collissimon
02-24-2006, 06:57 PM
Over the last couple of months, there has been the first Talk Camp survey (http://www.talkcamp.com/survey.php?&do=take&sid=29), available to take part in, of which 21 people responded. Questions concentrated mainly on general counsellors, but also asked some generic questions about camp, and about stress levels experienced working at camp.
There is quite a wide level of experience in counselling, ranging from one summer, to more than five. Interestingly, most counsellors have spent this time at one camp, staying where they are established and settled. Counselling is a predominantly young vocation, with all participants under 20 when they began. This may be due to making the transition from camper to counsellor, or having long summer holidays that being in school or college gives.
A main motivation in becoming a counsellor was having something to ‘give’ to campers in their care. Many counsellors wanted to emulate their counsellors when they were campers, to be a positive role model as their counsellors were to them. It’s quite an exciting thought: that being a counsellor influences potential future counsellors, who in turn… you get the point! Counsellors can see themselves as part of a wider cyclical process, improving the lives of children stretching back into the past, and into the future. To many counsellors, it seemed the next ‘natural’ step to take, part of a broader process as campers grow up and gain more independence (and want to avoid alternate summer jobs!)
The common element that ran through counsellor’s favourite part of the day was that they were all high contact with the campers. Times when there was the time to get to know campers, be it cabin chat, bedtime story, or evening activities. This may seem an obvious point, yet counsellors prefer to get to know their campers individually, rather than treat them as a generic group.
Counsellor’s most disliked part of the job are the necessary evils: the unstructured time that every camp has, such as clean up, wake up or shower hour. These are the times that are most difficult to control children, because it’s usually not something that they want to do either! The hardest part of a counsellor’s job is the same as most other jobs: co-workers who aren’t completely capable, difficult or upset kids, or the pressure to be a special counsellor to every camper: putting unreasonable pressure on themselves, which accompanies many similar vocations. Nearly everyone though, decided that these various challenging ‘niggles’ wouldn’t stop people returning to camp. A fundamental change in how camp runs, such as new directors, or a change in direction, as would the demands of the ‘real world’: the inability to commit to a full summer, or other demands getting in the way.
Finally, the survey dealt with stress levels at camp, sometimes difficult because of an inability to remove themselves from a stressful situation. Despite this, most participants didn’t feel their job especially stressful, though some may not want to choose either extreme to set themselves apart from other contributors. Most counsellors do something solitary to unwind, listening or making music, reading, sleeping or meditating. They know how to prioritise their time and move away from situations when they are feeling negative. This is sometimes associated with a particular place, be it a secluded area, such as a field or forest, or something that is theirs: an annex, bed, chair or shower, where they can use familiar surroundings to relax or chill out.
The results of this survey have been overwhelmingly positive, but that is to be expected of a group of camp counsellors! Thank you for taking part in the survey.
There is quite a wide level of experience in counselling, ranging from one summer, to more than five. Interestingly, most counsellors have spent this time at one camp, staying where they are established and settled. Counselling is a predominantly young vocation, with all participants under 20 when they began. This may be due to making the transition from camper to counsellor, or having long summer holidays that being in school or college gives.
A main motivation in becoming a counsellor was having something to ‘give’ to campers in their care. Many counsellors wanted to emulate their counsellors when they were campers, to be a positive role model as their counsellors were to them. It’s quite an exciting thought: that being a counsellor influences potential future counsellors, who in turn… you get the point! Counsellors can see themselves as part of a wider cyclical process, improving the lives of children stretching back into the past, and into the future. To many counsellors, it seemed the next ‘natural’ step to take, part of a broader process as campers grow up and gain more independence (and want to avoid alternate summer jobs!)
The common element that ran through counsellor’s favourite part of the day was that they were all high contact with the campers. Times when there was the time to get to know campers, be it cabin chat, bedtime story, or evening activities. This may seem an obvious point, yet counsellors prefer to get to know their campers individually, rather than treat them as a generic group.
Counsellor’s most disliked part of the job are the necessary evils: the unstructured time that every camp has, such as clean up, wake up or shower hour. These are the times that are most difficult to control children, because it’s usually not something that they want to do either! The hardest part of a counsellor’s job is the same as most other jobs: co-workers who aren’t completely capable, difficult or upset kids, or the pressure to be a special counsellor to every camper: putting unreasonable pressure on themselves, which accompanies many similar vocations. Nearly everyone though, decided that these various challenging ‘niggles’ wouldn’t stop people returning to camp. A fundamental change in how camp runs, such as new directors, or a change in direction, as would the demands of the ‘real world’: the inability to commit to a full summer, or other demands getting in the way.
Finally, the survey dealt with stress levels at camp, sometimes difficult because of an inability to remove themselves from a stressful situation. Despite this, most participants didn’t feel their job especially stressful, though some may not want to choose either extreme to set themselves apart from other contributors. Most counsellors do something solitary to unwind, listening or making music, reading, sleeping or meditating. They know how to prioritise their time and move away from situations when they are feeling negative. This is sometimes associated with a particular place, be it a secluded area, such as a field or forest, or something that is theirs: an annex, bed, chair or shower, where they can use familiar surroundings to relax or chill out.
The results of this survey have been overwhelmingly positive, but that is to be expected of a group of camp counsellors! Thank you for taking part in the survey.