Being Childlike > Acting Like a Child
Welcome to episode 9 of First Class Counsellors!
As we work give Counsellors the skills they need to be the best they can be, we thought it would be important to talk about what separates the counsellors who may stick around for a summer or two and the ones who may have a long camp career ahead of them.
It can be hard to understand what it means to be professional in the camp setting. After all, our dress code is far from formal, we are encouraged to be loud and crazy, and mentions of quarterly reports are usually substituted for cheers that the next meal is chicken burgers.
That being said, the earlier a Camp Counsellor can figure out what it means to truly transition from a camper to a staff role, the better. These professional counsellors know how to get in the game but not take over, how to make a camper laugh, but also how to have a serious talk when needed, and how to set aside anything that gets in the way of giving kids the best week possible.
In this episode, Matt and Oliver talk about breaking down the top 3 barriers that camp staff face when it comes to being “camp professional”. Tune in to hear more about:
Why the transition between camper and staff or being a new staff can be difficult
How to watch out for and avoid becoming an entitled staff member (because Camp Directors can smell entitlement from a MILE away!)
The importance of staying camper focused even when personal friendships can be a distraction
Lots of practical and useful skills that you and your co-counsellors can use this summer.
As usual, we hope that what we offer to your staff is incredibly useful. If you do send this along, we would be happy to hear about it. Please let us know by emailing Matt at matt@gocamp.pro
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Get Ready - Counsellors, do this NOW to level up your counselling skills
Oliver: Conference season - get involved. Many conferences look for volunteers. It is a great way to connect with young leaders and established camp pros. Gives a reason to talk.
Matt: Start a camp support network. Email Matt if you’d like to be in on meeting up with another counsellor to talk about their camp and what they’re looking forward to about their summer. Matt will connect you two and you can have the chance to meet up online.
Host Links
Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell
Matt Honsberger, Executive Producer of Podcasting at Go Camp Pro
Psst. Check out Oliver’s wicked video for YMCA Camp Jewell’s early registration campaign!
What is First Class Counsellors?
Camp Directors, this Podcast it’s for you. It’s time to delegate! First Class Counsellors will be for your counselling staff, or, the staff who are on the ground, playing with kids and changing lives.
Each week, we will hear from young camp directors and leaders to draw out practical and accessible tips that will level up their counsellor skills.
Our two hosts, Oliver Gregan, Summer and Families Camp Director at YMCA Camp Jewell and Matt Honsberger from Go Camp Pro are excited to be able to provide this resource to camp counsellors and up and coming staff, who they believe, have the most important job at camp.