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CAMP DIRECTORS AND COUNSELLORS

No one doubts for a moment that camping is a good thing for children as well as for grown people, but like many so-called "good things" the results accruing from it depend upon the person or persons in charge.

For a Girl Scout camp the Director is generally engaged by a council or a committee and is made responsible for the camp as a whole, including the health, safety and happiness of the group, the standards established and the furthering of Scout principles and aims. The Director may engage as assistants, volunteer or paid counsellors. They may be Scout Captains or people who know little about the Scout work, but whoever they are all should qualify as to character, willingness to cooperate, love for children, ability to teach or to do well one or more things, and possess a personality which will make for happiness and success.

The number of counsellors will depend on the size of the group and the work to be done. One counsellor for sixteen girls or for every two patrols is none too many. There should be a head counsellor who takes the Director's place when necessary, and who assists her in many ways; a nurse who is responsible for the personal health of the Scouts and who teaches First Aid and Personal Health; a counsellor to have charge of each subject listed on the program, a handy-man if the camp is large and there is much heavy work to be done; a cook and cook's helper, and last but not least, someone to do all that no one else does—keep records of all kinds, write letters, arrange for the coming and going of campers, supervise the canteen, and be helpful generally.

Well-built floors keep out ground damp, and make level and steady supports.

It is most desirable when possible to engage Scout leaders as counsellors, but they should qualify as do all other counsellors, for the camp specialties.

The Director must think in universal terms and put personal feelings to one side. She must aim for oneness of purpose and solve all problems that seem to block the way. She must be an example always and her imagination, understanding, resourcefulness, strength, and devotion to her work are her tools. She should understand the necessary requirements of the various groups as concerns their religious training and make provisions for helping the girls to live up to these requirements. Those who must go to church every Sunday, observe Feast Days and Fast Days, should have a counsellor of their own faith to be responsible for them. For those girls whose belief makes it necessary to abstain from eating certain foods and being particular as to the dishes they use, arrangements must be made to meet their needs.

Because it is not always possible to allow each member of a large group to attend church on Sunday, especially as camps as a rule are not near communities, a simple Scout service should be arranged at which the Scout Promise and Laws are repeated, purely non-sectarian hymns are sung and a short talk given on Scout-like subjects. Great care must be taken to keep this service in accord with the policy of the Scout organization, which is absolutely non-sectarian.

A Director's specific duties vary according to the size and type of the camp and the number and duties of her assistants. She should, however, in all cases see that the program adopted is being lived up to, that the camp is in a sanitary and safe condition in every respect, that the proper food is being served, that camp regulations are being obeyed and that any illness is being cared for. She should improve every opportunity to give the children something of usefulness and value by calling their attention to the best and diverting it from all that is not helpful.

She should cultivate the ability to read the temperature of the group and when necessary to forestall difficult situations, discuss with it squarely, fairly, openly and truthfully any misunderstanding or dissatisfactions and do away with them as soon as possible.

If a Director is responsible for the money spent in running the camp she should see that there is no waste and that the greatest possible returns are procured for all expenditures. These will include such items as food, cartage, labor, salaries, canteen supplies, materials for occupational activities, necessary replenishing of household equipment, and telephone calls.

It is hardly possible to equip and run a camp on the income from a low rate of board, but the running expenses should be met and the children will help by cooperating to this end if encouraged to do so, even to the point of cheerfully foregoing some of the things they like and want and are accustomed to having at home.

"A Slack Rag of Canvas 'Twixt You and the Stars." Shipshape tents secure from wind, set up with stakes.

The condition of the equipment during and at the end of the camp season is largely in the hands of the Director. Careful supervision, and a few rules that are carried out, make it possible to use the same equipment for many seasons before it begins to show wear. An occasional accident may happen but this is unusual. It is well to remember either when working with an individual or a group that it is only possible to form habits by constant repetition. To tell a child to do something and not to see that it is done, is of little value to the child or anyone else. One of the chief duties of a Director is to know that the things are done which have been mapped out as essential to the welfare of the camper.

Counsellors should meet often, even daily, with the Director and report on the work being done, make suggestions for improvements and establish a basis of cooperation. At such meetings plans for any special occasion should be made and duties assigned. If the children need time to themselves and entertainments for relaxation and to break the routine, it is also true that the Director and Counsellors must have free time to work out their individual problems and indulge in some form of play. An occasional afternoon out of camp or the opportunity to have a little party by themselves is suggested. In a large camp near the city, a full day a week should be allowed to each Counsellor.

The Director's work is unending from the opening to the closing of camp, but she has a rare opportunity to work with girls, to help them in many ways, some of which are quite personal, and perhaps to be an influence for great good in their lives. All depends however, on what she is herself, and what she considers is the purpose of the camp.

Personality

No one is fitted to be a counsellor in a Girl Scout camp who does not like to work with girls and who does not in a measure understand children. The desire to be with them, to learn from them, and to help them, is the only reason for accepting such a position. In addition one should be equipped to teach at least one subject and able to make it of such interest that it opens the mind to a new world. The ability to cooperate is another essential quality, for when living with a group, we may interpret individually, but what we interpret must be of common understanding. While patience and sympathy are both needed in group living, sentimentality is to be avoided.

In high and dry Colorado, wall tents without floors, and put up with ground pegs can suffice.

Hours of work have nothing to do with the duties of a camp counsellor. She is on duty in one sense twenty-four hours out of every day, but her work need not be arduous. If she becomes aware of anything which seems to be, or is likely to become, a detriment to the camp it is her duty to report the matter to the Director. There is a great deal of work which can be done by counsellors which cannot be stipulated, but which rests with them as individuals.

The right word at the right moment always bears fruit. A suggestion of tidiness to an untidy girl, a suggestion of kindness to the girl who is quick and impulsive, a suggestion to use better language, or to lower her voice or to improve her table manners, or to be more Scout-like, if made to a child alone, and at an opportune moment, means much and is appreciated. The best results are obtained when we can realize that each child holds within herself the perfect Scout ideal and that because of her limited ideas, lack of understanding, environment, the negative suggestions constantly being made to her, she fails to express it. One work of the camp counsellor is to help her by example, and by word, to give up these erroneous ideas, and to stress being a Scout.

Nearly all children have a dramatic instinct and love to act. Help them to act the part of a Scout. In this way they are forming a habit that means something.