For my summer internship, I worked at the same camp where I completed my practicum hours the previous summer. Here at Hawthorne Valley Farm Camp, I worked as the primary archery instructor, as well as the leader for many of their other outdoor based activities. As part of my project, I created a promotional video for one of their specific activities and how this activity is beneficial to children.
The following are questions I was asked as part of the final evaluation of my internship:
1. Think back on the internship overall. What things did you learn about human and educational skills that you will take with you to your next position? Please provide specific examples.
Without a doubt the most profound thing I learned about human and education skills that I can take with me to my next position was how I reached a level of respect through my instruction with the campers, this led me to experience authentic leadership. Through my opportunity to manage the archery range, I was given the framework to realize management in an outdoor setting. This experience gave me the understanding and I needed for what it took to effectively manage several different factors (safety, the environment or site, resources, and campers) simultaneously. This was a great challenge, however, after the third and fourth time, I grew quite comfortable. Many of the examples I am providing are ones I learned while in certain classes at college, but the internship allowed growth and I was given the opportunity to gain first-hand experience.
A human skill I learned and was provided numerous opportunities to practice was the idea of being able to maintain the full attention of campers using an educational or serious tone of voice. There are times when acting silly or happy are alright, but other times when you really need the attention of your group, a serious toned educational voice is a must.
The final thing I will speak about is on the idea of being true to students and campers. This is one main thing I worked on throughout the summer. The challenge was to follow through with all the tasks and favors you offer to the campers. I noticed they will respect leader who remembers even the smallest of details. For an example there were two campers who happened to be brothers. They both loved to swim, but the younger brother had brought the older brothers goggles to camp. The two fought over who deserved to wear the goggles. I attempted to resolve the issue by explaining to them they could share the goggles each for half of their swimming time. I soon realized that this advice would not solve the problem. Instead, I approached the other counselors and asked if any of them owned a pair of goggles that they would be willing to share with a camper. One counselor did have goggles, and so both campers were satisfied each with a pair of goggles. From what I saw, neither of them actually wore the goggles during swim time, but they content nonetheless.
2. Isolate a specific instructional situation wherein you had to make a shift in your lesson. What was the original plan, what shift did you make and was it successful? How do you know?
The most drastic situation that called for change was actually not during my lesson or instructing, but I was the one called to fill in. Our crafts counselor was going to a nearby stream to felt with the campers. They were using colorful wool, hot soapy water, and stream rocks to make small pouches. On her way over, the crafts counselor, allergic to bees, was stung by one, and was sent directly to our nurse. I happened to be off during that specific time, but I was called on to teach the lesson. Since my mother was and still is a handwork teacher at a Waldorf School, I had learned how to do the felting project they were supposed to work on that day. I ran over to the stream where the campers were waiting and I immediately realized that the counselor there at the time had no idea what they were supposed to do. I explained a little about the techniques used to make the felted pouches, then I demonstrated by starting one myself. Once the campers had seen and heard all my instruction and had no further questions, they began finding stones, covering them with the fluffy wool, and using a special technique, began felting by dipping their wool covered stone into the hot soapy water and gently tossing the stone back and forth between each hand. The remainder of the activity was helping those campers who were struggling. Overall, I felt good about the success of the activity given I was thrown into the situation. I was reassured that I had done a good job when the crafts counselor saw the work they had accomplished even though she was not there.
3. Take a moment to evaluate your supervisor. Please identify one positive and one negative attribute.
My supervisor Helen Enright was always there for me when I needed her. This was her positive attribute. Even if she was busy writing an email or busy with another project, whenever I came to her with a request, she always made time so that I could accomplish whatever it was I needed to get done. One area where she could have been more helpful was being present more when I was leading activities. She was there occasionally, but I could have benefited by more critical feedback through her observations.
