My First Year As Camp Director

The twenty-five stories that are contained in the book, My First Year As A Teacher, are about real teachers and their experiences during the first year of teaching. Each story is different. Some are about memorable students while other stories are about some of the hardships that are encountered as a novice teacher. The diverse sampling of stories in this book gives insight of what kind of problems one might encounter as a teacher, yet they also describe how rewarding the profession can be. I found it rather difficult to choose only ten stories as my favorite but after much consideration and rereading I decided on the following stories because in many ways I could relate to the students as well as the teachers that are given life in these stories.

People naturally like to generalise over a large group, it puts less stress on our brain. One such generalisation is the generations that people talk about, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millenials, and Gen Z. In “Move Over, Millennials, Here Comes Generation Z” Alex Williams discusses a possible outcome of what Gen Z is to be as compared to the Millennials.

I was ecstatic to be able to be involved with this program. I volunteered to help with the program for 4 years and it was the best experiences I had with children. I did multiple things for the children: I was a chaperone for one of the groups, I made there lunches for them one year, and also made the activities for the children to enjoy.

Last summer I volunteered to be a camp counselor at a camp in Blowing Rock, North Carolina called Camp Sonshine. This camp is different from others in that they bring children ages 5 to 18 from inner city Memphis, Tennessee to the Appalachian Mountains. This

Every generation is influenced by its period 's economic, political and social events. From the Great Depression to the civil rights and women 's movements to the advent of television and advanced computer technologies. Thus generational background/situation may also affect the way they work. The key is to be able to effectively address and take advantage of the differences in values and expectations of each generation in the workplace. The current work place consists of four different generations; The Baby Boomers (1946-1964) who are slowly retiring and existing the workforce, The Generation X (1965-1976), The Generation Y or millennia (1977-1997), and the Generation Z who are about to or are just entering the work force. Although these different generations tend to want similar things in a workplace their environment/background has shaped their character, values, and expectations (Hahn 2011).

My most important 4-H accomplishments include joining the Illinois State 4-H Youth Leadership Team (YLT), being chosen to serve on the Illinois Farm Bureau Youth in Education in Agriculture Committee 4-H representative (YEA), and county awards I have earned. Serving on YLT was a goal of mine ever since I went to the Junior Leadership Conference (JLC) my 7th and 8th grade years. On the team I have met some of the best people I now can call friends while representing 4-H across the state and impacting 4-H members too. Being apart of the team I have helped plan and execute two JLCs assisted with SFI-4-H training, worked at the Illinois State Fair, and represented 4-H at the University of Illinois Salute to Ag Day tailgate and football game. As

Attending Troop N Camp Cadet was truly an experience that I cannot say enough great things about. The camp truly pushed me to my mental and physical limits, and because of that, graduation day was a day I will never forget. As I think back on this experience, many people stand out to me. One of the main groups of people was of course the advisors, which were helped by the junior counselors. I believe that I, being given the opportunity to be a junior counselor, would be provided with a positive experience for many reasons.

It gave me a glimpse of what it will be like when I am a teacher someday, and I was able to share with a younger generation one of my passions. The week of the camp I worked for approximately thirty-five hours. The actual camp was twelve hours, and the rest was planning the activities for our classes. I was in charge of teaching voice and directing the play for the end of the week. It was a lot of hard work, and a lot of the kids were hesitant to participate at first, but in the end it was rewarding because when I see these kids in the community they see me and usually give me a hug or tell me how much they loved the

However, the hardest thing to deal with at camp is the kids that are from broken homes. It is difficult to be so blatantly aware that a young child is suffering and is not loved at home. Camp is very draining both physically and emotionally. I have worked many weeks but I could not look forward to a paycheck. I had to find something to keeps me going and that thing is that at the core of my values and beliefs is concern for others and knowing through service and love I can make their week the best it can be. Just as the staff at Dallas Valley impacted my life, I hope to have meaningfully helped and inspired my campers. This experience has taught me that not all hard work or good deeds are seen but they are worth more than the recognition. I learned there is so many more important things in life than making money. I am very grateful to have worked at camp. I can now take the people skills, the patience, and the responsibility I learned at camp and use it at school, at home, and in the work force. Moreover, I have solidified my values of integrity, service and

I also got to talk with and get to know some of them. They talked with me and my supervisor about their experiences with the kids in their schools they serve. While Michelle taught them about how domestic violence affects kids. It was also an emotional one because the Foster Grandparents program is being cut in the western part of North Dakota. This is a great program and I truly believe it is helping kids and I’m sad to see it be cut.

Throughout the years, I have had many great opportunities to grow as a person and as a leader through 4-H. My ten years of involvement in the Columbia County 4-H Project has had an enormous impact on my life. It taught me how to be a better leader. It introduced me to some great people and some wonderful leadership positions. I gained skills in the project, such as horsemanship, but more importantly, I grew as a person. If it wasn't for the things I learned and the people I met in 4-H, I would not be the person I am today. The many activities I have participated in through 4-H have given me opportunities to grow as a student, athlete, horseman, and leader. The skills that I have gained through 4-H will stay with me for the rest of my life,

I, Jonathan Kale Haywood, tend to be a humble person; however, when it comes to YMCA Camp Cosby, I feel like I can make a difference in the place I love. Camp Cosby has done so much for me, and I want to make sure that the Cosby Spirit lives on. I want to instill the values that I have learned at Cosby in others so that the world can be a better place. Camp Cosby is an experience that every camper learns something about themselves, and sometimes the parents also learn a lesson or

Now looking back I realize that 1 group of people can sit together and change the world I really and deeply care for people who need help in any way. I started to be a little less self centered and decided to be a little more caring to others who had less things than I did. My experience at the camp let me see how some people are living a hard life. I know that school is the only way to learn to stay out of those sad times. But every time I go to bed It reminds me of the people who needs someone who is happy with life the way they have

Unfortunately, I have not had experience as a camp counselor before but I have had many leadership opportunities. For example, two years ago I had the opportunity to be a Pioneer Girls Club leader alongside of three others. We lead a group of ten to fifteen girls in many different Christian oriented activities. I really enjoyed working with these girls and teaching them about Christ and I hope to have the similar opportunity this summer. I also

Generations can be loosely defined as bodies of individuals born and living at about the same time. “Each generation is molded by distinctive experiences during their critical developmental periods” (Twenge, 2008). The