collissimon
05-29-2006, 03:50 PM
It may seem pointless to state that kids need different things as they get older, yet it is important to note nonetheless. As a child gets older, their personalities develop, they decide what they do and don’t like, and discover their strengths, and what they need to work on.
As part of this, the way to capture your campers’ imaginations also changes. Kieran Egan (http://www.educ.sfu.ca/kegan/) describes four stages of childhood (http://www.educ.sfu.ca/kegan/Cognitive_tools_and_imagin.html), which marks their individual development from infancy to adulthood. He notes that each child moves through these stages at their own pace, and there is no clear definition between one stage and another. Coming from an educational background, he applies this to teaching, yet this is easy to apply to the camping environment.
The first stage of school children is the Mythic (http://www.educ.sfu.ca/kegan/EdMindRevs.html) (Egan suggests 5-8), in which the child is interested in the fantastic, based on the development of language and stories. They also view the world through binaries: a world of ‘black and white’, where there are no ambiguities or grey areas. A counsellor of mythic children therefore needs to engage their sense of wonder through fairy-tales and new experiences.
A child then progresses to a Romantic stage (around 9-11), where the desire for the exotic , creating personal narratives, and then breaking them down with new and unusual events. A great Romantic book could be Harry Potter, in which the everyday world rubs noses with the unusual and bizarre. Romantic kids love imagination, games of pretend where you create a world of make believe for them.
Typically, a middle school camper then enters a Philosophic understanding. They want to create their own worldview that incorporates as many elements as possible, including as much as possible into a system of knowledge. They are interested in getting to grips with more detailed systems. A Philosophic child may be the most interested in international counsellors, as they are able to construct an alternative system of living, different from their own.
Finally, a child progresses to an Ironic stage. This is the most complex stage, as they find exceptions to their systems, combining both the exotic and the banal. They are rapidly approaching adulthood, and as such can be treat in a manner similar to their counsellors. They look for contradictions; yet can accept them without compromising the foundations of their previously held beliefs/knowledge. They may be the most interested in knowing about you personally, as they can then reflect this back in terms of themselves: the Ironic is the most reflexive stage of all.
It is important to note at this point that as a child progresses, they do not lose aspects of the past, and still love the fantastic when creating a level of Philosophic understanding. What it perhaps offers is a different approach for counsellors of different age groups.
As part of this, the way to capture your campers’ imaginations also changes. Kieran Egan (http://www.educ.sfu.ca/kegan/) describes four stages of childhood (http://www.educ.sfu.ca/kegan/Cognitive_tools_and_imagin.html), which marks their individual development from infancy to adulthood. He notes that each child moves through these stages at their own pace, and there is no clear definition between one stage and another. Coming from an educational background, he applies this to teaching, yet this is easy to apply to the camping environment.
The first stage of school children is the Mythic (http://www.educ.sfu.ca/kegan/EdMindRevs.html) (Egan suggests 5-8), in which the child is interested in the fantastic, based on the development of language and stories. They also view the world through binaries: a world of ‘black and white’, where there are no ambiguities or grey areas. A counsellor of mythic children therefore needs to engage their sense of wonder through fairy-tales and new experiences.
A child then progresses to a Romantic stage (around 9-11), where the desire for the exotic , creating personal narratives, and then breaking them down with new and unusual events. A great Romantic book could be Harry Potter, in which the everyday world rubs noses with the unusual and bizarre. Romantic kids love imagination, games of pretend where you create a world of make believe for them.
Typically, a middle school camper then enters a Philosophic understanding. They want to create their own worldview that incorporates as many elements as possible, including as much as possible into a system of knowledge. They are interested in getting to grips with more detailed systems. A Philosophic child may be the most interested in international counsellors, as they are able to construct an alternative system of living, different from their own.
Finally, a child progresses to an Ironic stage. This is the most complex stage, as they find exceptions to their systems, combining both the exotic and the banal. They are rapidly approaching adulthood, and as such can be treat in a manner similar to their counsellors. They look for contradictions; yet can accept them without compromising the foundations of their previously held beliefs/knowledge. They may be the most interested in knowing about you personally, as they can then reflect this back in terms of themselves: the Ironic is the most reflexive stage of all.
It is important to note at this point that as a child progresses, they do not lose aspects of the past, and still love the fantastic when creating a level of Philosophic understanding. What it perhaps offers is a different approach for counsellors of different age groups.