It’s Conference Time!
Craig, Katie and I have spent the past few days attending the annual conference of the Ontario Camps Association.
The conference is held at the perfect time for us. In February at Centauri Arts Camp, we begin to build our summer season. This includes hiring new staff, reviewing camp policies, meeting with program directors and planning all the fantastic activities that will take plan at camp. At the conference, we attended sessions on staff training, social media marketing, inclusion, eating disorders, employment laws, the registration process, management strategies, parent-senior staff interaction and the hiring of international staff. In addition, the three of us had an opportunity to meet, begin our planning, review camp procedures and , set shared expectations… all the nuts and bolts of a great camp that on behind the scenes! Of coourse, we also have plenty of opportunity to get excited for the coming camp season!
One particularly interesting discussion at the conference was around the issue of technology and cell phones at camp. During this workshop, one traditional camp announced proudly that they had a ‘zero tolerance’ policy for any kind of technology. Their point (well taken) was that young people today live in such a wired world that it is essential to their personal and social growth that they learn to exist for a few weeks without any access to laptops, iPads, phones and – mostly importantly – social media!
The presenter agreed wholeheartedly with this. She pointed out that technology rules our lives. It invades our personal and recreational time, so that there is a higher prevalence of anxiety in young people than ever before. It has also contributed to the helicopter parent syndrome: through technology, parents have become such a crutch in their child’s life that they are virtually present all the time, and children grow up without an awareness of how to figure out small problems for themselves. The instructor ended by saying that parents today are less willing to allow their kids to struggle and grow through experiences that may initially be tough; they have forgotten that it is sometimes the difficult circumstances in the young lives of our children that shape them in the most positive ways.
Where does Centauri Arts Camp stand on all this? Well, we agree with everything the instructor is saying here… but we do not agree that complete ‘zero tolerance’ for technology is the solution… at least not for us. Firstly, we are not a wilderness camp… we run programs than can depend upon technology. Our dance instructors keep their music on their smart phones. Sometimes, a counsellor has their entire summer’s workshop plans and resources on a laptop they bring to camp, and they adapt and improve these activities as the summer goes on and they skill level increases. In Creative Writing, some of our campers require their laptops to write. In digital photography, campers often want to use their own computer and software to manipulate their photographs. When technology is used as a positive contributor to the arts programming we offer, it would be hard to tell a camper they cannot use their smart phone to record a song they write, take photos of friends, or share music in the dorm.
However. We absolutely do agree that phone and web access should be limited at camp. It is simply true that if a camper was able to access friends and family at the press of a button whenever they wished, they would invest less effort in making camp friends, and find themselves constantly drawn, instead, into ongoing peer issues back home. If they had constant access to their smart phones, I can imagine some of our campers feeling obliged to post constantly on Instagram, and never fully interacting with camp friends. A difficult situation at camp – such as a challenging friendship dynamic, for example – is something our camp counsellors and other staff are trained to help a camper nagivate and successfully solve. Imagine, instead, if that camper was to call home in the instant they become upset, and demand a parent’s immediate intervention. The opportunity for guided learning and growth is lost, and the camper continues to be dependant upon their usual support system. The intervention of a parent, at camp, is only important if the staff of a particular camp is negligent or incapable of offering support… neither of which would be the case at Centauri. (This is not to say, of course, that parents can’t call the camp office at any time if they have concerns… we will find out exactly how your child is being assisted and offer the reassurance you need).
So what is our policy? We would prefer that all cell phones and any devices with online service, be left at home. If this is not possible – for example, in the case of a teen who is extremely unwilling to leave a phone at home – then that device should be handed in to the camp office. Campers will be able to access their phones at scheduled phone times, twice weekly. They can check social media, call home and do anything else they need at that time.
When we first introduced this policy three years ago, we expected a lot of phones at camp – that didn’t happen. Maybe 10% of campers bring their phone – almost always the older teens. We also expected the campers with phones would spend every minute of the allottted time using them. That didn’t happen, either. Campers usually call their parent, check social media quickly, then head back to their dorm.
Why?
Because they are so invested in what is happening among their camp friends that they don’t want to miss a single thing.
Julie
Centauri Summer Arts Camp
www.centauriartscamp.com