4. Would you recommend interns return to your location? Why/why not exactly?
If the intern is in the YDCM program, I would definitely recommend this location. The people are very polite and generous in giving their time in order for others to reach their goals. The main reason for recommending this aside from the people, is the number of opportunities the camp provides. As a counselor, he or she is expected to fulfill the required role of that position, but there is nearly no limit to the possibilities available there at Hawthorne Valley Farm Summer Camp. As an example, I expressed interest in leading one of the explore activities where the campers are led into the woods and given the freedom to explore and discover plants, animals, and insects, and are also given the opportunity to experience some of the different five senses (hearing, sight, touch, smell, and taste) while out in the woods. The instructor for the explore activity, gave me the resources I needed, and let me lead the entire activity with another counselor as my assistant.
5. Think about your core skill set. Evaluate each in terms of recent development. Where are your areas most in need of your attention. Please use specific examples.
Overall my core skill set developed dramatically during the internship. Areas of immediate improvement I can point to are my human and education skills. I developed a way of communicating to the campers that I was serious when I used a specific educational tone of voice. I felt naturally comfortable in the leadership positions I took, the campers always had trust in my abilities.
The one area that I clearly still need to improve on is being more vocal about what I want and need. As a human skill, communication is the most vital skill and I feel like that was my greatest weakness. During camp, i could have communicated clearer with my supervisor and the other staff about my needs for fulfilling my projects and other related items.
As an example, I gave both directors and my supervisor a copy of my project description within the first few days of camp. As the days passed I had assumed everyone had found time to read the paper, but later on when I checked in, they had forgotten and I was serving as their reminder. This is just one example, but I should have known better and checked in with everyone more often, they were all just as busy as I was. As far as getting the most out of my internship, this is one area where I could have been much more productive by communicating more often.
From an outdoor skill sense, I feel like I did not get the chance to practice many of the skills I have gained while at college. Not to say that I have necessarily lost them, I still have the knowledge from the experience, but I wish I could have taught a knot tying lesson for example. As I mentioned the camp provided me all the resources I needed to complete as much work and as many projects as I wished, it was just a matter of me following through with all the work. With everything I finished during the internship, I did gain a wealth of valuable knowledge and experience. If I were to point out certain things that would have made the experience more successful, I would point to communication.
The following are questions I was asked as part of the final evaluation of my internship:
1. Think back on the internship overall. What things did you learn about human and educational skills that you will take with you to your next position? Please provide specific examples.
Without a doubt the most profound thing I learned about human and education skills that I can take with me to my next position was how I reached a level of respect through my instruction with the campers, this led me to experience authentic leadership. Through my opportunity to manage the archery range, I was given the framework to realize management in an outdoor setting. This experience gave me the understanding and I needed for what it took to effectively manage several different factors (safety, the environment or site, resources, and campers) simultaneously. This was a great challenge, however, after the third and fourth time, I grew quite comfortable. Many of the examples I am providing are ones I learned while in certain classes at college, but the internship allowed growth and I was given the opportunity to gain first-hand experience.
A human skill I learned and was provided numerous opportunities to practice was the idea of being able to maintain the full attention of campers using an educational or serious tone of voice. There are times when acting silly or happy are alright, but other times when you really need the attention of your group, a serious toned educational voice is a must.
The final thing I will speak about is on the idea of being true to students and campers. This is one main thing I worked on throughout the summer. The challenge was to follow through with all the tasks and favors you offer to the campers. I noticed they will respect leader who remembers even the smallest of details. For an example there were two campers who happened to be brothers. They both loved to swim, but the younger brother had brought the older brothers goggles to camp. The two fought over who deserved to wear the goggles. I attempted to resolve the issue by explaining to them they could share the goggles each for half of their swimming time. I soon realized that this advice would not solve the problem. Instead, I approached the other counselors and asked if any of them owned a pair of goggles that they would be willing to share with a camper. One counselor did have goggles, and so both campers were satisfied each with a pair of goggles. From what I saw, neither of them actually wore the goggles during swim time, but they content nonetheless.
