Civic Engagement returns!

Once again, we've successfully engaged a handful of our wonderful adolescents in a weekend of laughing, learning and hopefully lasting leadership skills.

This token event is always emphasized as the weekend that wears us to the bone. Working over 50 hours in three days, it is common for AmeriMembers to spend the next week justifying zombie-like motivation by saying we are in recovery. I really don't think it is that intense but by Sunday, one is certainly ready to fall asleep in one's own bed, away from sleep-deprived cackling teens.

Still, this year left me feeling more intact than last for a few reasons.

First, the weather was much better. By that, I mean that it rained two of the three days. But this year, we didn't have the additional chill of wintery temperatures and the first glorious evening kept my spirits up even after the first rain drop fell.

Secondly, I was excited to have a few of the girls I was closest to be able to participate. It was interesting to see them in a different setting. I also got to make some new connections with girls from the other schools and overall, just felt like I had more opportunities to feel close to the kids than I did last year. This included observing how the Junior Counselors got involved this year as well. Instead of being general task-masters for us, our team did a great job at finding ways for the JCs to play active roles in activities.

Our young country girl Jeremy, dreaming of going to school 

This year, theatrics became the feature of camp. We opened on Friday with an impromptu skit to replace the "town history speaker" requirement. And the best activity of all was our Saturday night Dog Court, a camp tradition that Kerissa introduced us to. Throughout the weekend, it was the JC's job to collect stories of campers doing silly or embarrassing things. These were then read off by a diva-liciously fabulous-looking Jeremy The Plaintiff as charges against campers. The individuals were asked to come to the stand one by one to be put on trial while Lou and Ainsley donned their Lawyer hats to play devils advocate and AJ acted like himself in a trash can, making blasé judgment calls and silly impromptu sentences. It was hands down the best thing I've seen at any camp, ever.

Think Mrs. Doubtfire voice. 

And finally, the service project. When I think back to last year, one image pops into my mind. It was a photo of me on the last day, looking like I'd just been sedated. I remember sitting, slouched over a table as the school groups clamored together and the chaos of planning began. The way we organized planning sessions, it didn't feel like there was much for me to do and so I had all the more reason to remain in my delirium.

And the discombobulated planning reflected in the project's outcome.

This year, the topic choices came down to littering or bullying. The debates that were spurred during the "campaign" unit were intense. All of us AmeriCorps were doing our best to bite our tongues and let the kids have their own democratic experience but it was difficult. Taking a black and white approach, arguments for bullying claimed it was a far worse issue and one kid threw out a fabricated statistic about suicides which was then repeatedly used in others' arguments. 90% became the staple "factoid" for anything they wanted to talk about.

Those in favor of littering were equally one-sided. "Sure, you lose a family member or two. But pollution will kill our whole planet and this is the only one we have."

"Would you rather watch a penguin trapped in a can, or see a family member die?"

I cringed at each statement and Matt finally had to step in when one student made the insensitive claim of "Well, it's not like anyone is making the bullied kids kill themselves. They choose to" and "Why don't the bullied kids just move?"

It was ultimately voted upon with the results in favor of the bullying issue and the kids set to work planning an Anti-Bullying week. I facilitated the communications task force and felt much more effectively utilized than last year.

I'm more invested in seeing this project succeed, also. Bullying has been a problem not only for the kids in this area but for those of us trying to address it and protect youth. I think that it will be beneficial to the cause to have an event that is put together by the demographic it happens to rather than continuing to give bland lectures on how to prevent bullying.

Because the project had become bigger than usual, they have a whole two months to plan. I'm excited to see what comes out of it.