11/5 – 11/7: Who’s Watching the Kids Watching the Kids?

01/14/2014

Workshop Price: $700

Supervising staff performance is the most important and effective way camps have for insuring the quality and safety of their programs. To be effective supervisors your mid-level staff members need to know how to provide constructive, focused feedback to staff that doesn’t create resentment or separation. Few camps offer formal skills training beyond what their Head Staff glean while “on the job.” Furthermore, the culture today’s young leaders grow up in is often not one that either values or encourages meaningful conversation. In her essay, “Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other,” Sherry Turkle, an MIT Professor of Psychology who studies the effects of mobile technology on communication, makes the compelling argument that in our compulsive, ubiquitous use of mobile electronics we have sacrificed meaningful communication for mere (electronic) connection. “Face-to-face conversation,” Turkle writes, “is messy. It unfolds slowly and takes practice. Connecting in ‘sips’ may work for gathering discrete bits of information…but connecting in bits doesn’t work very well when it comes to understanding and knowing one another well.” As a result many Head Staff are less equipped to engage in skillful communication than even just a few years ago.

METHODOLOGY

The methodology uses an intensive day and includes the following:

Case studies
Interactive discussion and the use of real examples to illustrate concepts or use of language and tools
Intensive role-playing with constructive feedback about technique and language from me and from the group.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Frost Valley YMCA

Frost Valley YMCA is a 5,500-acre, year-round camp - There's something for everyone here in the Valley. From group and family retreats to overnight camps to horse camps to teambuilding, we've got you covered. School groups love taking a three-night field trip to explore the natural world and learn about the environment and their classmates. Family weekends are the perfect getaway for the young and the young at heart. Teambuilding retreats afford corporate, collegiate, religious, and other groups the opportunity to challenge themselves and effectively work toward common goals. In the summertime we're where kids and teens gain independence, explore the world, and make lifelong friends through various camps such as traditional sleepaway camp, farm camp, horse camp, adventure trips, survival camp, and day camp. Call (845)985-2291 or email info@frostvalley.org to learn more today!