Students Learn Crucial 21st Century Skills at Summer Camp
May 21, 2015
As the world we live in moves faster and faster, children today graduate into adulthood with a myriad of skills their parents didn’t have – and most of them involve a screen. While these skills are clearly crucial in today’s day and age, is there something sacrificed in the name of all this technology? According to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, in order for students to “thrive as 21st century citizens” there is a set of skills that are essential, but unfortunately in short supply. They are:
- Critical thinking and problem solving
- Communication
- Collaboration and
- Creativity and innovation These skills, along with others that are crucial to success like persistence, curiosity, and self-control (to name a few), are often referred to as 21st Century Skills in the business world. Besides mastering core subjects like reading, writing, and arithmetic, students would fare much better in today’s environment with some of these “higher-order competencies,” which often means using a more holistic approach to learning. Unfortunately, at a time when this kind of deeper learning is more important than ever, schools are forced to enact more and more structure, rules, and testing. In other words, getting real training in these all-important 21st century skills can be hard to come by. And that’s where Maine summer camps come in. When we asked our Maine Camps parents, they came up with a long list of benefits their children reaped from summer camp in Maine. Among them were learning to self-advocate, trying new things and being allowed to fail in a safe, supportive environment, learning to live with others, and seeing the world from someone else’s perspective. These are just some of the ways that summer camp helps kids hone 21st Century skills. Camp helps children develop their social and emotional intelligence; it takes them out of their comfort zone, and teaches them to try new things. There is a great discussion of this very topic on the American Camp Association’s website, which points out that these types of skills are a built-in part of the camp experience, an environment rich with creative opportunities, chances to work in groups and communicate, and ways to develop resilience and grit. Grit. That word alone is crucial to the development of our kids, and something that is often lacking. To survive in the real world, in the world of employment, in the world of adults, kids will need lots of grit, and the ability to persevere even when things get tough. But how will they know that they can do it, if we never let them try? Summer camp is the best place to test these new wings, and we are so excited that yet another summer of amazing learning opportunities is about to start! Maine Camp Experience Resources & Tools
Looking for the perfect Maine camp for your child? Try out our helpful tool where you can select a camp by choosing: type of camp (girls, boys or coed) and session length (1-8 weeks). It helps to narrow down a few camps to a manageable list that includes rates. Then you can research these camps in more depth.
Next, be sure to contact our Maine Campcierge™ to discuss these camps as well as for free, year-round advice and assistance on choosing a great Maine summer camp for your child.
You can share your own Maine camps memories & expressions of gratitude on our Memories of Camp section of our website.