2. Isolate a specific instructional situation wherein you had to make a shift in your lesson. What was the original plan, what shift did you make and was it successful? How do you know?
The most drastic situation that called for change was actually not during my lesson or instructing, but I was the one called to fill in. Our crafts counselor was going to a nearby stream to felt with the campers. They were using colorful wool, hot soapy water, and stream rocks to make small pouches. On her way over, the crafts counselor, allergic to bees, was stung by one, and was sent directly to our nurse. I happened to be off during that specific time, but I was called on to teach the lesson. Since my mother was and still is a handwork teacher at a Waldorf School, I had learned how to do the felting project they were supposed to work on that day. I ran over to the stream where the campers were waiting and I immediately realized that the counselor there at the time had no idea what they were supposed to do. I explained a little about the techniques used to make the felted pouches, then I demonstrated by starting one myself. Once the campers had seen and heard all my instruction and had no further questions, they began finding stones, covering them with the fluffy wool, and using a special technique, began felting by dipping their wool covered stone into the hot soapy water and gently tossing the stone back and forth between each hand. The remainder of the activity was helping those campers who were struggling. Overall, I felt good about the success of the activity given I was thrown into the situation. I was reassured that I had done a good job when the crafts counselor saw the work they had accomplished even though she was not there.
3. Take a moment to evaluate your supervisor. Please identify one positive and one negative attribute.
My supervisor Helen Enright was always there for me when I needed her. This was her positive attribute. Even if she was busy writing an email or busy with another project, whenever I came to her with a request, she always made time so that I could accomplish whatever it was I needed to get done. One area where she could have been more helpful was being present more when I was leading activities. She was there occasionally, but I could have benefited by more critical feedback through her observations.
4. Would you recommend interns return to your location? Why/why not exactly?
If the intern is in the YDCM program, I would definitely recommend this location. The people are very polite and generous in giving their time in order for others to reach their goals. The main reason for recommending this aside from the people, is the number of opportunities the camp provides. As a counselor, he or she is expected to fulfill the required role of that position, but there is nearly no limit to the possibilities available there at Hawthorne Valley Farm Summer Camp. As an example, I expressed interest in leading one of the explore activities where the campers are led into the woods and given the freedom to explore and discover plants, animals, and insects, and are also given the opportunity to experience some of the different five senses (hearing, sight, touch, smell, and taste) while out in the woods. The instructor for the explore activity, gave me the resources I needed, and let me lead the entire activity with another counselor as my assistant.
5. Think about your core skill set. Evaluate each in terms of recent development. Where are your areas most in need of your attention. Please use specific examples.
Overall my core skill set developed dramatically during the internship. Areas of immediate improvement I can point to are my human and education skills. I developed a way of communicating to the campers that I was serious when I used a specific educational tone of voice. I felt naturally comfortable in the leadership positions I took, the campers always had trust in my abilities.
The one area that I clearly still need to improve on is being more vocal about what I want and need. As a human skill, communication is the most vital skill and I feel like that was my greatest weakness. During camp, i could have communicated clearer with my supervisor and the other staff about my needs for fulfilling my projects and other related items.
As an example, I gave both directors and my supervisor a copy of my project description within the first few days of camp. As the days passed I had assumed everyone had found time to read the paper, but later on when I checked in, they had forgotten and I was serving as their reminder. This is just one example, but I should have known better and checked in with everyone more often, they were all just as busy as I was. As far as getting the most out of my internship, this is one area where I could have been much more productive by communicating more often.
From an outdoor skill sense, I feel like I did not get the chance to practice many of the skills I have gained while at college. Not to say that I have necessarily lost them, I still have the knowledge from the experience, but I wish I could have taught a knot tying lesson for example. As I mentioned the camp provided me all the resources I needed to complete as much work and as many projects as I wished, it was just a matter of me following through with all the work. With everything I finished during the internship, I did gain a wealth of valuable knowledge and experience. If I were to point out certain things that would have made the experience more successful, I would point to communication.