Summer Camp Culture

[elizabethrsimmons]

Teamwork is a big theme throughout the camp community. Camp encourages kids to use their skills and knowledge to work in teams. Team-building is one of the keys to success through personal growth and cooperation of others. Just as kids are expected to learn how to be a functioning member of society, kids are encouraged to work well with others in order to be a functional member of camp.  

The high and low ropes courses are usually the main providers of team-building activities, but team-building is practiced all throughout camp.

[elizabethrsimmons]

The Bubble

            The kids who come to camp are from multiple different communities and backgrounds, but they are accepted into the camp community with a “clean slate.” We have kids from inner city areas that have never learned how to swim due to little access to pools and we have kids from very wealthy areas that have multiple resources at home. A child’s background is never the focus of discussion. Previous inequalities are forgotten in an attempt to promote social equality throughout the whole camp. Camp itself is isolated from the rest of the world, but the moral values of our culture are still practiced and encouraged.

            Camp holds four core values, which have been designated by the association that we are under. The four core values include respect, honesty, responsibility, and caring. Each value has its own color and is taught and practiced throughout the week. If there is conflict between campers, the main resolution method uses the discussion of these core values in order to help campers be able to resolve conflict on their own in the future, or to act accordingly to avoid such conflict.

            Though camp is its own “bubble,” the values of our society are still practiced in order to better prepare kids for adult life. 

[elizabethrsimmons]

Camp Counselor Moments

Those moments that camp counselors all know about!

As one of my assignments for this blog, I’m really meant to reblog a post from another person that relates to my topic, but it is proving fairly difficult. So, I’m going to share with you this entire blog because I think it’s relevant. As I’ve stated before, the camp community produces individuals with strong bonds as well as memories or connections.

            This entire blog is about camp moments and though each camp experience is different, I can still laugh at most of these. The camp culture is one, which I feel,  individuals carry with them for the rest of their lives. Though you may not be from the same camp as another, you can still bond over common moments that occur at virtually any camp.

            We recently had someone transfer from another camp, who had already been there for weeks, but he is fitting right in because of how similar the culture is across the board with most summer camps.

            The composition of this blog is really great. It’s easy for me to relate to because I’ve experienced almost every moment mentioned here. This just goes to show how strong of an influence camp communities have on the individual. 

[elizabethrsimmons]

Hands of Peace

        This recent article details the formation of a summer camp program in order to foster understanding between two groups. It is important to give kids and teens a safe place to be able to discuss serious issues that relate to them. This camp was formed after the events of 9/11 in order to promote peace.The summer camp is designed to give Palestinian and Israeli teens an opportunity to discuss significant events in the world and themselves with each other in order to promote peace between the two groups. The camp also welcomes teens of similar descent to discuss such events. 

        I had never heard of a summer camp of this nature, but it seems very beneficial to our growing culture. It is important to teach our youth to be able to work out their differences and I think that a summer camp setting is welcoming enough to allow kids to fully express themselves

The link to the article is here: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-02-12/news/ct-tl-ns-0704-winnetka-peace-picnic-20130701_1_north-shore-teenagers-gretchen-grad-palestinians. 

[elizabethrsimmons]

   The Opening Campfire.         

        The idea of being sent away to spend a week with a bunch of strangers is terrifying to a kid, but perfectly normal for a summer camp. Parents ship their kids off to spend a week in a cabin with 10 other kids and 2 adults who are meant to look after them. The whole camp is meant to contain around 200 kids, which are pretty intimidating. The very first day is a day of introduction where kids and staff will play name games and ice breakers in order to help kids adjust to the new environment. After all the introductions are done and the sun has finally set, then we all gather for the opening campfire. The opening campfire is one of the biggest events of the week. Counselors and support staff put on a huge show for kids with singing and silly skits as a welcome into the community.

            In any other environment, singing songs about a dead moose while wearing a chicken suit would be totally insane, but in the camp community you are accepted as you are. Though we all come from different backgrounds, we all bond over the experiences of summer camp. 

[elizabethrsimmons]

My Camp

          There are multiple different types of camps, but I've only ever experienced one. The growing popularity in specialized one-week camps has lead to the decline in popularity in traditional residential camps. Specialized camps include soccer, science, and girl/boy scout camps. Most parents, when sending their kids away, are aiming for their child to come back with some sort of skill that has been improved. There are also multiple day camps which are usually a parent's form of childcare for the summer as opposed to an offered experience. 

          I will admit that I am biased, but there is a huge difference between a residential camp and a day or specialized camp. Kids and staff are allowed and encouraged to form lasting bonds as well as experience and share their own personal cultures. Whether you have only been here for a week or you are here for the full nine weeks, you are sure to make at least one good friend. 

[elizabethrsimmons]

Intro

Hi, my name is Elizabeth Simmons and I've created this blog as a project for my Sociology class this summer. I'm enrolled in Soc111, Summer 2014, with Professor Yeager. I've never actually kept up with a blog where I've had to post my own thoughts in detail, so this will be a new experience. 

My subject for this topic is the culture that evolves within a summer camp setting. I currently work in the health center where I am a certified medical technician as well as on of the behavior specialists. I have been at this camp for 10 years, 6 years on staff and 4 as a camper. I've been in the position of a camper as well as a counselor. The culture that evolves here is one that is difficult to translate into the outside world. 

We have staff and campers that come from all over the world to spend up to 9 weeks here. All of the staff spend 11 weeks total in this location with few ways to communicate to the outside world. The campers can come here for up to 9 weeks if their parents allow.

I may seem like a short time, but we eat, sleep, and breathe this camp 24/7 with the exception of time off, which is only about 36 hours a week. 

I have left here after some summers and found it difficult to communicate to others what this experience it like. So, with this blog I am sharing my experiences as a way to provide some insight to this particular situation. 

Feedback is welcome!