Tina's Reflection
Now that summer camp is coming to a close, explain 3 key takeaways from the experience? How will you apply it in the future?
With summer camp coming to a close, here are my three main takeaways:
The first takeaway is that it is unfortunately impossible to be kind and considerate towards all campers. For the first half of the camp, I tried hard to be a “good cop” counsellor, prioritizing classroom safety while neglecting respect for the camp and myself from the campers. I realized that the only way to achieve both of these is to be firm with my counsellors and be the “bad cop.” With my second main takeaway, I would say that when it comes to kids, talking to each kid individually in a classroom setting especially is not the way to go. Setting boundaries and telling when you can or cannot talk with them is super important, as giving specific kids attention during a lesson could impede the quality of the lesson as a whole as well as exhaust you as the counsellor. My last main takeaway from camp is that if the counsellor is not being enthusiastic or having fun during camp sessions, the kids will easily feed off of that energy. Exhibiting a positive energy while still keeping the campers grounded is the best camp environment for success.
Describe one of the biggest challenges you faced, how you overcame it, and what you learned from it.
The biggest challenge I faced as a counsellor was being able to command a classroom full of attention-seeking campers. As somebody who likes giving attention and coddling kids who yearn for it in general, it was hard rejecting most of these mini side requests from campers throughout camp, as I knew I had to focus on delivering the camp curriculum to the best of my ability. It was also a challenge for me to be more assertive to command volunteers as well for a better supported camp environment for the campers, as I noticed I was more shy with that in the first week or two of camp. Thankfully, it all worked out in the end – I was able to open up and be more assertive with both campers and volunteers.
To close off the term on a high note, what were 3 highlights from your time at U+?
On a positive note there are also many positive highlights from my experience this summer. Here are three:
First off, I met many other individuals who shared the same level of thrill I had at U+- be it with uni coops, highschool hires, or even volunteers. We all shared a common experience, which was dealing with kids. Being able to recall stories with kids we have worked with together has always been such a lovely catch-up with my colleagues. It shows that our experience with the kids is not dead yet, allowing us to be more reflective on certain behaviors we found interesting. It could sometimes turn out bittersweet even when we would make connections to our personal lives, based on all of the student behaviours we witnessed together as a team at U+. It is truthfully the ability to connect the dots with other staff that made this experience so much more lovely. Second, I feel lucky to have gotten the opportunity to create a S.T.E.A.M – based Activity Book for U+ from scratch as a side project. Being the sole author for the project felt challenging, but near the end, I felt a rush of joy when I realized what I have been working on. I don’t think I would be able to be granted such a fun project anywhere else. I was able to explore my style of textbook formatting, as well as curriculum planning. Lastly, the last highlight I must mention is meeting the kids. Through my experience at both GPS and summer camp, I was able to build meaningful bonds with campers – not only did they learn a lot from me and the camp curriculum, but I surely learned a lot from them as well.
What is some advice/tip that you would offer to future staff?
A huge piece of advice from me to all future staff is to not be afraid to treat the classroom as your own little kitchen. As an analogy, feel free to use whatever ingredients you choose, as you must realize that as the counselor of the class, you are the one in control – so you are the one that figures out what is best for the campers and what is the best way to deliver the camp curriculum tailored to your own campers needs. Sometimes versatility is very important in a classroom, but before achieving versatility, one must be comfortable with the idea of being versatile in such a setting. Once you feel more versatile and creative with the way you deliver the camp curriculum, it also becomes easier to lay out all the general yet most important classroom rules to your campers.
Please nominate someone who deserves the employee of the month award and explain why briefly. You can nominate more than one person.
I nominate Annabel. She ran the volunteer appreciation event as well as the LEGO Robotics workshop very smoothly on top of managing her own classroom at camp.
