Training Camp Counselors as Leaders - Camp Alvernia, Centerport, New York, offers college credit

Camping Magazine, March, 2001 by Robert LaFave, Sandra Buck Loughran

Course helps counselors earn college credit

Students can reap many benefits while serving as camp counselors. Working at camp helps prepare them for college or their chosen career, and they learn how to get along with people from diverse backgrounds. However, there are other educational opportunities associated with the role of camp counselor that can be offered during the summer camp period.

In the summer of 2000, Camp Alvernia, in Centerport, New York, developed a course called "Leadership Skills in Community Youth Recreation." The course was based in part on the camp's annual precamp orientation program, and camp counselors who participated could earn college credit.

The course was accredited by the National Program for Non-collegiate Sponsored Instruction (referred to as National PONSI), which recommended four college credits for any counselor completing the course. National PONSI was initiated by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York in 1973. In 1994, California State University joined New York as a cooperative partner. PONSI provides the administration of a system for non-collegiate organizations nationwide that evaluates courses and educational programs and subsequently recommends to universities and colleges that credit be granted when these courses and educational programs compare to college-level programs.

The course presents one way to keep valuable staff by providing an additional incentive for the counselors to continue with the camp experience. Counselors, when empowered to feel like leaders, identified with the rest of the staff, such as supervisors, program directors, the assistant director, and the director. In other words, they became more closely associated with the camp because of their better understanding of the complexities of the job. It was not just an "easy" camp counselor position but a job that required diligence and know-how. In addition, counselors as leaders then influenced camper behavior, which resulted in a happier, safer, and more effective camp.

The Course Curriculum and Objectives

This college-level course, "Leadership Skills in Community Youth Recreation," enabled the camp directors to cover more areas and spend appropriate time that is not always available in camp orientation. It offered additional time and depth, which enhanced the counselor's readiness in dealing and working with campers. The course used the text The Situational Leader by Paul Hersey, and lectures and discussion groups allowed an in-depth approach to positive camping skills.

The course developed multifaceted objectives for the participants. For the counselors, the objectives were to be able to:

* create and organize age-appropriate activities

* practice active listening skills with campers, co-workers, and supervising staff

* identify the specific needs and abilities of children in groups

* adjust strategy for instruction and supervision based on the needs of the members of the group

The learning experience of the course emphasized the following areas:

* proper supervision of campers

* components of a well-run activity

* management strategies in dealing with children

* identifying child abuse and neglect

* disciplining with dignity

* the functions of play

* sports and young children

* risk management

Focus on developing leaders

The term "leadership" was used extensively in the course, promoting the belief that all staff members are leaders and to be effective as leaders they must learn and reflect on leadership styles and how to be an effective leader in all situations. The classes, discussions, readings, and activities focused on being a situational leader, or defining ways in which a leader totally individualizes a program.

The emphasis was continually and primarily on the people involved. The tasks were secondary but essential. In other words, a counselor should never lose sight of the camper; the camper is the focus, not the activity. Planning the activity was essential in bringing Out the focus where it belonged. It was essential to know when to give support and when to give instruction. Adequate understanding of the needs of the camper created the fertile environment necessary for a rich camp experience. The ability to understand this was critical to becoming a good leader.

Learning to explore and observe individual differences in people and to respond to those individual differences led to creating young leaders. In The Situational Leader, Hersey emphasized that leadership style is defined in the manner that is observed by others. All too often there is the attempt to define one's own style of leadership and, thus, an individual cannot understand when others do not define it as he do. It is not how an individual sees himself, but how those he is trying to influence observe the individual. According to Hersey, others' perceptions, not one's own, will affect behavior.

Elements of the Course

In addition to reading the text and participating in lectures and discussion groups, counselors were required to keep a daily journal and plan activities.