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Q and A with michael brandwein about the super seminar for dynamic camp leadership

9/19/2018

What will participants learn at this Seminar?

People who have been in my sessions know that I am a “skills guy.” I don’t like sitting in things where people tell us what we should do but don’t explain HOW to do it. That drives me crazy. So this Seminar is a How to Do It experience. No theory. No collections of the “usual stuff” that people already know. Instead, we emphasize new and exciting techniques that participants won’t get anywhere else. This is all about learning, practicing, and taking home specific things we can use to do the following (and even more…):

Original staff training activities that you can plug into your existing training and use to grab staff attention, motivate learning and high participation, and maximize camp leadership, teaching, and communication skills
Activities that make sure staff know why they are really here: that we’re about more than just fun—we’re using camp to build better people
Be able to show camp parents, your boss, boards, funders, and others how we really do what we say we are doing—and doing it better than almost everyone else
Specific ways to welcome staff so that they can welcome campers in the same warm, positive-culture-building ways
How to make sure that we’re really using camp every day to do what camp does best: build great young people by using fun activities to teach them qualities and skills for life, including respect, responsibility, confidence, persistence, creativity, communication, and more
Exactly how to teach staff to teach essential skills for life, including respect, responsibility, confidence, cooperation, kindness, and more
The real secrets to coach and motivate staff to do professional, responsible (“This is a real job!”) work, even if they are young and this is their first job
Original games and activities every staff person should have in their repertoire to make sure we are teaching campers how to make friends, solve problems, be persistent, and much more
The key ingredients to running fast, effective, exciting, positive staff meetings
Secrets of superb leaders, including, for example, multiple fresh (not boring) ways to get the attention of the entire camp in less than 10 seconds without even having to ask them to be quiet

How is this different than a session you present at a conference?

I enjoy speaking to large groups at Conferences, but I really love a small group Seminar experience because it has so many wonderful, extra benefits. When we have a small Seminar group of about 15 motivated learners:

We can tailor the content to individual needs and goals, staying flexible throughout the schedule. If people want more details or examples on a topic or want to include issues not on the original agenda, we’ve got the ability to do this.
It’s easier and more comfortable to participate among people we get to know
I can give lots of one-on-one attention to people, making sure that everyone gets every question answered fully. For example, often participants want support in how to use a particular technique or materials at their specific kind of camp, and the small group environment makes this easy to do.
Really helpful relationships get built when we’re in a small group. During meals, breaks, and other moments we learn a lot about each other’s programs, share ideas and resources, and more. We can stay in touch after the seminar and continue to learn from and support the people we’ve met.

The best benefit of a small group, multi-day Seminar experience is that we don’t have to try cram everything into a short period of time. So we get:

Much more in-depth learning with more examples that work for participants’ specific types of camps
Time to comfortably practice techniques so that we’re sure we’ve got them and can take them back home with confidence
Flexibility: We move things around the schedule as we learn together, to be sure we are meeting everyone’s needs and goals.
Times built into the schedule to reflect on what we’re learning—so that it sticks
“Planning moments” throughout each day to begin making action plans about how we’re going to use what we’ve learned
Informal time (meals, breaks, and more) for questions, questions, and more questions, plus the time to share and learn from others

What’s it like to be at the Seminar?

We have fun, we play, we learn by doing, we practice specific techniques and skills in supportive partner and group experiences, we get to ask any questions that will help us apply all of this to our own program, and get an instant group of camp professional friends and colleagues who we can continue to use as resources. I believe a camp Seminar experience should be a model of what we want to achieve when training staff. So these are my “rules” when designing a Seminar:

It should be fun and exciting, because people learn better when they enjoy the process, get to play, and learn by doing
It should be a safe, warm, informal, comfortable, supportive place to learn for everyone, regardless of their level of experience
The material should be presented with creativity and energy, because when things are interesting and fresh we learn more
We need to be getting up and moving around as we learn and apply it
Superb, innovative teaching techniques should be used to maximize learning, with a variety of methods that support people who learn different ways
There must be opportunities to practice what we’re learning to make sure we’ve got it and feel confident about taking it home and using it
Usefulness is the key word: The focus must be on learning things that help us do a fantastic job, and anything that doesn’t contribute to that should not be included

What is the schedule like?

