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Fall Seminar

As I’m writing this, I’m sitting on a bus surrounded by 8-11th graders. They’re all campers at the summer camp that I’m a counselor at, Camp Tavor, and we’re travelling to the fall seminar for a weekend of reunions, fun, and education about our youth movement. It is, of course, the day that this blog post is due, as I have put it off until the last moment, and now I must finish it by the completion of my road trip. The kids are loud, annoying, and making stupid jokes. And I love them! Being a counselor for these kids, if only for 3 days, is one of the best experiences that I’ve ever had. Even though I’m still in high school, and indeed go to the same school as a few of these kids, they still look up to me as a role model, and as somebody who is an important part of their education. Through Camp Tavor, I am able to take on new roles and responsibilities, and I am allowed to grow as a person.
This weekend, I’m in charge of handling the high school freshmen, as I also was over the summer. It’s my, along with other seniors and college age students responsibility to make this weekend an amazing and fun time, where they see their friends that they haven’t seen since the summer, while at the same time making it an educational journey where the campers can also grow as people.
Our camp is part of a youth movement, and we focus on a very specific type of education. We like to teach our values and beliefs through discussion based learning environments, where we pose questions and let the campers take their education in the direction that they want to from there. Counselors are there to guide them in a direction, and to instigate discussion, but it’s amazing what 9-15 year olds can think of when they’re talking about something they’re passionate about with people that they’re comfortable with, without any adult interruption.

So I sit here, ignoring the kids for not much longer, typing my essay, with my head full of thoughts of how I’ll get the kids active and learning this weekend. Whether I’ll use trigger games, metaphors, or other techniques, and what I want to focus their education on for this short period of time. I can’t wait to dip my feet back into the educator’s water! 

Comments

  1. yichenSeptember 15, 2017 at 8:13 PM

    Aw jared i really like this post! I know Tavor means a lot to you, and I like this perspective of you being able to shape these campers' lives (instead of you as a camper at Tavor), while shaping yours as well. I also think it's interesting that you wrote this a while ago, but you recognize the relevance/impact of your experience at that time

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    1. UnknownSeptember 16, 2017 at 6:18 PM

      Haha nope, I actually wrote this the day it was posted. The 3 day seminar is this weekend - today concluded the main day of education. I think that it was really successful, we got the kids to really reflect on the difference between their home and camp lives and personalities. One thing that seems common across the board of the campers is that they all feel much more open, confident, and loved at camp, and like at home they have to act a certain way, hide certain of their emotions, and get placed in boxes in other ways, which is a feeling that I certainly relate to. Overall, a very valuable weekend for both me and the campers!

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