The new opportunity for camp: a deeper commitment to people.

Two bricklayers were working on a major building project many years ago. When a passerby asked what they were doing, the first bricklayer sarcastically replied, "What does it look like? I'm laying bricks." The second bricklayer thought for a moment, then said with a twinkle in her eye, "I'm building a cathedral!"

How people see their work directly affects their level of commitment to that work. The same is true for camp. Caretakers can simply watch over campers, or they can help build their character. Counselors can simply get through a rainy afternoon, or they can contribute to campers' social and emotional growth. Directors can only provide a fun summer, or they can be partners in educating children year-round.

When I first began working with camps in the early 1980s, I noticed that many who provide the camp experience did not appreciate the most powerful aspects of that experience. Too many directors viewed camp as merely a program of activities; they did not see it as a formative experience.

Although camp professionals have always had a sense that camp is great for campers, they often did not clearly understand its actual benefits and could not clearly articulate them, especially in a way that was relevant to parents. A potential camper's parents once asked me, "Why should I spend more than $2,000 for summer camp just so our kid can learn to ride a horse?" I said that their $2,000 was going to buy them much more than horseback riding, and that if it did not, they should not send their child. That child attended camp.

Changes in the camp field

Tremendous changes have occurred in the camp field. When camps began, they largely served as an extension of the school year. Teachers took students into nature so they could interact in a different setting. These small bands of teachers and students developed into largely mom-and-pop operations, focusing on community living and appreciating the outdoors. Hedley Dimock and other camp advocates thought that campers would absorb values and self-confidence simply by being outdoors.

Then, camps began to focus on activities and skill development. Technical activities, such as sailboarding, rock climbing, and mountain biking, became more common. Some people looked beyond activities, realizing that camp contributes to the campers' socialization through small group interaction and interpersonal learning. Today, the most forward-thinking camps are sophisticated child-care enterprises that, when well executed, are powerful participants in the growth and development of children. Camp, it turns out, can be a vital and welcome partner with parents.

Articulating the value of camp

Some camp professionals argue that they have known all along of camp's value. But, after visiting more than 300 camps in the United States and working with thousands of camp people, I have discovered that many camp directors cannot simply and clearly articulate the benefits of the camp experience.

Camp provides children with opportunities to develop what psychologist Daniel Goleman calls emotional intelligence abilities. Possessing good judgment and self-motivation, delaying gratification, controlling impulses, and expressing feelings constructively are examples of emotional intelligence. In his book, Emotional Intelligence, Goleman describes this set of proficiencies as "... a master aptitude, a capacity that profoundly affects all other abilities, either facilitating or interfering with them."

Most camp professionals have only a vague understanding of emotional intelligence and are hard-pressed to identify exactly which behaviors constitute social competency in youngsters. Often, they cannot describe how children's camp participation helps develop their emotional intelligence or social competency. Even if camp professionals clearly understand these points, the question remains: what good is it for people within the camp field to know about the tremendous difference camp can make in a camper's life when only a fraction of American families take advantage of it? Directors must be able to convey camp's value to parents in terms that relate to their concerns for their children.

For years, child development specialists have referred to emotional intelligence as developing competencies in children - behaviors, skills, and abilities that are the foundation of sound personality development. Activities that bring forth or reinforce these competencies actually build assets in children that inoculate them against disappointments, setbacks, and losses, while strengthening their self-esteem. The true value of camp resides in the development of these competencies. It is an astute camp professional who can look at a canoeing lesson, play rehearsal, or a fireside chat and see the competencies that are developing. Suddenly, archery, tennis, swimming, rock climbing, group sings, and cabin cleanup are rich with subtle lessons and become the medium for transacting the crucial work of establishing these assets or competencies. Competencies campers develop at camp include: learning to wait, learning to work with others, developing better impulse control, learning to give and take, developing perspective, learning to tolerate a greater level of frustration, learning to persevere, asking for help, recovering quickly from setbacks, having a more reasonable sense of self, learning to recognize one's own feelings, recognizing the emotional reactions of others, developing acceptable and effective ways of expressing feelings (especially anger), planning ahead, delaying gratification, balancing individual needs with the group's or community's needs, and assessing risk.

These assets are the building blocks of emotional intelligence; they enhance and reinforce the routine occurrences of camp in hundreds of ways. Because camp is not school, where cognitive and academic learning is emphasized, it can concentrate on the social and affective domains of child development. However, the camp field will not fulfill its potential as a powerful, positive influence in the lives of children until camps are uniformly safe, concerned about child growth and development, responsive to the concerns of parents, and aware of their own cultures and values.

Camp has evolved as it incorporates the developing body of knowledge and the awareness that we, as human beings, have of how we are as people. Today, as never before, camp serves as a pivotal player in the growth and development of children. To realize this potential, camp professionals need to be more aware of the social and emotional needs of children, parents, and staff. We must be clear, articulate, and specific about the positive impacts of camp, and then practice the profession in a conscious, consistent, and deliberate way.

This column has been excerpted from Bob Ditter's new book, In the Trenches: Answers from the expert to the toughest questions you face. The book is available for $29.95 from the ACA Bookstore in January.

Reference

Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence. Bantam Books.

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.