What is it like to work at a summer camp?

Question

I've taught in schools for six years and I'm 28... not looking for a summertime fling or a chance to get drunk behind the cabins ...... I am just wondering what the experience is like and if it could be fulfilling for a summer job.

Answer 1

I don't know about fullfilling, but if you like teaching you should find it interesting. Among the differences (depending on the camp) are wider responsibilities, less depth, fewer requirements to get information across and fewer discipline problems (almost all the kids usually want to be there, the rest are homesick not angry.)
Among the negatives are little relief as many camps are away from cities and, in some cases, towns so places to go are rare. Some owners are a-----es, so talk to other counselors who have come back a couple of years. And some camps have really stupid (from my view) competitions and games. It will be a lot easier if they do what you like to do - crafts and riding camp is different from canoeing and sailing, vs camping and hiking vs intrumental and singing vs summer tutorial and computers.

Answer 2

Working at summer camps can be very fun. Working with the kids is great, but you have to remembered that you are with the kids non-stop. I have worked at a summer camp for 6 years and I love it but it can wear you down. Its great to work with kids out of their comfort zones, its pushes them to try new things. I worked at a campfire camp, we had only 24 hours off a weekend, and 2 hours off a day, thats 2 hours away from the kids. But it was a weeklong camp so the campers would leave at the end of the week and new ones would come the next day. At camp you are working in close quarters with your co-workers, so you have to be failry easy going cause your working with all sorts of people and they can get very annoying after a while.

Answer 3

I love working at summer camps!! It is the highlight of my year...I'm in college right now, and am going to a teacher so I feel like it is helping me gain more experience around children. Anyways I work at a Christian camp so there is no drinkning stuff like that, but if you are willing to be outside in the hottest part of the year, and deal w/ bugs, snakes, and whinny children...it is an awesome experience!!