How camp programs serve as moral and interpersonal beacons
High-quality, summer youth programs combine five elements that no other experience does:
- Community Living
- Young Adult Leaders
- Beautiful Natural Settings
- Separation from Home
- Recreational Activities
To the mid-19th-century educators who organized the first overnight camps in North America, this five-faceted educational gem solved two problems: It was the ideal complement to traditional classrooms, and it was the bucolic antidote to urban perils. Today, camps and other youth-serving organizations still solve those problems, along with several new ones, such as excessive, recreational screen time and the glut of realistic but phony online content.
To support the important work of all PRB+ readers, regardless of political persuasion, this article invites leaders to consider how effectively their youth-serving organization provides the five elements above. This article also encourages all readers to buttress their mission against whatever forces may erode it. I hope you find enlightening my observations about how American politics has shaken young people. I also hope my observations prompt you to consider how your program provides moral and interpersonal stability.
