This is the promise we make to the girls as they descend upon Owaissa lawn their first full day of camp, blank schedules in hand, running from table to table to sign up for activities that they get to choose. Wawenock is not a one-activity-fits-all kind of camp; campers do not move around as a cabin group or unit through a prescribed day of programming, and they are not handed a “balanced” schedule that requires them to participate in activities they don’t feel good about. Instead, the girls are emboldened by self-determination to seek out experiences that will excite and inspire them. In fact, they are not allowed to abandon the scheduling process until they’ve generated their “dream schedules,” working with the directors and counselors to ensure that they will have every opportunity to spend their days engaged with preferred activities. Camp has the structures and routines in place that allow for this kind of freedom and flexibility; there is a framework, there are explicit expectations, and there is an appreciation of the responsibilities inherent to the practice of choice.
There are numerous benefits to The Schedule of a Lifetime. With six possible activities to select, plus swimming, it is likely that the girls will necessarily choose some activities that were unplanned or that will stretch them outside of their comfort zones. Girls who enjoy staying on the waterfront might find themselves hitting targets on the archery range. Girls who prefer the arts might find themselves paddling canoes into Hawthorne’s Cave. “Hey!” they will say. “I didn’t know I would like this so much! I didn’t know I could do this!” The important distinction is that the girls are choosing which “unintended” activities they will pursue. They are deciding for themselves what new path to forge, and this will foster a sense of autonomy that is about more than just growing up. It engenders the self-confidence to do certain things and become independent, the ability to act and think for themselves. It develops self-esteem by nurturing a stable and rich inner life that will help to prevent boredom and diminish dependence on others. It also sends the message that we trust them, and that we are proud of their accomplishments. In allowing for self-determination, we encourage the campers to take initiative and to try challenges they can most likely handle. When we disempower children, when they lose sense of control over their own fate, we create environments in which they are more likely to disengage and feel anxious. Instead, we provide them with a learning climate in which they have some skin in the game. We are setting them up for growth opportunities that will promote intrinsic motivation and resilience.
To walk around camp is to see the embodiment of joyful learning. Not everything will be easy, but The Schedule of a Lifetime engenders the buy-in necessary for grit. It cultivates the power of YET: I chose to do this, I want to do this, I can’t do this YET, but I know I can get there because my counselors believe in me and want to see me reach the goals I’ve established for myself. And it’s true that not every activity the girls choose will be one that they love. That’s important, too. Sometimes the path forward as we figure out who we are involves first figuring out who we are not. Campers know there’s always next summer to try something new and different, to move them further towards their own truths. The Schedule of a Lifetime is not simply a promise that camp is a fun and enlightening place to learn. As is stated in our philosophy, “fun is not WHY we are here; it is a wonderful bi-product of a happy, creative, secure group of people – all sharing a summer of discovery, growth, and friendship together. The confidence and security we each need to learn, laugh, and love with others is only possible because of the structure and supportive environment that is created by community members.” To build this kind of community requires that each person feels respected, valued, and known, and this is the promise of The Schedule of a Lifetime: this camp is yours. This camp is ours. We are going to create it together.
