The strength of the camp lies in the quality and effectiveness of the staff. A good leader of youth is sincere, enthusiastic, and firm without being fierce. He or she has specific objectives and is able to attain them.
1. A counselor should have a genuine liking for children. The counselor’s methods and techniques will reflect this all-important attitude. They should watch vocabulary. By calling or referring to campers as brats, little devils, etc., the counselor shows what they expect of the campers. By calling them young men/women, ladies, gentlemen, and fellows, the counselor reflects an attitude and faith that they are people of value.
2. A counselor should have a real love of the out-of-doors.
3. A counselor should have some skills they can share and teach to the campers.
4. Counselors should be health and safety conscious. No one likes to see any camper hurt, and prevention is the best method of keeping injuries to a minimum.
5. A counselor is part of a team. The counselor must be able to work well with other staff members and avoid the personality conflicts that are so detrimental to staff morale and effective teamwork.
6. Understanding the basic needs and wants of campers is necessary to perform well as a counselor.
7. A counselor should be emotionally mature so the little things that aggravate and irritate do not affect the counselor’s job and morale.
8. A good counselor is one who can show campers the meaning of their actions, choices, and mistakes and who can relate to them as a group, and as individuals, to the total camp happenings.
9. Counselors must be able to have fun with their campers and make mature judgments at the same time.
In B.S. Mason’s book, Camping and Education, he states that these are the things that campers like best about counselors:
- Helped me.
- Cheerful, happy, good-natured.
- Strict.
- Good spirit.
- Personality and character.
- No favorites.
- Friendship and companionship.
- Efficient.
- Participated in games, contests.
- Strong and athletic.
- Full of fun.
- Understands youth.
- Didn’t bawl out.
- Took a personal interest in me.
These same campers liked counselors least if they were grouchy, crabby, disagreeable, cross, sarcastic, too strict, not helpful, conceited, overbearing, bossy, didn’t participate in activities, hard to know and understand, poor sports, showed favoritism, were too easy going or lazy, quick tempered, unfair or selfish.