Staff training tips.

As the summer of 1996 approaches and directors begin to think about staff orientation and training, I would like to share some of the tips and insights I gathered from my work with camps during 1995.

Number one resource - staff

The staff is a camp's single greatest resource. Whatever your program, philosophy, or beliefs about children, your success will only be as great as your staff is strong, committed, and "on board." Unless you have taken steps with your staff to develop trust, to involve them in planning the program, and to give them opportunities to learn and practice skills, you may find that your camp is not as able to "give kids a world of good" as you might want.

Two great activities

Counselors have identified two activities as being most valuable during orientation. The responses of about 2,000 counselors who participated in an informal survey I conducted during the summer of 1995 indicate that counselors benefit from icebreakers and exercises that are fun, allow them to get to know one another, and give them a repertoire to use with the campers. As long as these activities are inclusive, promote teamwork by minimizing competition, and are fun, the staff keeps its morale high and has a better attitude toward sessions that require greater concentration. These activities also help prepare staff members for the other exercise they found most useful during orientation: role playing true-life scenarios involving campers or other staff.

Role playing is a highly effective way to teach skills. It familiarizes staff members with the kinds of challenges they will face, avoiding the shock that new and foreign counselors often encounter as the summer unfolds. Role playing also helps staff develop a sense of readiness by giving them an opportunity to practice skills that may be new, unfamiliar, or even counter-intuitive. Spending time on this type of endeavor is a valuable activity for you and your staff, but role playing can only be successful if the proper guidelines are followed. Keep in mind:

* Role playing means exposing yourself in front of other staff. Trust needs to exist or people will not feel comfortable enough to take this risk. To establish a culture that allows for trial and error, use icebreakers, team-building activities, and other opportunities for staff to get to know and work with one another. Divide the staff into small groups to talk about relevant issues in a serious way before launching into role playing.

* Get your key staff to plan ahead by having them develop a list of scenes for role playing from the camp's history. This will give your key staff a stake in the endeavor and will also show new staff the kinds of challenges they can expect from campers.

* Involve old-timers in the process. You can do this by inviting your veteran counselors to a pre-camp conference one weekend day or evening. Go over some of the role play material and find additional scenarios. In addition to making returning staff feel included in the process, this is a good way to encourage them to share their ideas with new staff once orientation is underway.

* During the role playing sessions, which should be conducted in small groups for better results, constantly reiterate some of your values. These can include, but are not limited to, being non-judgmental when people are learning; living out the tenet that it is okay to be a novice (people will not laugh at you or criticize you, but will support you as you go through the process of trial and error); and remembering that at camp, we are all learners. If your staff can truly embrace these concepts, you will already have gone a long way toward providing an emotionally safe place for campers.

Three common mistakes

1. Telling children the things you don't want them to do, rather than the things you do want them to do.

We often tell children, "Don't fight! Stop running! Quit arguing! Leave that alone!" This way of communicating leaves children with a much better idea of what we don't want them to do than of what we do want them to do. No wonder many child-care workers are exasperated with the ways children behave! It takes awareness and a concerted effort to break this habit, but learning to say what we want from children pays dividends.

2. The tug-of-war trap.

When a child says, "I'm not making my bed! My parents didn't pay for me to come to camp to work; I came to have fun," most unseasoned counselors fall for the bait and immediately get caught in an argument about who paid for camp and whether the camper must make the bed or not. This happens because counselors don't know what else to do.

3. Missing the feeling tone in what children say.

We become fixated on behavior and forget that a child may be acting out of fear, sadness, or a sense of loneliness. Unless counselors learn to identify and name feelings, much of what campers communicate to them may be lost.

Four strategies for counselors

Four of the most useful strategies for counselors are:

1. Give choices.

The counselor could say, "You can make your bed now and I'll help you, or you can make it by yourself." Even if the camper counters with, "But I don't want to make my bed at all!" the counselor can respond with, "That is not one of the choices. Let me tell you again what the choices are."

2. Redirect behavior.

When campers begin to argue, you can divert their energy into a more acceptable activity that absorbs their energy.

3. Give positive consequences.

This strategy works best with children between 8 and 11 years old. One example is to say, "If you clean up on time, I'll play a special game with you." Avoid using food as a reward, and do not overuse this technique.

4. State your expectation, then disengage.

This technique is especially effective with teens and preteens who are breaking or threatening to break a rule or agreement. For example, say "You are expected to go swimming; I will see you there in five minutes," then avoid any further discussion and go about your business. When using this technique, it is important to follow this pattern:

* State the expectation.

* Stay out of any arguments.

* Restate your expectation.

* Disengage.

It works 90 percent of the time.

As with all training, helping staff learn more effective ways of working with children is a process that needs to continue, with follow up, retraining, and new examples, throughout the summer. If directors and camp administrators make time for ongoing training, they can expect to deliver the caliber of care that parents seek, one that truly "gives kids a world of good."

Bob Ditter is a licensed clinical social worker specializing in child and adolescent treatment. Camp directors are invited to write to Bob at: Bob Ditter, "In the Trenches," 93 Union St., Ste. 307, Newton, MA 02159 or e-mail: [e-mail], or fax [phone]. Letters should be signed, although requests for confidentiality will be honored. "In the Trenches" is sponsored by American Income Life Insurance.