camp family during their school years headcanons
camp fam in their school years headcanons
camp fam study habits/revision techniques hcs here (gosh i remember writing this to deal with the stress gcses put me through XD)
Darius:
before Nublar, he loves school. he’s focused, well behaved, and does well in basically everything (except sports and languages. those are his achilles heels. he’s never been naturally good at languages and he’s not remotely sporty). teachers tell him he’s a pleasure to have in class and sit him next to disruptive students so they aren’t tempted to talk to others
he does have a tendency to get... distracted though. he races through his classwork so he can read his dinosaur books. he scribbles facts about them in the margins. any homework he can relate to dinosaurs somehow, He Will
slightly shy around teachers because They Are Authority and he always got a little flustered talking to them
he skips third grade (year 4) and stays a grade ahead until Nublar and is a solid A standard student throughout elementary and most of middle
he gets bullied quite a bit in middle school, and he likes it a lot less than elementary. he doesn’t want to tell his family about the bullying because of shame, but Brand finds out (older brother magic) and makes sure Darius knows he’s there for him if he needs
when his dad dies, he starts to struggle, handing in homework late, paying less attention, trying less hard. his teachers are mostly understanding, though he does have a few who are nasty
Nublar drastically changed his school experience. he’s unbalanced and nervous and anxious around everyone. people bully him, but mostly behind his back. they’re afraid of the way he disappeared for most of the year and came back completely different
since he was a grade ahead already, he repeats eighth grade (year 9)
he’s a lot less friendly and doesn’t talk to people unless he has to. he eats lunch alone, keeps to himself in lessons. he’s ten times more shy and anxious around teachers than he ever was because he cannot trust authority figures after Nublar
the rest of middle school sucks for him, and he begs his mum to let him be homeschooled. she really wants to, and really considers it, but his therapist tells him he needs to keep working on being in the wider world and around people. it’s harsh, but true
he goes to a different high school than most people in middle school to kinda have a fresh start
high school is kinda neutral for him. it’s not terrible but it’s not amazing either. again, he keeps to himself, but he has a few friends (and Kenji for the minimal time they overlap)
he does history and geography as his social studies and very high level maths and science classes like ap algebra and calculus
participates in the science fair a couple of times, and turns in some really impressive grades in the sciences, especially biology. otherwise he’s a solid A-B student
in senior year, he starts working at the DPW, and after a few months, he tells his mum he wants to drop out of school and do it full time. she absolutely Will Not Let Him. she insists he will struggle without a high school diploma and he says he already has his speaking and the DPW job
nevertheless, he graduates high school with honours
probably has a 4.0 gpa, if not a 4.1–4.3
i have no clue what a valedictorian is but i think it’s a super smart person so that’s probably Darius. he’s gonna be the... velociraptor! /ref (the good place)
Brooklynn:
homeschooled almost her whole life pre Nublar because she has to move around for her dads’ work. she leaves mainstream school after first grade and goes through several online tutors
when she becomes an influencer, she has to work really hard keeping on top of her schoolwork because she’s already technically working a full-time job. it becomes really stressful for her and she starts to detest school
Yaz and Sammy’s conversation on Nublar (in s2) prompts Brooklynn to ask the others about what school is like, and since then, she’s determined to get off the island so she can experience real school. everyone else thinks she’s bonkers but she is insistent
since she’s already pretty smart, she decides to go straight into eighth grade (year 9) even though she missed basically all of seventh (year 8). she catches up fine
and she actually quite likes school! ...eventually. it’s like watching a newborn deer walking for the first time and keeping falling over
she really has no idea what she’s doing, so she just keeps looking around trying to work out what everyone else is doing
her impression of high school is stuff like Mean Girls and Heathers (and all of disney channel). so she comes basically prepared for war. to her shock, everyone is more or less normal
and that genuinely helps her mental state, being around normal-ish people in small-town Pennsylvania (where she and her dads move to after Nublar) helps her develop something of a new normal
goes batshit on the extracurriculars. she’s so excited by everything, she’s willing to try basically anything. she cycles around a lot before realising she likes debate club
also gets heavily involved in the school newspaper until she becomes too busy with her actual reporting
she likes eighth grade, but by high school, the excitement wears off a little
undiagnosed adhd makes her really struggle, but she’s only just functional enough for it not to be a problem
she does her homework on video call with one of the camp fam, usually Darius or Ben
