Probably the last thing you want to hear from your camp director, huh? And I get it – you most likely hear ‘learning’ and think about sitting in class, working through some of the (very important) basics like reading, writing, and ‘rhymatic.

For most of us, that doesn’t fill us with rainbows and sunshine. Important? Absolutely! Fun… not often.

You rarely think about ‘learning’ when you think of camp. And I get it – laughing with your friends, goofing around in the Fort, enjoying a crazy Evening Activity before having a snack and going to bed alongside your great friends…. That doesn’t sound like learning.

But, it is.

Continuos Learning

I had the opportunity to enjoy the ACA New York/New Jersey Tri-State conference this week. It’s the largest collection of camp professionals in the world. It’s a ton of fun that included a lot of ‘sit down and take notes’ learning along with ‘get up and play’ and ‘walk around and talk’ learning, too.

One of the speakers was author David Brooks. Turns out, one of the most successful and visible pundits in the US spent 15 glorious summers as a camper and then staff member. In fact, he still serves on the board at his camp to this day.

He mentioned something I really loved: Camp is all about ‘moral formation’, becoming cognitively flexible, and enjoying (literally) a ‘whole body & emotional education.’

I couldn’t agree more. And, in fact, the employers (and future life partners) agree. These two different groups are looking for people who can function well in a team, who are curious and engaged, who can connect with a number of people outside of their own little bubble and who can solve problems creatively.

That, my young friends, is all what you learn at camp. Doesn’t matter if you are a camper or a staff member. Living (and laughing) in the Camp Weequahic community leads to these results, this learning. More to the point, you only learn best when you are in a good relationship.

And that is what we do best – bringing out the best in each of us and build a community around a whole lot of awesome.

Last Idea

I’ll leave you with this quote from one of the greatest business men of all time, Charlie Munger:

“The people who rise in life are not those who are the smartest, but they who are learning machines. They go to bed every night a little wiser than when they woke up.”

Go out there and keep learning. Get back to camp so we can learn the really important stuff… while laughing and playing a lot!!