Ethical Accommodation
“I don’t know the first thing about accommodations,” I said to my friend, the director of a camp that serves young burn survivors. “Yes, you do,” he insisted.
Continuing-Education Best Practices
“College is the best four years of your life” is a discouraging claim for two reasons: It implies the rest of your life will be disappointing, and it suggests an educational dead end in your early 20s. Fortunately, if you’re committed to being your best, neither of these dim predictions comes true.
Hey There, Tiger!
Like all other activities at camp, the success of adventure programming hinges on a trusting relationship between adult staff members and the young participants. Without this relationship in place, most people—especially the young ones—are not willing to try new things, make mistakes, persevere, and take healthy risks.
ool Hygiene
Most camps have worked hard for decades to get kids and staff to wash their hands after using the bathroom and before meals. Now both groups do it almost instinctively.
Adventure-Programming Debriefs
There is no single recipe for building a successful camp, but there is one key ingredient that must be included—an exceptional staff. After spending almost 30 years immersed in camp culture, most recently as the Executive Director of Camp Operations, I have seen firsthand the impact of exceptional training on a camp’s success.
Three Real-World Aquatic Emergencies
In Camp Waterfront Management ($24.95 on Amazon), author Cathy Scheder emphasizes the distinction between lifeguards’ certifications and their competence. Scheder, who also holds a doctorate in educational leadership and serves on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, was one of the first aquatic professionals to advocate for rigorous on-site lifeguard training and skills verification.
Five Ways To Wreck Empathy
Let’s get three things straight. First, empathy is not a soft skill. It’s much harder to express effectively than most people realize.
Selling For Social And Emotional Success
Admiring a photograph of an expert climber flashing a frosty smile and waving a tiny flag on the summit of Mount Everest is radically different from actual Himalayan mountaineering.
What Is Comfortable?
When my wife and I had saved enough money to buy a house, we didn’t have much left over to buy furniture. Fortunately, our parents chipped in to help us buy a three-piece set that included a couch, a loveseat, and a chair.
Talking To Lifeguards
Larry, the waterfront director at Camp Whatsit, was on top of his game. He boasted new certifications in swimming instruction and lifeguarding from national organizations, had been teaching swimming for four years at his town’s parks and rec department, and even turned down an offer to be the head lifeguard at the local beach to become the waterfront director at Camp Whatsit.
Start The Day Right
Admiral William H. McRaven, who now serves as the University of Texas System Chancellor, is well-known for saying, “If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day.