Where I've Been
There's no way I can do justice to the past four days. I was off at camp with Katie. Islandwood is a nature preserve used to teach kids about the flora and fauna of Western Washington. Katie got to go last year, and luckily her school decided that their classes get to go two years in a row. Otherwise, she wouldn't have prevailed on me to be a counselor. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. We were matched with a group of 4th & 5th graders, so I was in a 'field group' with an instructor and eight kids, getting to know some of Katie's fellow students a lot more than I have in 6 years.
Basically, we tramped through the woods, identifying plants, playing educational games, and learning about the biology & culture of the area. This included visiting a cemetery & a harbor, climbing a 120-foot-tall tower & crossing a suspension bridge, working together to solve problems & acting individually to strengthen singular abilities.
In a very real way, this is not the kind of camp I went to when I was Katie's age. I saw the most macho kid in the group be consoling and thoughtful toward a child I knew would have been ostracized and bullied back when I was in 5th grade. Something is very different from how it was when I was 10 years old.
Or at least it is in this school and at this camp. But I'd like to think it's the world getting just that little incremental bit better than it was 40 years ago.
Basically, we tramped through the woods, identifying plants, playing educational games, and learning about the biology & culture of the area. This included visiting a cemetery & a harbor, climbing a 120-foot-tall tower & crossing a suspension bridge, working together to solve problems & acting individually to strengthen singular abilities.
In a very real way, this is not the kind of camp I went to when I was Katie's age. I saw the most macho kid in the group be consoling and thoughtful toward a child I knew would have been ostracized and bullied back when I was in 5th grade. Something is very different from how it was when I was 10 years old.
Or at least it is in this school and at this camp. But I'd like to think it's the world getting just that little incremental bit better than it was 40 years ago.