Youth leadership: teaching essential proficiencies at camp.

There are many theories and schools of thought regarding leadership. Whether one subscribes to the West Point way of leadership, focused on character development; or Steven Covey's principle-centered leadership; or the legendary Attila the Hun leadership school, which emphasizes the "My way is the way or get out of my way" approach to leadership; one thing about leadership is constant: You know it when you see it!

Youth in today's world

Youth today are challenged in a way that's hard for adults to imagine. They are bombarded with media images and messages that encourage them to engage in high-risk behavior, such as drug and alcohol use, smoking, poor eating habits, and promiscuity.

Further, youth are driven to be more materialistically preoccupied. They literally fight and kill each other over sneakers, clothes, and jewelry. Ironically, this phenomenon creates new levels of stress within both affluent and low-income families concerning spending decisions for nonessential material items.

The need for us to reverse current trends and ensure that young people develop social and academic competencies to enable them to have productive futures is urgent. Leadership skills must become part of their core developmental competencies at an early age. Unfortunately, many parents work long hours to provide food, clothing, shelter, and health care for their families; they hope the social and academic developmental needs of their children will be provided for elsewhere. Communities must build new and expanded support infrastructures that promote positive youth development.

In today's society, and predictably within the next millennium, individuals will often be required to make leadership-based decisions within the family unit, the workplace, entrepreneurial endeavors, and prospective career choices. The preparation necessary to ensure individuals will make good decisions and judgements is multidimensional and accumulative.

All young people can learn effective leadership skills if given the opportunity. Once they build personal leadership capacity, they can produce the appropriate responses to challenging questions and decisions pertaining to their bodies, life styles, peer associations, academic work efforts, family, and social and civic responsibilities. These skills will not only help youth navigate through adolescence, "teenhood," and the neighborhood, but will help them become contributing adults in their communities and country.

Camp's vital role

Camp experiences are fertile ground for youth leadership development skills. The myriad of group and individual camp activities significantly contributes to young people's physical, intellectual, and emotional growth. There are many camp activities that naturally lend themselves to leadership and character building.

Team and individual sports, drama, forensics, rites of passage, environmental education, camper elections, basic business training, youth speak out, dispute resolution, fencing, ropes courses, drug abuse prevention, and direct leadership skills training are representative of the topics camps could include to enhance leadership skill development.

Essential proficiencies youth can develop and learn in the camp experience include self-awareness, communication skills, interpersonal skills, and ethics and responsibilities associated with leadership.

Self-awareness

Too often our youth define themselves in the context of how tough they think they are, their Sega game skills, material possessions, relationships, or membership in clubs or gangs. Youth must develop a clear understanding of themselves in the context of their family legacy and local and world communities. This self-awareness will enhance self-definition and will undoubtedly build healthy self-confidence.

Camps with diverse camper populations should creatively offer opportunities for campers to talk and learn about their heritage. Present activities that celebrate diverse cultures: offer African, Asian, and Hispanic history classes; hire staff who can affirm campers' uniqueness; teach campers lineage-seeking skills; have campers draw or write about their strong points and their dreams. Requiring campers to work in groups promotes the idea that all types of people can work together to achieve goals. Further, offering opportunities to visit camps that serve campers with different backgrounds is valuable.

Communication skills

Youth need to develop the capacity for effective communication. They will need to speak clearly and write well to successfully matriculate in the multiple challenges and roles they'll encounter in the 21st century. Demands on our increasingly diverse country require that its citizens become multilingual. Youth who develop multilingual skills will be competitive in the workplace and will increase their capacity for leadership responsibilities within any arena. There are abundant opportunities in the camp environment to hone young people's communication skills and expose them to foreign languages.

The Springfield (Mass.) Urban League's Camp Atwater uses several methods to develop camper communication skills. The activities include: group assemblies, which give students various opportunities to address the entire camp; instruction by international students in their native languages; cabin and assembly discussions on various youth and social issues; forensics training; and camper elections and related campaigning.

Typically, these activities can facilitate and engage campers' active participation in the camp learning experience. Further, campers are free to talk about their feelings and thoughts, which aids their personal development, in addition to enhancing their communication skills. The camp creates a trusting environment where young people feel appreciated and respected enough to share their feelings.

In addition to verbal skills, one of the most valuable proficiencies campers can gain is the ability to listen to themselves and others. It's a delicate skill that some people go through life without acquiring. On the first day of camp, directors can ask all campers and staff to meet and introduce another person at an all-camp assembly. This activity not only provides everyone with the opportunity to speak in front of the group, it also requires that everyone listen actively.

Interpersonal skills

Closely linked to effective communication is the development of skills that enhance interpersonal relations.

The first step is for youth to get in touch with themselves emotionally, intellectually, physically, and spiritually. It's important to teach young people to accept changes in their lives. Camp leaders can also help campers understand how to take what they've learned about themselves and others at camp and apply that knowledge at home.

Leaders must have the ability to interpret other people's feelings, as well as their own. Further, they must be able to respond to and act on that understanding. Campers who participate in drama instruction, direct interpersonal skill training, rites of passage activities, and writing workshops develop these skills. They learn to communicate in different ways; to analyze themselves, as well as other people and characters; and to be more aware of their environment.

Ethics and responsibilities associated with leadership

Individuals must learn that leadership without a value base is leadership without direction. Youth can learn and apply principles of fairness and critical thinking; they must understand the implications of ineffective, unfair, and non-participatory leadership. Youth can learn these lessons in everyday camp life. For example, to teach principle-centered leadership, camps can use a peer leader tribunal for minor transgressions of camper behavior. This gives them an opportunity to both give and receive consequences. Campers learn to make decisions based on what they think is fair and give consequences they would appreciate from the recipient's perspective. Camps can also offer campers the opportunity to take on official leadership roles in cabins or in service projects. Rotate campers in and out of these positions so they must be, at different times, leaders and followers. Campers learn patience, understanding, empathy, and compassion, which are all necessary for effective leadership.

Summary

We live in a time when our youth are under siege. There is a lack of leadership in public policy and political circles when it comes to providing adequate support systems for youth development. Camps can play a vital role in contributing to a youth development infrastructure in a concentrated dose that can have long-term impact.

In addition, camps should explore ways to serve youth during the school year. Positive youth development camp experiences can be a model to attract outside funding from foundations, if the leadership skill development attributes of camp programs are fully thought out and integrated within the camp curriculum.

Imparting leadership development skills in campers is an investment in youth and the community they return to. When youth develop a repertoire that enables them to make good judgements about personal and group behaviors, they can more effectively choose and interact with peers, lead others, and contribute to their communities and world.

Camps can help reverse the tide of high risk youth behaviors by sending campers back to their homes armed with self-knowledge, self confidence, critical thinking skills, and effective communication skills. These learned skills will enable young people to exercise leadership in the most appropriate and skillful manner. Families, campers, and communities will all be direct beneficiaries.

Editor's note: The Bureau for At-Risk Youth offers a free catalog of resources for parents, children, educators, and youth-serving professionals. Topics include violence prevention, staff development, character and life skills education, cultural diversity, building self-esteem, and many others in a wide variety of formats (books, videos, workbooks, etc.) Call 800/99-YOUTH, (800-999-6884).

Henry Thomas is vice president for youth development at the National Urban League. He has served as president of Camp Atwater(*) since 1980. He also serves on the American Camping Association's Public Awareness Committee.

* Camp Atwater is the oldest ACA accredited African-American owned and operated camp in the country.