https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/moments-truth-things-you-say-things-you-do

Kevin Kevin was nine years old when his parents sent him to summer camp in Minnesota. He was overweight, not athletic, not very confident — and more than anything, not wanting to be there!...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/camp-no-place-bullying-behaviors

Social cruelty, or bullying, has reached the level of “life and death.” With summer 2012 now here, parents are asking questions about how camp counselors and staff are being trained to keep their...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/lets-be-friends-paradoxical-approach-bullying-prevention

Despite years of study and progressive program development, bullying behaviors (or “peer mistreatment”), especially among school-aged children, remain a significant public health problem, says the...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/four-simple-words-better-communication

One of the main challenges of being on staff at camp is the degree to which you suddenly have to communicate with so many people. Because you have decided to accept the awesome responsibility for the...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/wanton-words-curbing-verbal-crudeness-cruelty-camp

I love language. The beauty of a poem, the lyricism of a novel, the passion of a political speech, the sentiment of a heartfelt toast, the humor of standup comedy, and the simplicity of a handwritten...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/there-reason-understanding-challenging-behavior

I once worked with cat. Not a “meow” cat, although that’s how she identified herself to me. She was a thirteen-year-old girl who insisted she was a cat. You can imagine how hard it was for her at...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/return-tolerance

The scuffle was over almost as quickly as it started. The boys were playing a team game, and, as is common with nine-year-old boys, there was a disagreement about the rules. An argument quickly...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/youth-objects-or-partners-advancing-opportunities-camper-leadership-decision-making

Disenfranchised by Design? Nearly 40 percent of ten- to eighteen-year-olds report insufficient levels of involvement in camp (ACA 2006). That statistic surprised most camp...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/does-your-camp-reinforce-resist-or-relieve-gender-stereotypes

Can you believe that sexist practices and beliefs remain entrenched in camps, even in this day and age? Although we have made great strides over the last decade to eradicate overtly sexist behaviors...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/working-children-special-needs

It is often said by people who mean well that working with children with special needs “requires the patience of a saint.” Not true. What it does require is human compassion — something more of us...