The Longest Week of my Life

Whenever I have a job that is hard I simply get by knowing that at least for the rest of my life things will be that much easier. Otherwise I'd go insane. I believe the main reason this was so incredibly crazy was because Adam and I actually did our jobs extremely well. Call me stuck up, but considering the circumstances, and the things we accomplished, we really were the best candidates for the job. It got to the point where I would stop and think, "Woa, I just performed a miracle."
We were briefed before hand that we would basically be their mothers for a week and we would have to handle almost everything. This is not an embellishment. Not to mention this is the first time away from home for all of them. And we had no experience working w/ children. That being the case how did Adam and I get sucked into this? through circumstances which I consider unfair. The options were; work in camp or go home. Now I would not have minded at all- had we been getting paid. But that's a bitterness I'll keep to myself.
Needless to say we did not do a half-job at all. We were given a duty and we took it w/ full force. Not having any actual experience w/ kids I drew from what made sense to me and what I remember my parents doing and what they taught me about discipline. I also recalled effective teachers I've had and the methods they used to keep us in line. Discipline and behavior are a staple to the success of the camp. The main point is to have fun but this only happens is every one shows the proper respect. A few methods I used from what I know from growing up were:

• No means No. Especially w/ small children. You say no once and make it known that you do not say it again.
• You do not owe the kids an explanation. At times telling them the reason (w/ older kids) will make them more co-operative in which case I'll give the reason. However, if they ask "why" right off the bat, I will simply reply that it's because I said so.
• No talk-backs. I see it all the time. As soon as a kid is allowed to argue or voice his opposition ("go from the kitchen" "but I....") he is elevated to the same level as the counselor, it turns into an argument, and nothing gets done. Instead I cut them of before they speak ("You can't be up it's lights out" "oh but I wanna-" "I didn't ask for an explanation..."). They continue for a few tries to get a word in, but simply standing firm and shutting them down will have them give up. It's almost like it shocks them that they can't argue w/ you. So they simply do whatever they are supposed to do.
  
• Don't forget about rewards! It's now all about the firm authority. Suppress the bad but bring out the good. I dished out prizes here and there, icee-pops, a party, and at the last night a runaway. When a kid is doing a good job, say so!
  
• Always hold to your word. Even more so when others hear you. Kids are not stupid. They know how to manipulate, they know who's buttons they can push and how, and they know how to get around what they want. One 6th grader flat out told me that he didn't care that the counselor "took 10 minutes off the activity" since he knew he'd wind up not missing anyway. Also the old, "Well if your good I'll think about not making you sit out." Lethal. The kids know full well it's just a pansy excuse for not carrying it out. When you give a punishment you must carry it out. It's hard. I hate having a kid sit out. I really do. But when you lay down the rules and they break them you must show little tolerance. To many times I hear staff say "If you do that again.." because the kids learn that it doesn't matter and you lose control. Obviously if the kid didn't know that's a different story. But for example I made it very clear that anyone climbing through a window would sit out 15min. Lo-and-behold someone did. I had to take it off. The little kid of 7 began to tear up and and say he forgot and never do it again, but I had to simply tell him that I made the rules and stop arguing. I really wanted to let it slide, but you can't.
  
• Be their boss but be their friend. Talk to them, joke w/ them, be cool. But be careful. You still have to maintain authority. For example in the room I was really cool w/ the kids, but no one was allowed on the counselor's bed. I would wrestle w/ the boys too, but again, I would never let them beat me.
  
• Every kid is different. All the above has to be slightly tailored for every kid. They all respond differently.
• When teaching, drop the classroom approach. It sucks. I was given a class that was supposed to be the most rambunctious. They don't shut-up, they don't sit still. Others would have thought the solution is to force them to sit still, don't talk, but the actual case is these kids have a different method of attention. To concentrate they must remain kinesthetic. Let them doodle, let them shift in their seats, they need too. Obviously draw the line. and be interesting. Don't bore them to death like a factory-made teacher, be creative. Get them involved! My class of "hard kids" has wound up being known as one of the best classes in camp.
• Keep a system, especially for night. Every night each kid got a shower according to an order I made, and every kid brushed their teeth, in the same order every night. Eventually, they just did it themselves!
• Lastly, before anything, lay out the ground work. Kids are not mindless. Sit them down and firmly explain that they will have fun, that you will be really cool and nice, and they will get stuff. But let them know what you expect, and make it clear that you do not tolerate misbehavior. They will have a good time only if everyone works together and is respectful. Do that, and your problems are halved.
  

Following these rules I found that I had to punish very little and reward quite often. The kids quickly learned they could not find loop-holes and instead behaved. Therefore I hardly had to worry about punishments because I was consistent and the kids knew it. Toward the end of camp I was able to, w/out a word, just give a look and/or a point and the child knew exactly what he was meant to do because we had a system. We therefore maximized our fun by minimizing the tolerance for disrespect which minimized time wasted arguing. And so my kids had the best first year of camp they could possibly have had. Throughout the whole period, they did not call home yet not one camper was homesick.

More details about the thrills and perils of camp to come...