as soon as she can, she stops doing maths and the sciences. she hates them and would much rather be doing essays. she does government as her social study, and idk what electives there are but she probably does stuff like sociology, journalism, and computer science
solid B student but ranges heavily from A-C
gpa of around 3.4
Yaz:
never really likes elementary or middle school. she doesn’t get along well with most people in her class because they find her weird and standoffish, and she also faces a lot of racism from her classmates and teachers (her elementary and middle schools are very majority white)
in elementary, she’s always been a fast runner and does very well in pe (physical education, idk what you guys call it in the states) but in middle school, her talent is recognised and she started training much more seriously
her schoolwork standard start to drop, and she becomes a solid C student. her mum isn’t massively happy with this, but her track coaches persuade her that Yaz has strong potential and won’t even need school if she made it to national/international competitions
so Yaz mostly stops trying in school
after Nublar, Yaz’s track career is all but finished. her ankle is permanently disabled and her ptsd makes it so hard to run without flashbacks or anxiety. not to mention months of chronic malnutrition and dehydration weakened her body. so she takes a year out of any running at all
she starts junior year, and that’s when she starts actually focusing on her schoolwork — and she gets really into it. her slightly obsessive nature is redirected into her schoolwork, and she does extremely well in sophomore year, bringing her up to B and even A grades
does arty electives all throughout high school; her track coaches discourage it, but she insists, and loves it even more after Nublar
she really loves taking government as her social study, and she’s pretty good at geometry. she’s overall good at all her subjects (except english. she can’t stand english)
does model UN and surprisingly enjoys it
she starts doing track again in junior year, but she is very careful on her ankle and does it more for fun
she only just finishes her finals before the dinosaurs come back. she has three weeks of peace. she does not celebrate finishing high school in the slightest; she doesn’t even go to her graduation, and her mum gets her diploma from the principal on her behalf
Sammy:
has always loved school. she’s an extremely sociable person, and she loves being around so many people
every break time and lunchtime, Sammy always gets a group of friends together to play games — pirates, safari explorers, townsfolk, she’s done it all
her mama sends her to school with homemade snacks and empanadas, and after school she goes home to her ranch and has playdates with her friends
for her, elementary school is mostly lovely
she’s also an extremely enthusiastic student right up until Nublar. she may not always be the top of her class but damn if she isn’t giving 100% of her effort and putting glittery stickers on her schoolwork
teachers love her. she’s very nice and polite to them
her impression of middle/high school was very much disney channel influenced XD and part of her anticipated a lot of singing (high school musical), so she joins musical theatre and does that all throughout middle and high school
gets soooo involved in extracurriculars. she tries as many clubs as she can,and really enjoys arts-type clubs
through sheer hard work, she’s a strong student, usually getting Bs with the occasional A and C. her gpa generally drifts around the high 2s–early 3s
loses love for school after Nublar. she ends up missing the camp fam badly, and her mental health struggles. she goes through periods of latching onto various school friends and spending all her time with them because she does not know how to be alone, eventually getting rejected by those she tried to be close with, and it really damaged her self esteem. that definitely contributed to her abandonment issues in chaos theory
with growing apart from her family, friends rejecting her, the camp fam miles away, and mental health issues she never gets adequate support for, high school ends up being really difficult and honestly not that fun
the highlight of every school holiday is getting to see the camp fam
Brooklynn persuades her to take up something in extracurriculars, and Sammy’s always wanted to be a cheerleader, so she gives that a go
the cheerleaders are so mean to her though, she decides to quit. she tells herself she wasn’t that good anyway (which is a lie, she was amazing)
if it weren’t for Nublar (and the consequential mental health crash all throughout high school) messing up her gpa, she would probably have been valedictorian, or at least a strong contender
Kenji:
until Nublar, he goes to private schools all his life
actually does try hard in elementary. his father drills the importance of education into him, but his undiagnosed ADHD makes it hard for him to pay attention, and teachers often tell him off for messing around
even when Kenji gets decent grades and tries his best, his dad is really dismissive and brushes him off
one day, Kenji brings home an A in a spelling test he worked really hard for, and all his dad says is “oh that’s nice” and eight year old Kenji comes to the realisation that his dad will never be happy with him, so he might as well not try. it’s easier that way, right?
