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i was at whittle!!!! being a counselor at whittle, it's just sooooo different!!! i mean really, especially having been a camper. don't get me wrong, i had a BLAST, and was just so amazed by the girls i had. it's an indescribable feeling. but the week seemed to have gone by sooooooooooooooo slow!!! all of the stories, and all of the memories, i
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First, it saddens me to hear these negative comments about your camp leaders. I am so sorry that whatever you thought you saw was interpreted in a negative light. I am not really sure how power over children comes in to play either.
Sure, I was only there until Monday night, but I know what it takes to be a director, having been there since long before your camper days with Jamie in Cabin 13, or the year after with Kathy and Andrea. Their job is something that you cannot possibly understand until you have been to camp in multiple roles. Camper, CIT, Counselor, Cluster Director and Lead Director all carry responsibilities that those below them are probably not even aware of.
There is little more difficult than taking those steps from camper to counselor, and counselor to director, etc. I can only assume that you did not see the big picture.
Please understand that being your camp director is one of the most selfless acts a person can do. It is because of this first hand knowledge that I feel the need to defend by close friends…
While you and your co-counselor and 2 CITs were responsible for a group of 13 8th grade girls (often the most challenging group in camp), your directors were directly responsible for a team of 17 (Culver) CIT’s and 25 Counselors (not to mention all of the indirect responsibilities). This is a nonstop job. First, you need to consider that at least 2-4 months of regular planning occurred from the moment our beloved Y&G program ended. Then consider the countless weekends and nights (after hours) that were necessary to deal with all of the detailed planning and paperwork required. When all of that is done, there is still the task of calming nervous parents and trying to get a couple hours of sleep before leading you up the mountain. At this point camp hasn’t even begun!
Now consider one of the many small things that your directors are responsible for camp, morning wake-up. For this, they have to get up early enough to get every single cabin to breakfast on time. That wouldn’t be so bad if they hadn’t spent all night LITERALLY CHASING counselors who do not seem to understand the concept of a midnight camp curfew (mandated by camping services). But that’s not all. You see, when they are finally exhausted of chasing counselors back to their cabins, they need to meet in the director’s lodge to begin dealing with new issues that will affect the next day. That equals around 4 hours of sleep per night. It is a never ending cycle, especially when you consider that some of them may have actually spent most of the day sitting in a hospital with sick children. Rest period? Forget it. That is the time to deal with emergencies and scheduling problems. There were so many other mentally and physically exhausting things that they had to deal with that you may never know about.
Perhaps you saw something by someone specific at camp that left a lasting negative impression. All I can think is that you caught a small glimpse of an overworked individual at a low point. The same can be said of all of our counselors and CIT’s, and I’m sure you can think of one such personal moment like this as well.
Jesse, please don’t rush to judgment on what you think you may have seen by these selfless leaders who have sacrificed more time and talent for you and others in the past year than most people do in a lifetime.
As a person who has been going to camp whittle with CPY longer than you have been alive, I must say that camp could not have been run by a more capable or responsible person than Melissa. And the rest of her team are friends that I would trust more than anyone else. It is too bad that you can no longer see them in the way that I do on a daily basis.
All I can suggest is that you consider talking directly to some of these individuals so that you can get a better understanding of what was really going on in their world.
johnjay
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