The Place to Be

Photo by David James| Special to VOX

How Summer Camp Made Me a Better Student

By Sam Moore
Special to VOX

Two summers ago, my mother was looking for a camp that would be interesting for me, but also help me strengthen my academics and study skills when she discovered the Challenge & Champions (C & C) summer program at Emory University. The three-week program was designed to help middle school students build social, academic, problem-solving and fitness skills. I was a shy student in 6th grade at the time who was very unorganized and unfocused. I was not doing well in my subjects and was constantly forgetting to take my finished homework to school.

I can still remember the day my mom told me about the program. She broke the news to me a few days after I’d received my second report card of that school year, and she and my dad were not impressed by my grades. I had gotten mediocre grades on my previous report card as well, so to help me improve my efforts their solution was to register me for the C & C program.
Initially, I was disappointedabout going because I thought the program would be too academic and would involve lots of work during my summer off. Unlike me, my parents didn’t want me sitting around the house doing nothing all summer. But after I started at the camp, I grew to appreciate the experience because it helped me grow sociallyand academically.

A Good Balance
From the moment I entered C & C I noticed the uniqueness of the place. Not only was the facility nice, but the energy of the people was impressive, too. The camp wasn’t like the typical sports camp where people are outside all day melting in the sun, and it was unlike the academically-focused camp where students are stuck inside doing non-physical activities. C & C had the balancedcombination of both, and that made my experience even better.

The first week at C & C is known as Explorer Week, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. The activities encouraged us to hang out with campers from diverse schools, with about 12 to15 students in each class. Being part of a small class was nice because the student-teacher ratio made it easier to get the one-on-one attention we needed. Our teachers explained more about what camp would be like, and I was delighted to find out that I wouldn’t have to do homework. To me, not having to do homework was a fair balance because I could go to camp and be engaged and still have my time at home for myself.
The focus of the second week, Challenger Week, was to get us to encounter new challenges and solve difficult problems in classes like science and language arts. At the end of the first two weeks, the camp staff and counselors recognized each camper’s hard work at the Celebration of Learning, an event that celebrated our achievements.

Recognition & Motivation
Recognition of our efforts wasn’t limited to one day. During my first year at C & C, I was surprised to receive the Camper of the Week Award for being a good role model to other campers. As the presenter named the characteristics of the camper of the week, I sat in anticipation wondering who this person would be. Surprisingly, the camper of the week was the person who I least expected it to be: me. Winning the award helped me realize my potential and inspired me to work harder.

During the final week, Champion Week, we had a big graduation ceremony where each class did a presentation on concepts we learned in our classes. The presentation by each class was exciting, and it made some of us feel like we were right there with them when they learned those new ideas.

Sometimes speakers talked about their careers and successes. One day a speaker from Time Warner visited and told us about her career in journalism. After hearing her motivation, drive and success stories, I actually felt like I could be successful in my future career — just like she was.

Good Enough to Do Twice
After the success of my first summer, I enrolled again the following year and was again excited by what I learned. In my Light Up Your Life class we learned how to power light bulbs and discovered how lightening happens. We also learned how electronic appliances are engineered.

In How Things Work we made rockets and had a blast-off event. I enjoyed learning about the different components of rockets and found it exciting to see the rockets we built fly up into the air.

Another class I enjoyed was Words in Motion, where we created and produced our own puppet play. As prop maker, I made puppets out of cardboard and wood.

Learning to study and using organizational techniques were a part of every class. For example, I learned how to arrange my folders in a way that made my work easily accessible and organized. This is important because students need organizing skills to succeed in school and in life. I’m in 8th grade now and am more relaxed because I know how to organize my work and use better studying skills to achieve my best.

The staff took time to give attention to each camper and made us feel appreciated. The teachers are all very nice and dynamic. They made learning seem exciting, interactive and memorable. I could tell that the teachers were good because they knew how to hold our attention.

Getting Physical
In addition to academics, C & C also educated campers physically. I’ve learned from personal experience that I think better and process information more easily when I am physically active. Some of the PE classes offered are fairly common, like soccer and basketball. Other classes are less traditional, like cricket, bochi ball and Special Olympic sports.

One day in the Special Olympic sports class, we played beeper ball. This game is like playing baseball without being able to see. In the game, there’s a ball that constantly beeps, and we all played blindfolded while we chased the ball, laughing as we stumbled over each other. We learned how much blind people have to focus on hearing. Playing the game taught me to be grateful for all the benefits I have in life, especially the ability to see.

C & C has influenced me to be a champion because I am doing well in all my classes now — finally. My study skills have improved, and so have my grades. In fact, this year I have not forgotten to turn in a single homework assignment.

Sam is an 8th grader at the Atlanta Charter Middle School. He says he discovered the meaning of life, but forgot to write it down.