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Recommending After-School Programs and Camps for Your Students as A Teacher

Getting to know your pupils and suggesting camp and after-school programs can be very beneficial for you as a teacher. These programs will allow you to help your students to achieve ever-higher standards and, at the same time, allow your students to learn about themselves and become motivated learners. These after-school program and camp experiences will help your students to succeed in your classroom and the rest of their lives.

When recommending any supplemental programs for a student, you must leave the control with the parents. Both you and they know it is your job to teach their child. In order to help the parents to understand that you accept and welcome that responsibility, make it clear first that you are concerned for their child and his/her long-range success just as they are. Then it is their choice whether or not to avail themselves of your recommendation.

A good recommendation comes first and foremost from knowing your students. Next to their parents, you will come to know more about the young people in your class than anyone else. Because you can compare your students with the hundreds you have taught, in some ways you will know more about them than their parents. As you see them encounter new tasks and observe their interactions with you and with their peers, you will gain valuable insights to allow you to make recommendations, which will have the potential of changing their lives.

In his famous book, Frames of Mind, Howard Gardner describes no fewer than six categories of intelligence (read potential). The intelligences he identifies are linguistic, musical, logical-mathematics, spatial, bodily kinesthetic, and personal (both intrapersonal and interpersonal). Any of these could be the subject of remediation or enrichment in an after-school or summer camp program. Keeping them in mind helps us see the whole child and broadens our perspective in particular about what he or she does well--something not always readily apparent in the classroom. In the educational environment, first thoughts tend to be in the direction of remedying deficiencies; however, it is important to keep in mind the value of providing the student opportunities to excel in areas where he or she is highly competent. Experiences in those areas are very important to the learner. They develop the talents and abilities that make it possible for the young person to eventually contribute to society in his/her own way. They also create a positive sense of identity and self-esteem, which make it possible for the students to risk and push on in the difficult task of learning. One of the most important and creative roles a teacher has is identifying and nurturing talent.

Both remediation and enrichment are available in these programs, and both can be really supportive of the goals you are pursuing in your classroom. Did you know that your students can attend a culinary camp at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, a Science Adventure camp and after-school program at Cull Canyon Park in California, a Future Stars sports camp at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy on Long Island, or any one of hundreds of Kumon Centers specializing in after-school programs for math and reading? Do you have students with special needs? The CNS Pragmatic Language Camp in Belmont, Massachusetts, has a program for children aged 6 to 14 with Pervasive Developmental Delays (PDD). Children who have disabilities such as vision or hearing impairments can enjoy the same summer camp experiences as all your other students at the Variety Club Camp and Developmental Center near Philadelphia. Note that these camps and after-school programs are mentioned here as examples, not an endorsement of their programs by CampDepot.com.

Information on thousands of these camps and after-school programs can be found on the CampDepot Web site. To make your task easy, the CampDepot database can be searched using any criterion relevant to your students; from location, to age range, to price, to specialization. Please keep in mind that your task as an educator is to help your students to better themselves and achieve higher goals. After-school programs and camps serve important roles in a child's development; CampDepot offers you the tools you need to direct your students in the right direction.

Note: This article was written by a CampDepot.com staff member who is a retired elementary school principle. As a principle, one of his responsibilities was to set up his school's after-school program.

If you have comments about this article, would like to reproduce it,  or would like to submit one of your own experiences with after-school programs or camps in education, please send an e-mail to educatorSupport@CampDepot.com.