Science Camp
Ah, camp. That childhood rite of passage, which I did not experience until last week, at the ripe old age of 35. Every year, the fifth graders at our school go to Science Camp. As a teacher, I was also required to go to camp, and despite my dislike of camping in general, I had a good time. It was great seeing our fifth graders in a whole new light, experiencing things they had never encountered before. One student in particular, R, is a bully on campus and spends A LOT of time in the office. But at camp, R really blossomed! He conquered his fear of heights, worked well as part of a "survival team," and even showed impeccable manners at the dinner table! R comes from a poor, Hispanic family and had never even been in the woods before this trip. I hope it made an impression on him and he learned what a great kid he truly is.
Another interesting part of the trip was T, a girl whom I taught in first grade, but thankfully is in another classroom for fifth grade. T has oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). If you don't know what that is, look it up - it's very interesting. T was in my group, and she hit the ground digging in her heels. We started off with wilderness survival skills and a lesson on using a compass. T refused to differentiate between the arrows on the compass, and despite the intervention of several parents, she maintained her stance that the spinning arrow was the one she should follow. It was actually kind of amusing to watch parent after parent try to coax and persuade T to use the compass correctly. Finally, I intervened saying, "T, if that's the way you want to use the compass, go ahead. Of course, you may get lost in the woods, but I'm sure we'll be loud enough that you'll find us eventually!"
After that, T pretty much gave up the compass fight.
Then it became all about not stepping on any plants because either they were poisonous or she didn't want to hurt them (it's pretty hard to avoid plants in a forest). Or she wouldn't climb over a log because there was a single ant on it. Finally, all the parents caught on to her game, and it became a bit of a joke among us as to how T would react to each new situation. If the camp counselor asked everyone to sit down, T stood up. When she asked us to stand up, T sat down. Finally the counselor took me aside and said, "What is WITH that girl?!"
T wasn't the only stresser of the trip though. There was also the usual fifth grade girl drama, which for some reason, I became the mediator for. "Mrs. P, N is trying to steal my friends!" Or, "Mrs. P, I need to move out of that dorm because none of the girls are talking to me! They're all mad at me for some reason!" *sigh* It was exhausting! I don't think the girls appreciated the advice I gave them either, which was basically, "This is why when I was your age, I hung out with boys!" Oh well, my pearls of wisdom only go so far.
There were some great times at camp too. The highlight of the trip for most of us was the High Ropes course. We were put into harnesses and had to climb what looked like a telephone pole. About 40 feet up, we could cross over either a log bridge with nothing to hold on to, or a tightrope with two rope hand rails. I chose the log bridge. Climbing up was a little nerve-wracking, but apparently, I did it pretty fast because the adults in the group were yelling out that I should go work for the telephone company doing maintenance on the lines. Then I had to step away from the pole and on to the log bridge. This is where my heart dropped and I felt truly scared. Maneuvering my body around with nothing to hold on to, that high up in the air, was slightly terrifying. But I did it, and then set to walking across the log. I put my "Survivor" fandom to good use, channeling my inner "Ozzy," and walked across the log as if I was in a race for immunity. Then I was hooked into a zip line and flew down off the crow's nest and across a large field, to the cheers of my students. It was definitely a moment to remember!
Maybe I'll go along as a chaperon when Vika and Eamon go to Science Camp. I'd love to see them cruising down that zip line!
Another interesting part of the trip was T, a girl whom I taught in first grade, but thankfully is in another classroom for fifth grade. T has oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). If you don't know what that is, look it up - it's very interesting. T was in my group, and she hit the ground digging in her heels. We started off with wilderness survival skills and a lesson on using a compass. T refused to differentiate between the arrows on the compass, and despite the intervention of several parents, she maintained her stance that the spinning arrow was the one she should follow. It was actually kind of amusing to watch parent after parent try to coax and persuade T to use the compass correctly. Finally, I intervened saying, "T, if that's the way you want to use the compass, go ahead. Of course, you may get lost in the woods, but I'm sure we'll be loud enough that you'll find us eventually!"
After that, T pretty much gave up the compass fight.
Then it became all about not stepping on any plants because either they were poisonous or she didn't want to hurt them (it's pretty hard to avoid plants in a forest). Or she wouldn't climb over a log because there was a single ant on it. Finally, all the parents caught on to her game, and it became a bit of a joke among us as to how T would react to each new situation. If the camp counselor asked everyone to sit down, T stood up. When she asked us to stand up, T sat down. Finally the counselor took me aside and said, "What is WITH that girl?!"
T wasn't the only stresser of the trip though. There was also the usual fifth grade girl drama, which for some reason, I became the mediator for. "Mrs. P, N is trying to steal my friends!" Or, "Mrs. P, I need to move out of that dorm because none of the girls are talking to me! They're all mad at me for some reason!" *sigh* It was exhausting! I don't think the girls appreciated the advice I gave them either, which was basically, "This is why when I was your age, I hung out with boys!" Oh well, my pearls of wisdom only go so far.
There were some great times at camp too. The highlight of the trip for most of us was the High Ropes course. We were put into harnesses and had to climb what looked like a telephone pole. About 40 feet up, we could cross over either a log bridge with nothing to hold on to, or a tightrope with two rope hand rails. I chose the log bridge. Climbing up was a little nerve-wracking, but apparently, I did it pretty fast because the adults in the group were yelling out that I should go work for the telephone company doing maintenance on the lines. Then I had to step away from the pole and on to the log bridge. This is where my heart dropped and I felt truly scared. Maneuvering my body around with nothing to hold on to, that high up in the air, was slightly terrifying. But I did it, and then set to walking across the log. I put my "Survivor" fandom to good use, channeling my inner "Ozzy," and walked across the log as if I was in a race for immunity. Then I was hooked into a zip line and flew down off the crow's nest and across a large field, to the cheers of my students. It was definitely a moment to remember!Maybe I'll go along as a chaperon when Vika and Eamon go to Science Camp. I'd love to see them cruising down that zip line!
Who knew that Survivor fandom would come in handy just like that! :)
I didn't know you would be doing dangerous things at camp! That's it, Missy. Your grounded.
The zip line looks so cool!
Hello, oppositional defiance my old friend! It's definitely best for your sanity if you can find the humor in the continual oppositional reaction - but that's hard to maintain. Anyway, it sounds like you were a shining model for your kids. Way to go! I don't know if I would have been so brave as to go across that bridge.
How fun! Well, the climbing and zip line thing, not so much the chaperoning thing!
And way to channel Ozzy! He was crazy with his skills, no?