from then on (third grade) he stops caring about his schoolwork. he doodles in the margins instead of listening. he plays pranks instead of doing his homework. he plays playground games all of lunchtime and complains when the teacher tells him to do... basically anything
his father starts telling him off for not paying attention, but Kenji doesn’t forget how he never seems to care when he does do well, and the endless lectures just become noise
he stays a slacker with pretty consistency D-F grades, until after Nublar when he’s adopted by the Bowmans. he has a new start, and with more discipline finally ironed into him, he decides he really wants to try harder
it’s not easy though. he spent so much of his school years just... not trying. so he’s way behind where he needs to be. even with a tutor, and Simone, Brand and Darius all helping Kenji with his homework, it’s difficult
the day he gets his first C is a joyful one. he starts crying with joy and pride and Simone and Darius hug him so tight. he finally feels like he’s worked for something
he’s average at most things, and finally works out how to do algebra, but none of it comes naturally
he also joins a couple of extracurriculars. he tries several sports, from basketball to hockey to football (*through gritted teeth...* also known as... soccer)
it’s a long uphill slope from starting junior year to ending senior year, but he graduates. it’s one of the proudest days of his life. there’s a million photos of him in his graduation cap and gown being hugged by and/or posing with Simone, Brand, Darius, and the camp fam (they all went to see him graduate) (this was only just before the dinosaurs came back)
Ben:
in kindergarten, he absolutely hates school. it’s too loud and scary and the children keep talking to him, and his mum comes to pick him up early. she gets in contact with several child psychologists who give him a lot of support in school
first grade becomes easier, but Ben has to take a lot of sick days. he’s always been a frail child, and school was essentially swimming in germ soup for him
he’s very quiet, well behaved, a pleasure to have in class. in later elementary, teachers also put him next to the disruptive kids
he spends his break and lunchtime reading books in the library. he’s besties with the librarian
the kind of person who’s besties with teachers and chats to them more than his classmates (lol this was me most of secondary. i was a loser
academically pretty good, especially at english and the sciences
sucks at sports, gets picked last for every team. too well behaved to skip classes so he just suffers through it
in middle school, his mental health starts to worsen, and school becomes more of a challenge. it eventually gets to the point he’s having panic attacks daily and often has to go home early. his mum worries again, but therapy doesn’t help Ben this time
he is definitely in choir in middle school, but stops in freshman year and never rejoins after Nublar
when he comes back in sophomore year, people are terrified of him. he’s a whole new Ben that is ten times more dangerous. he gets almost high off the feeling of being so feared and respected
on his first day back, his old bullies try to pick on him again and he just flat out punches them in the face. he’s sent home early but it was so worth it. no one picks on him again for the rest of high school
an awed, intrigued whisper follows him through the corridors for the first month he’s back, but people get used to him eventually
he’s very nonchalant in terms of school for the first few months. he thinks he’s invincible, and as long as he can defeat dinosaurs, school doesn’t matter. but one of his teachers starts to worry and alerts the school guidance counsellor, who explains to him that he’ll need a good gpa to go to university and get any kind of job to support himself. that does worry Ben because he really does want to be independent when he’s older, so he puts more effort into his schoolwork
that’s it though, he won’t do any extracurricular activities. he is not going to prom (his mum makes him go anyway). he wanders off during pe lessons. he has to be dragged kicking and screaming to pick electives. he thinks school is pointless, and won’t participate any more than he has to
will do biology and chemistry but only for his paleontology degree he wants to do at university (former) or to set shit on fire (latter)
in high school, he spends his break and lunch sitting on the roof looking down at everyone. he manages not to get caught until the end of junior year when he almost gets expelled for repeatedly stealing the keys to the roof. he manages not to get expelled somehow but he can’t climb on the roof anymore and instead wanders around the edges of the school grounds, feeling trapped
his gpa is a struggling, coughing 2.6 (around that range). he mostly gets Cs. he’s smart at biology since it kind of interests him, but nothing else
adaptations suggested by @sparkshock thanks diva!!