If You Got The Feeling...

So here's my entry about my camp experience.

I agreed to join my girls at camp under the idea that I was going as just an extra set of eyes and to do a book study with the girls.  Little did I know I would be staying with the girls in their cabins.  Luckily I got a bottom bunk, because to me, climbing into bed on top of one of my students would have just been way too awkward for me.  One of the biggest downfalls of this arrangement, as you can probably imagine, is the lack of privacy.  This arrangement blurred the line of the student/teacher relationship.  I am closer with my students than some teachers become due to the small class size, single sex, and extended day program, but being this close was a little too much.  One of my colleagues was staying in the same cabin, just on the other side of the bathroom which split our cabin in half.  We would shower and dress before the girls woke up or after they were busy in activities to ensure that we had privacy.  For some reason many of the girls felt comfortable in their skin to bare it to others.  They also played around with opening doors and curtains on each other.  Not exactly what you want to happen to you as a teacher, luckily it never did.  

Another downfall was the sheer messiness we had to live in.  Having 36 people in one cabin equals a lot of clutter and dirt.  After breakfast, there was a designated time for cabin cleanup.  This included straightening cubbies, making beds, sweeping the floors and cleaning the bathroom.  Every morning there were fights about whose dirty underwear was on the floor and whose pjs were on other peoples beds.  I should have counted the number of articles of clothing that were thrown away during every cleanup due to the fact that no one would claim them as theirs.  I guess it was the lack of complete personal space and the absence of parental supervision that lead some of the girls to feel that they could be so messy.  I tried setting a good example by keeping my bed and cubby the neatest out of anyone's (which is a hard feet for me).  But I do have to congratulate the girls because one half of our cabin won the "Golden Sponge" for having the cleanest cabin for one of the weeks.  So they did pull through in the end.

One thing that was both good and bad was the singing during meals.  It was good because it brought good, clean fun into their lives and made meals seem like a family event.  It was bad because it was just so loud!  They would sing songs like this: "If you got the feeling, yea yea, let me see it in your head, uh uh uh uh uh.  (with head shake)"  And the song would continue with the shoulders, hands, hips, on the table, and feet.  I often left the dining hall with a headache and a smile on my face. 

I was really glad I decided to bring my knee high rain boots because the ground sure did get muddy.  Too bad I didn't heed the warnings about wearing flip flops around.  I was pretty good about that except the one day I decided to wear them (like one of my colleagues did the whole time we were there).  Sure enough what happens that one day?  I slip in some mud and fall while flipping over the top of my foot and spraining my ankle.  Just my luck.  Moments before this happened one of my students said, "Don't slip in the mud and fall."  She felt horrible and thought she jinxed me.  If only she knew how many times I've sprained my weak ankles.  This sprain wasn't bad and I decided to do a "hike" about 2 hours after the incident anyways.  Resiliency anyone?

The camp experience included two dances which occurred in the night.  Some of the girls got sooo excited and put on their best clothes to impress the boys.  But of course they acted like the shy middle schoolers that they are and barely danced.  Some spent most of their time walking back and forth across the room to gossip and giggle with different groups of friends, or just sat on the stage people watching.  It's so funny that even inner city kids with attitudes act just like the stereotypical awkward middle schoolers that you know and love.  I was really hoping for the awkward slow dance with arms out stretched and eyes wandering all over the room, but I unfortunately never saw it.  

The girls got to meet many other girls and boys from the city who go to all different schools.  This was great for them to share experiences.  They ran around sharing screen names and emails the last day, so I hope some of them keep in touch. 

Camp was fun and definitely a new experience for me, but would I do it again?  Not so sure.  It was good when I kept my distance and allowed the girls to experience things for themselves with their counselors.  But I also got to see a different side of some of my girls.  I may have to see what my next summer brings.

Now it's back to school...