The Camp Model

"The Camp Model" is the cornerstone of day camps and school-age programs, hence the name. It grew out of the recreation movement of the last century as a way for organizations and cities to provide leisure services for workers and families during the industrial revolution and beyond.

The camp model is one method to create afterschool programing. Ingredients of the camp model are a series of activities that are pre-planned and center around a theme. The theme is usually related to a holiday or created by a teacher. The camp invites large groups of children to sit together and work on the same project simultaneously. The children often make the same craft out of basic art materials. 

How can school-age professionals move away from the camp model?

When speaking about getting what you want, popular speaker and entrepreneur Seth Godin said, "If people are not loving what you are doing, stop it, and don't push it." Through practice and observation, it is evident that most children do not enjoy the camp model, but teachers keep offering it year after year with similar results. 

The results are boredom, lack of independence, and initiative. A feeling of assumed helplessness grows, then permeates all interactions the children have during the day. When placed together at one table or in one space, the children usually compete for materials, enough room, and the teacher's attention. This competition mindset bleeds over into all aspects of the children's social interaction.

Why do teachers in school-age love the camp model? 

Is it because this is all we know, or is it because we have no exposure to any other method of practice. "Success comes from improving and inventing, not from pushing what is not working" Seth Godin.

What can we do to create environments that encourage exploration and creativity? I have five ideas to create a better experience for the children and the teachers in a school-age program.

Mixed Age Groups – The camp model encourages the separation of age groups to simultaneously facilitate large-scale projects. The learning community in our school invites children of different ages and stages of development to work together. The beauty of a learning community is that all children have unique skills to share regardless of their age. To facilitate the community's growth, we must invite the children to be together and calm our fears of what might happen.

Teacher Support – The camp model appoints the teacher as a leader, who tells the other participants what to do and when to do it. This top-down model leaves little room for negotiation and creative thinking. Our role as a teacher in a school community is to be a member of the learning community. We are co-learners with the children. In this role, we thoroughly and actively participate and come to our learning community with the mindset of growing, listening, and helping. We need to be available and present for the children as they create their work and learn how to navigate social situations. We offer help in the form of conversation and coaching and help the children grow in the community.

Concept of Community – The definition of a community is "an interacting population of various kinds of individuals in a common location." To build a concept of the community, we must act like a community and not dictate to the community members how to use their time. Instead, we can encourage children to find an interest and explore that interest while the adults in the community observe, encourage, and scaffold. Our programs are in a school and are part of the school community. Our responsibility is to be a giving member of that community and help create school success by adopting practices that encourage learning and the application of knowledge.

Agreements, Not Rules – To enforce the camp model, a posted list of rules help to keep order within the community. In a democratic child-directed community, we have agreements instead of rules. Agreements are the social construct that the community members have agreed to about how our community should function. We discuss all proposed agreements and then vote for ratification. The teacher's role is to remind the community members of what we have agreed upon and encourage their continued community participation. We do not tell the children what not to do; we remind them about supporting each other.

Family Partnerships – Our responsibility as a teacher is to teach social skills through discussion with children and their parents. We have a partnership with the families in our program. We grow our partnership with families as teachers talk to every parent every day. Many days this is a short conversation because folks are busy. By adding up these conversations each day, we get to know our families better and grow a comfortable relationship. By establishing a relationship with the family members, a teacher can speak to the parents in a relaxed, honest way like you would a friend to create greater understanding and growth for the program and the children who attend.