and new friends, campers learn how to work as a team to accomplish tasks at camp whether that is physical tasks like a ropes course or social tasks like deciding how to interact with each other campers learn to work together. Overall summer camp when done correctly allows children to develop skills that will help them become well-rounded adults. My advice is to research your opportunities and to ask questions. Find a camp that your child will be interested in and you think is safe. Camp is a beautiful place for children to learn and make new friends all they have to do is show up. |
AuthorMy name is Eric Hearn I'm the director here at Camp GuilRock. I am just trying to share some wisdom I have gained in my years of working in camping ministry. Archives
April 2019
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