Date: July 13-17

Beginner Camp Week 2

What went well?

In the second week of camp, the instructors between both sites were better able to learn from last week in how they should set up their lessons and adapt their lessons to be more responsive to the kids. This included instructors shortening their activities and simplifying them as well as counsellors realizing that they need to be more actively involved when behavioural problems occur during class so that instructors feel more supported. 

What could have been done differently?

Since the air quality has been really poor this week, children were not able to go outside since it'd be a safety hazard. This resulted in many children having a lot of pent-up energy and escalating energy levels beyond what is tolerable in classrooms. Counsellors were unequipped to deal with hosting games and activities that were more well-suited for the indoors which led to a lot of high noise levels and minor incidents between children. In the future, supporting the counsellors more with preventative games since I would've known that the weather wouldn't be good would be more helpful. 

What did I learn about myself when working with others?

Being more involved as a counsellor role this week especially with more behavioural problems made me realize the importance of team communication and delegating tasks. Since I am not able to attend morning meetings, when I intervene, I feel more alone and responsible to deal with things by myself rather than calling others to help me. In addition, juggling taking notes while being a "counsellor" at the same time felt really stressful and hard to manage at times because I'd feel like I wasn't taking enough notes or if I was glued to my laptop then I wouldn't be active enough as a "counsellor." 

What did I learn about leadership?

Part of leadership is really about finding the right balance between being actively involved versus taking the backseat at times. I think this week, I was really struggling to find that right balance and I hope next week that I get a better grasp on how to do so!