I was pleasantly surprised to read in my daughter’s sleepaway camp newsletter that the camp spends time each week teaching the girls conflict resolution skills:
Tonight, the counselors are putting on the first Creative Service of the summer. Creative Service is a time to pause and reflect on the lessons learned here at camp. Tonight’s service will remind campers of or introduce them to “I want you to know… Watch how we grow.” This program, unique to [our camp], is grounded in the philosophy that communication is the key to problem-solving and strong friendships. The girls learn a calm and constructive way to express their feelings. They are given a chance to know if their behavior is affecting a friend in a negative way without being blamed or criticized. After signing our “Nice People Place Pledge”, the girls can be rewarded weekly for working on positive conflict resolution by receiving a patch that they can add to the 2009 I Want to Know banner.
I can only hope that my daughter is able to apply those skills to life’s ups and downs for years to come!
It seems as though somewhere along the way we lose the focus on using dispute resolution. When you are a child your parents always tell you to talk it out and use your words, but then it stops there. If this idea could be integrated into junior high schools and high schools I think our country would be better off. It does seem however that many are coming around to this idea. I found a great article that discusses a few ways to tie alternative dispute resolution into a classes curriculum: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cde.state.co.us%2Fcdeprevention%2Fdownload%2Fpdf%2Fconflict%2520resolution_school%2520curriculum.pdf&ei=nt5xSp7ZCYXCNqvAlLEM&usg=AFQjCNH1rRnFzoy3-e3O-UUl0F7vczjfIw&sig2=8qKciytN4u_0KBqX7oIvXQ.
Yes, the program is wonderful and they really do practice what they preach. This is my daughter’s third summer and she absolutely loves it. I’ll try to get a more detailed description from the camp directors.
I’d love to know more about their program–it sounds wonderful. I don’t have to tell YOU how miserably adolescent girls often act towards one another. If they could actually ingrain in their campers tools for dealing with other girls’ insecurity and treachery in constructive ways, how much better their lives would be! Good for you for finding such a camp.