10 things I learned at Outdoor Science School

Nick Giulioni writes:

While countless lessons can be learned in the classroom, there are others that teachers cannot even begin to teach within the constraints of a school setting.  At Outdoor Science School, a week-long trip that most fifth-graders take to learn about different aspects of nature, I learned several of these lessons as the cabin leader for nine students.  Here are 10 lessons -- in descending order of importance -- that these 10-year-olds taught me over the course of a week:

10) Reasoning and explaining one’s actions are always viable options.  No matter what age or intelligence, people expect to receive an explanation for a leader’s actions.

9) Counting to three tends to change rowdy children into obedient students, even when no punishment is stated.  Can they sense my anger rising, or is it something else?

8) Never let a sleepwalker have the bunk above you. Ever.

7) Giving students time to socialize, run around, and generally have fun within reason makes you their friend.  This makes them that more likely to listen to you when they need to calm down or go to bed.

6) Never underestimate the power of sugar.  I won’t relay the story here, but digging through the trash for a pack of Oreos prevented a serious meltdown.

5) Carry hand sanitizer; you can’t understand how much you miss your clean bathroom at home until you share one with 18 fifth-graders.

4) Play with the kids.  This may sound simple, but engaging in physical games with children can have a profound affect on your relationship with them.  So step away from the computer and plop down on the ground; it is time for a game of “Duck, Duck, Goose.”

3) Lead by example.  At one point, we had to climb a giant hill known as Ice Cream Mountain.  I climbed it without complaining, which prompted the children to do the same.

2) Let people come up with their own rules.  They are more likely to follow and enforce them if they have a stake in implementing them.

1) And finally, being able to say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious in one burp makes you one cool fifth-grader.

Comments

[Will Renken]

Hi Nick,
You were a great counselor at camp! I had a lot of fun because you were my counselor.

Will
p.s. Have you tried burping yet?

[MEH]

So...are you now a fifth grader? Hummm.....