Re: Summer Camp Trends
Anthony Mako (ajmako@NLS.NET)
Sat, 31 Jul 1999 13:37:51 -0000
<Calvin H. Gray wrote>
I've been attending summer camps as an adult leader since 1982. In total,
I've been to summer camp 19 times (9 different camps).
During the past few years, I've noticed a couple of trends (at Texas camps)
that bother me. They are:
1. Overcrowding - Too many Scouts at camp, resulting in very large merit
badge classes and even, on one occasion, having to operate two shifts in the
camp dining hall.
</Calvin>
In Ohio, whether or not you see this trend depends mostly on the camp. Our
local council camp (Manatoc) is usually "sold out" by November. The Buckeye
council camp (Seven Ranges) isn't far behind. Both camps operate nine weeks
(next year will be eight only because of the calendar). In most cases, the
camp could handle more Scouts if it weren't for the dining hall facilities.
At Manatoc there's been a lot of discussion lately about finding a way to
accommodate more Scouts. The idea of eating meals in shifts has been brought
up many times, but always fails.
One of the causes of this trend around here is that many troops from
neighboring councils aren't happy with the program at their local camps.
Manatoc sees a lot of campers from outside the local council, and many local
troops have a hard time getting reservations for camp at Manatoc. Seven
Ranges sees a lot of out-of-council troops as well. As the Great Trail
Council camping committee has already discovered, solutions to this
particular trend are expensive. In our case, it means building a new, bigger
dining hall for Camp Manatoc and not only upgrading the facilities at Camp
Butler, but also building a dining hall and hiring a staff (Camp Butler
hasn't been used for summer camp since 1982). Buckeye Council ended up
building an entirely new camp in order to address their lack of facilities
in the mid-1980's.
<Calvin continued>
2. Declining quality of Merit Badge instruction - Even to the point where
Scouts receive a "complete" without actually having to do the requirements
as outlined in the Boy Scout Requirements booklet.
</Calvin>
This trend depends on several factors. When I was a staff member in the
early 1980's, Camp Manatoc's program was just beginning to de-emphasize
merit badges. Until that time, Manatoc was mostly a merit badge mill. As a
merit badge councilor, I was solely responsible for determining how to
interpret the requirements. I was also the one who decided what was required
to complete the requirements. I received very little guidance from my area
director, the program director, or the camp director.
The quality of instruction depends mostly on the staff councilor, his
supervisors, and their attitude toward criticism from Scoutmasters. To be
honest, many camp staff members feel as if they are between a rock and a
hard place since they quickly find that troop leaders will complain loudly
no matter what they do. The staff directors, councilors, and unit leaders
basically have to work together to maintain the quality of instruction at
camp.
The unit leader who lets slide a discovery that his Scouts earned Soil &
Water Conservation after talking to the Ecology directory for ten minutes is
just as much a part of the problem as the Ecology director who ignores
requirements because they can't be done in a week (or in his particular
camp). The program director who ignores unit leader criticism or fails to
provide guidance to his staff is just as much a part of the problem as the
camp director who is looking for big numbers under the "Completed MBs"
column. The solution for unit leaders is to continuously demand quality
instruction from the camp. They also need to infuse their Scouts with pride
in completing the requirements properly rather than taking shortcuts.
Nothing speaks louder than a Scout complaining that a merit badge is too
easy!
<Calvin continued>
Are you noticing these trends at the camps your troop attends? If so, what
can be done to fix the problems?
</Calvin>
In the case of the two camps I'm familiar with, the first trend is a matter
of popularity. Troops from neighboring councils have found it easier to go
to another camp rather than improve the quality of their local camps.
Unfortunately, in Great Trail Council, this actually translates into local
troops having to find another camp to go to because they can't get a
reservation at Manatoc. Most of these troops either don't go to summer camp,
go to another camp (usually Seven Ranges), or conduct their own summer camp.
The solution for Great Trail will probably be a capital campaign in 2000 to
build new facilities at Manatoc and re-open Butler for summer camping.
YIS
A. J. Mako, ajmako@nls.net , Scoutmaster Troop 381
Home of the Unofficial Win95 Boy Scout Desktop Theme,
http://members.aol.com/Scouts381/
Old Portage District, Great Trail Council, BSA
"I used to be an Eagle (C-7-97), but I'll always be an Eagle (1981)"
