The Money Camp

[KiwiCRB]

I was looking at some stuff on MSN.com today and I ran across this article and, of course, immediatley wondered what everyone here would think about it. It's basically a summer camp to teach kids about money and economics. Personally, I can't see the kids that go to my camp being interested in something like that. I also can't see myself working there. Here is the aritcle

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Savinganddebt/Learntobudget/P150167.asp?GT1=8183

Do you think any of you or your campers would be interested in something like that?

[speedx5xracer]

all i can say to that article is WTF are we that money concience that people actually send their kids to learn finances at a camp..... isnt that what business school is for.

[KiwiCRB]

Can't they wait until high school government and economics?? And who the heck wants to go to stock market class instead of swimming?

[powers]

It sounds to me like another way of stopping kids be kids who have fun at camp and making them into mini adults who are worried about cvs and the job market at 11 years old. :(

Coincidentally, I'm supposed to be writing an essay on a very similar topic right about now...

[Pooka]

Eep! It sounds scary. While camp environments can work well for teaching kids a lot of things in a short time (says I, a veteran of a chorus camp), this seems a bit much.

Kiwi's right. My school makes kids take a home and careers class in seventh grade, an occupations class in 9th, and economics in 12th. I can't see the reasoning behind this, frankly.

Don't want to condemn anyone's interests, but are there kids who actually seek out this sort of thing? Jeez... changes my perception of reality a bit, that does, then.

[CAMPFRIEND]

I have to say that I think camp sould be for a getaway from school. If parents think there is a problem they should push to have this kind of thing in schools. I am not a big fan!

[prettysocks]

*barf* That is all.

[boilerswim7]

as lame and anti-camp as this sounds... i'm a total econ nerd and if presented with the opportunity, i'd be game with doing something like that. probably couldn't handle a whole summer without my waterfront, but teaching gov/econ sounds like fun.

[Wile Coyote]

I’m sorry isn’t camp supposed to = fun :confused:
This just doesn’t sound right to me :eek:

[rockinsmiles]

I don't think the idea of a "money camp" is really that bad of an idea, if the "campers" are interested in it. However, I thought the article put a bad spin on camps and money...plus didn't they admit that most kids wouldn't enjoy that kind of camp? Personally it could be fun for some, but kids still need "traditional" camp people! I know this wouldn't interest me.

[annknee]

Sounds more like somewhere parents would want rather than the kids themselves!

[collissimon]

Did anyone look at their website? (http://www.themoneycamp.com)

I got this off of it:

"Money Camp is the most entertaining event to ever hit financial literacy. We make learning how money works fun and easy to learn and understand. In addition to our signature Money Camps for Kids, we offer a unique homeschool financial education curriculum so you can make sure your kids are prepared to handle their financial resources when they leave home (unless you WANT them to live with you forever or move back home after college:-)."

Yuk Yuk Yuk! It could in theory have a place in all the different camps that you guys offer... however from reading this you can see that it's just a ploy to scare parents that their children are going to be beatniks or bankrupt!

[collissimon]

Just read a bit more... and I think the worst thing that this could do to it's campers is to give money a central importance in their lives, which is inaccurate and unhealthy. Also, it makes them completely unthinking about the concept of money: "money as a form of energy" my backside!

[Sparkes]

well, in a world today where a lot of kids aren't financially responsible for the most part, or aware of the cost of living, I can see it being an idea.

However, it seems like this camp is more of a business then a way for entertaining children in a semi-educational setting and derriving profit from it as a side. I'm sure kids aren't volunteering for it, so much as parents are packing their kids up and shipping them off. I wouldn't have fun there!

[Flukie]

Very interesting... I would love to be a fly on the wall and see what the campers think.

We run a program called Camp CEO at one of our day camps just outside of Boston. Accordng to our brochure: "Camp CEO is a unique opportunity for all teenage girls to explore the many choices offered in business. Prominent Boston women serve as camp counselors and share their life lessons, career paths and dreams with the group of girls. The week includes “Building a Business”, “Creating the Life I Love”, negotiation techniques, presentation skills, career strategies, personality tests and more! Swimming is also scheduled. Transportation will be provided."

The girls that go have a great time - they mix in normal activity periods with the business aspect, and the women that come in are fantastic! They are all CEOs, CFOs, etc of prominent Boston-area companies. This is the fourth or fifth summer the program has run - the first few years it ran overnight, but the draw was stronger for a day program only. The girls also have an opportunity to compete for a scholarship based on their business plans that they create that week.

[elisdinsb]

I found your comments tonight doing a search for my nonprofit, The Money Camp. Just thought you might like to know that the whole premise of our program is that money buys freedom and choice and one of the underlying principles and philosophies we teach the kids is that if you have more money than you need to be financially free, you can do a whole lot of good with it. Also, the kids have a great time, we use accelerated teaching techniques which engage the kids and ensure they learn faster, remember more and have fun while they are learning about this all-important personal skill that they rarely learn in school or at home. Parents these days set poor examples financially so someone has to teach them how to use that green stuff they see everyday and I'm glad it's us because we do an incredible job.

[collissimon]

Could you tell us a little more about the premise and philosophies underlying the Money Camp?

[YUrocks!]

I think the concept of an educational camp is great. I am a director at an educational camp myself. We focus on making learning fun for kids. We start with the idea of what do kids find cool and interesting and we design camp programs around it.

Not every kid is into sports - we get a lot of kids who love to learn and would hate traditional camp with the constant sports and archery. Our kids get super excited to come to camp to learn more about "Icky Sticky Science" - where they learn about body functions and how they all work or CSI - where they learn about being crime scene investigators. We have programs in humanities, science, robotics, engineering, business and more.

We combine fun learning (about half a day's worth) with fun recreational / adventure activities such as high ropes and rock climbing. We spend a lot of time helping the kids develop team and social skills since many of them struggle with these things and have a hard time getting along with others.

For more information on the types of camps we have, check out our website at www.brocku.ca/youthuniversity.

I'd love to hear more about other educational camps out there.

[collissimon]

That sounds interesting! My camp has an educational programme, called Discovery, and has Science, Nature etc., and we offer tutoring for those kids who want it.

I'm going to be running the Discovery programme this year, with one other person, and it is all about increasing the kid's self-esteem, and make them feel positive about learning, especially since some of these kids are gifted, yet don't feel good about school and learning, because of the accompanying social pressures.

I hope the founder of Money Camp replies, because it is an interesting concept, and though I don't agree with some of it, I think that may be due to coming from a different culture etc. and I'm still really interested in finding out why s/he came up with the idea?

[triplethreat]

The website does come across as being business-oriented rather than camp or kid-oriented.

I find it interesting they are talking about "accelerated learning techniques" and such but no one on the staff page has any significant teaching experience. All the credentials seem to be on the business end, and not to do with kids. But they offer teacher training!

My overall impression? That this is a camp for older kids (12+) who have been born into a life of privilege and therefore have to be taught how to use all their money wisely. BLEH!

[laurathistle]

I guess it comes down to every kid being different and it's good that there are different kinds of camps to cater for different kinds of kids.

[YUrocks!]

I guess it comes down to every kid being different and it's good that there are different kinds of camps to cater for different kinds of kids.

Well said Laura, I agree!

[collissimon]

I agree to a point... I wonder about setting money on that pedestal though...