knows that they get indignant when they feel they're
being treated unjustly, and are especially wary of being
handled unfairly in relation to their peers. Rules tend
to alleviate this fear, because it makes punishment less
personal.
Rather than accuse a youngster of wrongdoing,
Elana disciplined her campers by saying, "We don't do
so-and-so at Camp Watermelon." Though it's important
for the counselor to encourage individual pursuits, a
certain mass mentality as determined by rules can
make young kids an absolute delight. But
no matter their age, when problems arise,
the counselor must:
•
Be Firm
"We found," said Rishauna Zumberg, a
counselor this past summer at Tamarack,
"that when problems arose, we had to
take more of a stand to let [campers] know
that 'I'm a counselor, and you're
campers." While sometimes a simple ver-
bal instruction will yield compliance, often

Left: These Walden
campers are ready
for action.

Elana Kaufman, a counselor at Huntington Woods'
Camp Watermelon day camp this past summer, says
that when reviewing the rules, "repetition is very im-
portant. When familiar with the rules, if a camper
breaks one, he realizes it right away."
This instant recognition is key, because kids hate be-
ing disciplined, and it helps when the counselor's
words are justified by a rule of which the camper is al-
ready aware.
Also, anyone who has experience with younger kids

a camper's temper will
plug his ears, boil his
blood and keep his fists
Above: Camp pro-
grams provide lots churning.
of creativity and
This is when it's time
fun.
to be firm. The camper
must realize that while the counselor is
usually the person in charge of the fun, in
this instance he means business, and that the camper
better do exactly what the counselor says.
There's a right way and a wrong way to initiate or-
der. Most important, the counselor mustn't lose his
cool. If the adult doesn't maintain -control of the situa-
tion, no one will, and when control is lost, kids tend to
get hurt.
Rather than work oneself into rage, the proper way
to break up a fight, for instance, is to walk briskly into
the middle of it, to utter curt commands ordering the

perpetrators to separate, to quickly lead one away from
the other and to get both sitting down. A counselor
gains control most effectively when he acts swiftly.
Both fighters should be sitting out of each other's sight
in a matter of seconds. Once they can't see each other,
the red-hot flames of anger will extinguish with incredi-
ble speed, and the kids will concentrate instead on
how to regain the counselor's love — and how to mini-
mize the consequences.
But before any constructive disciplining can begin,
the counselor must:
Get Their Attention
All campers have very short attention spans, and
they hate being lectured and moralized to, especially
when they can feel the hot water creeping around their
ankles. Therefore, if the camper is to learn why his ac-
tions were "wrong," he must be instructed briefly and
tactfully. For counselors, this is often the most difficult
part of the process.
Once danger has been averted, and the suddenly
pint-sized culprit stares at you with his nervous 10-year-
old eyes, the tendency is to immedi-
ately forgive and forget.
Unfortunately, to do so is to prac-
tically beg for repeat offenders, and
when trouble recurs, the counselor
will have only himself to blame.
Hence, the situation must be dealt
with the first time around.
To return to "the fight," once the
campers are sitting and fuming, the
counselor must approach each of
them and begin the process of
moral edification. In fights, and in
most problems involving several campers, there is usu-
ally an instigator and a victim (or accomplice, depend-
ing on the situation).
Both should be handled in the following manner.
Facing the camper, the counselor should sit down
cross-legged, instructing the camper to do the same.
When a camper is lying down or moving around, he's
not going to hear a word the counselor says, and the
whole disciplinary effort is a lost cause.
Similarly, the counselor should tell the camper — not
menacingly, of course, but with soft coercion — to look
him in the eyes. Eye contact is crucial, because it practi-
cally forces the camper to hear what's being said. At this
point, the victim is likely to be very nervous and upset,
the instigator indignant or rebellious, but nevertheless,
they're focused. Thus, it's time for the counselor to:

J ANUARY 1997

that will guide the campers' stay. These, of course, will
be instantly forgotten by 99 percent of the youngsters
present, and the small minority with an impressive at-
tention span will often include those anxious to put the
law to the test.
Therefore, if the rules are to carry any weight at all,
they must be rigidly enforced right from their institu-
tion. And if counselors uphold the rules, within a few
days all campers have at least a subliminal understand-
ing of what they should and shouldn't be doing.

DISCIPLINE page 34.

33