This is a tentative schedule, which we keep flexible to meet the needs and comforts of the group:

Sunday
11:00-12:30 How to Welcome Staff & Build a Positive, Professional Culture
12:30-1:15 Lunch
1:15-1:30 Break
1:30-3:00 The Real Mission of Camp & How to Train Staff to Meet It with Excitement & Skill
3:00-3:30 Break and hotel check-in
3:30-5:00 More Terrific Training Activities and Techniques to Maximize Staff Performance
5:30-6:30 Dinner
6:30-6:45 Break
6:45-7:15 Large Group Leadership Skills for All-Camp Moments (Grabbing & Keeping Attention)
7:15-8:45 Play with a Purpose: Original Activities to Build Great Staff and Teach Life Skills to Campers, including “The Great Gamemaster: The Super Secrets to Outstanding Activity Leadership” that all staff should know

Monday
8:00-8:45 Breakfast
8:45-9:00 Break
9:00-10:30 The Intentional Camp: How to Put Muscle in Our Mission for Program Success & to Make Our Camp Distinctive from the Rest
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-12:00 The Intentional Camp continues; and Turbo-Charging Program to make it fresh for staff and campers, boosting retention
12:15-1:00 Lunch
1:30-3:00 Superb Staff Supervision to coach and lead staff to their best performance
3:00-3:30 Break
3:30-5:00 Superb Staff Supervision continued; and How to Have Outstanding Staff Meetings
5:00-5:30 Break
5:30-6:30 Dinner
6:30-6:45 Break
6:45-8:45 More Purposeful Play & Skill-Boosting Activities for Staff and Campers
9:00-10:00 Magic Party (Optional)

Tuesday
8:00-8:45 Breakfast
8:45-9:00 Break
9:00-10:30 Growing Great Qualities in Campers: The Skills We and Staff Must Have to Use Positive Communication to Bring Out the Best in Young People
10:30-12:00 Action Plans

Committing to Helping Our Camps (and Ourselves) Grow

9/10/2018

Colette Marquardt, Executive Director, American Camp Association, Illinois

We spend a lot of time and resources as a field on staff training each summer. I know I did when I was directing camp. I poured over training topics, outlines, and books. I spent money on beach balls, clipboards, and other tools of the trade. I made so many spreadsheets and checklists. It was my most favorite part of directing camp. There is something so energizing about training our camp staff. But do we do that for ourselves? Do we allow the time and resources to make sure we are trained?

I’ve carried my love for professional development in to my work at ACA Illinois. I adore the Mid States Camp Conference and the many different programs that we are able to offer our community. Because you also deserve that time of learning and exploration of new ideas. Let me repeat that: You DESERVE the chance to explore new ideas and grow. Because when you grow, your camp does as well.

This past year during budgeting season, ACA Illinois made a commitment to walk our talk by setting aside funds and time to develop our staff at the Association. After all, our own innovation and service is limited if we aren’t out with others networking and learning. We have talked a lot about doing more professional development, but time and money never seemed to actually exist and it wasn’t happening as much as it should have. Enter the Association Forum.

All of the staff of ACA Illinois are members of the Association Forum - its an association for associations. Its where we go for hardcore education on running an association so that we can better serve you. Each field brings its unique challenges and it's wonderful to connect with others who do similar work. It’s important that we make time for this. Because you, our members deserve to have a staff who are current on the trends and needs of today’s professional.

Just like with my camp staff, I expect my staff to be open and ready to embrace learning more about their field. And more importantly, I model it. I also actively participate in professional development, often with them. Sometimes we divide and conquer so we can all learn and report back what was covered, but I find the areas that turn into action are those we do together. When we attend sessions together we can talk about what we learned, how it applies to our work, and support each other. I’m able to point out the growth I see in each of them and their work. Our commitment to professional development isn’t just to ourselves, its to each other as well. It takes a village to grow.

We have been noticing so much growth in ourselves and our Association this past year that we wanted to make sure you have similar quality experiences. We wanted you to have options. We wanted you to have the topics you need in the way you learn best. There are short workshops, day courses, multi day conferences, networking groups, and more!

The famous Gordie Kaplan always refers to himself as a “lifelong learner.” I do as well. But it requires a commitment. And time. And yes, even money. (I know money is hard to come by for most camps, that is why all of of events and conferences are subsidized over 50% to help make it more affordable.*) But it's all worth it. Because when you do better, your camp will do better. When you strengthen your skillset, your camp staff will be stronger this summer. And when your camp staff is stronger,the campers have an even more incredible and powerful experience.

Consider this the official kickoff of a year full of new and favorite professional development opportunities for you! We hope you will join us at a few of the events this year. Throughout the year we’ll release tips and tricks to find funding, how to convince your boss to allow you to attend courses, ways to squeeze in what I call “PD on the Go!, ” and more! Stay connected through our ACA IlliNOISE newsletters, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for real time updates.

I look forward to seeing you at our events throughout the year!

Happy Learning. Happy Growing. Happy Professional Development Year!

*Is money holding you back? All our events are already heavily subsidized to make them more affordable however if you are still struggling to attend an event, please reach out to us so we can see if we can help assist in securing some financial assistance for you. Email registration@acail.org for more information.

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Q and A with michael brandwein about the super seminar for dynamic camp leadership

Committing to Helping Our Camps (and Ourselves) Grow

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