A quick definition: when we talk about summer camp, we are using that term as it’s been culturally and structurally defined for the past century or so. Traditionally, the unique methodology of these organizations is three-fold. First, the focus at these camps is on the community rather than the individual. Generally speaking, all outcomes are achieved through collaborative effort. Second, these programs are deeply rooted in their outdoor-based physical setting. This might be a corner of Central Park or thousands of acres of Rocky Mountain backcountry, but all these camps share a connectedness to the natural environment that is explicitly different from the institutionally built environment of typical K-12 education. Finally, traditional summer camps share a mission to develop young people.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary may differ as do methods (some camps talk about “character” or the “affective domain”), but all camps work towards a deeper learning of autonomy, purpose and interpersonal connection rather than academic or technical skills-based outcomes. A Google search of “summer camp” will pull up hundreds of results in any metropolitan area, but these criteria define a much narrower segment: collaborative, outdoor, growth-oriented programs that fit the nostalgic ideal of summer camp. Far from being stuck in the past, this particular methodology has been part of the American youth experience from the beginning and plays a critical part in the future of youth development.

For the past several years, educators and researchers have developed a growing awareness of the importance of grit, optimism, social intelligence, and similar traits to individual success, yet many educational organizations have struggled with how to define, teach and assess these. I would argue that these skills are essential to nurturing the ability of our youth to talk with another and work to solve problems. Yet, with the constant pressures of academic achievement, most teachers and students simply don’t have the bandwidth to build skills like these. The pedagogical approach of summer camp brings deeper learning outcomes front and center, and researchers are now beginning to independently identify the same tactics used by summer camp as sound approaches to developing them. ¹

Connections

Most summer camps place a mission-critical focus on developing connections. We often call this “making friends,” but we truly mean teaching social intelligence, empathy and responsibility to others. The stage for this is set instantaneously: for campers, summer camp is a separate environment where grades and socioeconomic status are hidden behind a new, shared identity as members of the camp community.

Engaging in activities together builds connections, and experiencing success together strengthens them. Very few camps give sustained recognition for individual achievements like climbing to the top of a rock wall, but nearly all do for collaborative efforts like a successful hiking trip. Unlike school, where even grades for cooperative projects are often assessed individually, at camp the individual’s contribution is recognized as a critical piece of the whole. ²

We can draw a common-sense connection between the individual attainment of these skills and the functioning of our democracy. Young people with a deep sense of purpose and connection, it stands to reason, grow up to be purposeful and connected adults. At a time when our schools are more segregated than they have been in decades, our youth need places where they can interact with a diversity of peers and form bonds based on shared experience.

Adolescents in particular define their identity based on their status in relation to their peer group, and camp is often intentionally a place where everyone is “in” the group. The social intelligence learned at summer camp develops into a broader sense of empathy and stewardship. Most American youth don’t attend summer camps, however, and of those who do, the majority are from white, non-immigrant, middle to upper class families. Kids from low-income, minority and/or undocumented communities who do attend often do so through the generosity of organizations like the Fresh Air Fund or religious groups. Still, emerging research shows us that the educational outcomes of the traditional camp experience are even more pronounced for youth from the latter demographics.

Camp Ubuntu in Castaic, California combines weekend camp experiences during the school year with wraparound programs within the community to build positive mentorships for middle school students from the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. Camp Brave Trails in Wrightwood, California uses the inclusiveness of the traditional summer camp model to create a cohort of empowered LGBTQ teenagers who return to their schools nationwide as leaders and advocates. In both these programs, the intentionally built community of summer camp creates a uniquely empowering environment for youth to develop in a way they never could at school.

Truly, the camp experience can be a mirror of the college experience, and anecdotal studies show that students with continuing summer camp experience to be better prepared for the critical non-academic skills required at college. When around 40 percent of students entering college do not graduate within four years, something is clearly missing from how we prepare our youth for the experience of higher education. The state of Oregon realized this recently, voting overwhelmingly in 2016 to fund residential outdoor education experiences for every fifth and sixth grader in the state (these follow the same methodological framework as summer camp, with greater academic content). Once we remember the important educational impact camp provides within the spectrum of youth development, increasing access becomes imperative.

If we agree that autonomous opportunities to master skills like grit and optimism are critical for improving college and career readiness and that intentionally building connectedness in our youth is critical for moving towards a more civil discourse, we must look to the surefire pedagogical approaches of summer camp to fill the gaping holes left by typical classroom instruction.

¹ (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2017)
² (American Camp Association, 2007)