Are you `camping' this summer?
MAHALAKSHMI RAM
|
When summer is here, can the camps be far behind? Parents rush to enrol their kids but what do the children learn?
|
Vipin Chandran
Are summer camps necessary? Many parents avoid giving much thought to this and simply go by what friends or neighbours say or do for their children. The academic curriculum is heavily biased towards learning by rote. Therefore, important aspects like conceptual understanding, reading, thinking skills, creativity boosting arts, sports and relaxation, get neglected.
So, the vacation is the ideal time for parents to see that these needs are fulfilled. So, parents need to find out their children's areas of interest and where they need development and encouragement and plan a suitable mix of holiday activities. These need not come under the title `Summer Camp'.
For instance, if your child in Std. X is stressed out after the exams, she could learn yoga in a recognised institute. Apart from improving general health, yoga being a stress buster, could help the child in working longer hours without feeling the pressure. Or inculcate the reading habit in your child. Become a member of a library. Go on a vacation. That too can be a learning experience. Check out the guidebook and visit the places of interest in your town. Window-shopping exposes kids to the actual world. And finally, children need to play. Indoor games like ludo, carom, Chinese checkers and so on are interesting and could be a lot of fun. To build up vocabulary and language skills, play scrabble. Chess helps in improving thinking skills and mental agility. Watch educative programmes on BBC, Discovery, National Geographic and so on. For those interested in craft, origami is entertaining.
Most summer camps are money-spinners and do not produce satisfactory results. For example, children very often come back home with craftwork that is neither appreciable nor useful. Also, not all who run these summer camps are well trained. For working women, summer camps may be the only option. In that case, it is necessary to choose the right summer camp.
Some tips to choose a summer camp
If a few summer camps seem interesting, check out the following to make sure they work for your child —
Avoid camps that promise a lot of activities in a short span of time. If only one or two sessions are allotted for each activity, the child learns nothing.
A cookery class for children below the age of 14 does not help, as they would always require parental help when in the kitchen. At one such course, I asked the organiser how children could handle cooking and she replied, "I only make them memorise the recipes and parents are happy to hear them recite them!"
For adolescents, courses on making sandwiches, juice and salads is more helpful than making gravies and other elaborate dishes.
Yoga, as a part of a camp, is not suitable as postures can be learnt wrong in a group and also because yoga has to be tailor-made for the individual.
The usefulness of a handwriting course is very doubtful because handwriting however much it is taught and practised, cannot be changed. This is because one's handwriting is often a reflection of his/her attitudes and personality. If some area of handwriting is to be corrected, personality traits associated with that aspect need to be corrected too.
Art from waste and other craft courses are activities offered by many. Though beautiful things can be made, most summer camps predictably include objects made from ice-cream sticks, pistachio shells and pencil shavings that are not aesthetically appealing. If these classes are conducted by a reputed academy, parents can, on seeing the various completed pieces of art showcased, decide whether they would like their child to join the course.
Making greeting cards is another popular, yet hardly useful session. The cards made are usually unattractive. I asked a child to whom she would send her card. She replied, "I don't know." She comes from a family that does not send out greeting cards. These classes do not promote creativity as the child does what the teacher wants, leaving little room for experimenting.
Arts like dance, music, painting and languages take a few years to learn. Summer courses on any of these only serve as a time to find out if the child is interested in pursuing it further.
If Spoken English classes are offered then parents need to find out if the pronunciation is correct. In many cases the advertisements themselves are telling. For example one ad read: "An unique camp for... ."
Personality development courses are useful but only if the ideas suggested in these classes are put into practice. Since most children are not self-motivated parents' help is required for one or two months after the course is over for their children to change their thought patterns and build new habits.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Quest
