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Want a meaningful summer?
I wonder what life would contain if everyone on Earth lived
in a cabin with eight others, in a community that laughed
and sang together… if everyone had the opportunity
to test their mind, body and spirit on a three-day hiking
trip… if everyone lived under the principles of honesty,
caring, responsibility and respect.* What if everyone had
the opportunity to go to camp?
The American Camping Movement contains, through
its hundreds of programs, the best source for finding a 'match'
to the needs of each young person. American camping has evolved
from a few exclusive boys' camps at the end of the 1800s to
a flourishing industry, with hundreds of sites offering a
smorgasbord of themes.
Wet your appetite? American Camps offer a whole
spectrum of experiences available in a finite amount of time
(between 1-8 weeks) without the social and academic pressures
of school. They offer the opportunity for positive social
interactions with peers and adults, structure and clear limits,
physical activity, creative expression, competence and achievement,
self-definition and self-esteem.
Selecting a camp amongst those available is
a daunting task. With it be a 'theme' camp, such as weight-loss,
diabetes, learning disabilities, gifted, computer, sports,
music, theatre, and the like. Or, co-ed camp (boys and girls
around the same lake, for instance)! Maybe travel camp, biking
camp - the choices are many and varied.
One of the most exciting movements in camping
is Experiential Camp, or learning through doing. By definition,
camp is experiential. Those focused on experiential camping
carry out their underlying principles by targeting a deepened
development and maturity of each student. Students often grapple
with political and cultural issues, as well as their own abilities
to understand themselves as individuals, and as members of
disparate groups. Some experiential camps offer programs in
enhancing volunteerism through Community Service, developing
and enhancing leadership skills, and learning to utilize personality
creativity.
One experiential program offers hands-on experience,
building a living, breathing democracy created and implemented
by teenagers joined with adult staff. It is an 'in your face'
practical and realistic community/village built upon the timeless
processes of 'Mutual Aid', cooperative decision-making, conflict
and problem resolution, bonding together as a group force,
'ownership' of the created village, personal empowerment tempered
by structure, and standards imposed by the group design. The
individual is honoured for their dedication to building and
maintaining a realistic community.
There are several underlying principles, one
is that young people, aged 14-18, can and do make thoughtful
decisions when given the opportunity and the information vital
to do so. Adult Staff treat Villagers with respect, trust
and acceptance. Work is a source for developing as a human
being. Villagers learn effective ways to work. In the area
of human relations, Villagers learn personal and group responsibilities.
They also learn about leisure time, and how to make constructive
choices as a source for enjoying oneself.
T.E.E.N.S. Democracy Project offers all of this,
giving Villagers many choices in their day: culinary arts,
theatre, music, chorus, photography, community service, woodworking,
graphic arts, journalism, social research, farm work, office,
retail sales (craft store) and the like. Every workshop utilizes
much planning, so the goals set by the students and staff
are attainable and challenging.
Camps are an exciting environment to be part
of. Young people come from all over the world, often from
differing cultures, with the opportunity to design and implement
a realistic self-governing village in 6-8 weeks, based on
democratic principles, as a thriving creation.
What about a 'Utopian' place with practiced
ideals like Mutual Aid, tools for resolving and dealing with
differences of culture and opinion? How about a 'Utopia' that
turns work into a solid source of pride, productivity and
recreation into more than just fun? How about a place to be
with others without fear of failure or criticism? What about
this 'Utopia', comprised of teenage females and males who
share in the responsibilities and joys of creating and living
in a bonded group composed of disparate individuals.
What if everyone made the opportunity to go
to camp?
*Adapted from 'Camping Magazine'.
Author
Ms. Avie Kalker
Project Director
T.E.E.N.S. Democracy Project
Western Massachusetts/New York State
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