As a camp director, there are a lot of camp issues that come up every now and then. The focus is to look at the issue and see how it can be fixed or solved in the best way possible. An issue that has been recent and even going on since camps began is bullying. Children have been bullying each other since the beginning of time for one reason or another. How do we fix this problem at day camps or residential camps? Look at this example situation: After a week of residential camp is over, an irate parent a call saying their child was bullied at camp by another camper and that they want an explanation as to why this happened. What should the camp director say and how should they deal with the situation? Children go to a camp for a number of reasons, but to be bullied is not one; they just want to fit in with everyone else.
There are a number of reasons that campers may be bullied. They may have a hard time making friends, stand out from other campers, or maybe they are a new camper where everyone else knows each other already. Is it enough to train counselors and teach them how to become aware of bullying? Is it enough to talk to the campers the first day about bullying and how it is not tolerated? In the link below is an article that talks about camps and bullying. One way they say to prevent this issue is to create positive relationships. I think this can be done by teambuilding the first day when campers get to camp. This way, all of the campers get to know each other and no one feels left out if they didn’t come with anyone. The key is to make everyone feel like they belong and that camp is a place where they can go to feel a sense of belonging and not have to worry about being picked on.
Besides bullying on site at camps, cyber bullying is something that has become a recent trend. This obviously is more difficult to deal with after campers leave and is something that the camp doesn’t necessarily have to deal with. Can cyber bullying be prevented though from a camp viewpoint or is it something that students who go to school together deal with?
These are just two issues that are hot topics today in the camping world. There may not be a set answer, but any feedback helps to go toward the problem.
http://www.eyesonbullying.org/camp.html
4 comments:
I think that teambuilding is really important. Yes some kids, especially older kids will roll their eyes at it, but it honestly breaks the clic circles that they have already formed, and exposes them to other kids. Sure it won't stop bullying completely, but it may give someone who is alone a chance to meet friends they might not have otherwise. Training and encouraging staff members to report what they see is also really important. Bullying should never be seen as "leadership at work", "establishing the group dynamic", or "just goofing off". All of these are terms I heard applied to bullying at two different camps I worked at. At one camp, this resulted in an enormous problem and the child in question had to leave early because he was so upset. If junior staffers had reported incidents earlier,and more frequently and senior staffers had taken the matter more seriously, rather than trying to downplay it, the matter could have been dealt with better.
I think that teambuilding is really important. Yes some kids, especially older kids will roll their eyes at it, but it honestly breaks the clic circles that they have already formed, and exposes them to other kids. Sure it won't stop bullying completely, but it may give someone who is alone a chance to meet friends they might not have otherwise. Training and encouraging staff members to report what they see is also really important. Bullying should never be seen as "leadership at work", "establishing the group dynamic", or "just goofing off". All of these are terms I heard applied to bullying at two different camps I worked at. At one camp, this resulted in an enormous problem and the child in question had to leave early because he was so upset. If junior staffers had reported incidents earlier,and more frequently and senior staffers had taken the matter more seriously, rather than trying to downplay it, the matter could have been dealt with better.
It is a shame that bullying goes on at camps. Kids go there to have fun and should not be worried about being picked on. I think that there should be constant supervision of the kids so that the bullies can not get away with it. Also it would be very helpful to have the councelors take classes in recognizing bullying or recognizing kids that are being bullied. Also they have to become freinds with the campers so that the kids feel comfortable telling them about it.
I agree that team building is important as well in camps. Like you said with the older kids rolling their eyes at it, that can be true. I didn't always like teambuilding when I was younger either because I didn't like leaving my comfort zone. Looking back, I can see that teambuilding is important because it builds a "team" and campers are more likely to encourage each other and build each other up in a positive light. Once those relationships are established, campers are less likely to treat each other badly or bully because they were all on the same level of working together when they participated in teambuilding activities.
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