Working Life

 Whilst Camp America isn’t directly linked to my course of Media Production, and I have now completed said course, it has given me skills that will be transferable to my future career choice of being a Maths teacher. When working with my 1:1 I have learnt to be creative in my approach, patient and calm in responding to his complex needs. I believe these are important skills to have and are important to my future career. Children learn at different speeds so I need to be patient when working with them, but also creative in my teaching approach to help teach things in a different way as all children learn differently.

During my interview about my role at camp, I knew I would be working 1:1, but I didn’t know what his needs would be. His diagnosis is complex and he has very high needs. In the past, I have only worked 1:1 for a few hours at time, as we rotate staff members with the students who need it, so this is something I’ve not done before as I have to have eyes on him and be with him at all times. I didn’t expect this level of supervision, and believed I would be taking him aside when camp activities become to much for him, so I was surprised when I found out how my role would work.

Unfortunately, my least favourite part of the traineeship so far has been my role as a 1:1, due to his complex and high needs, I often find myself away from my group and my other co-counsellors. Due to his diagnosis of ODD and rigid thinking, his refusal to take part in activities and his lack of engagement in alternative activities has resulted in a lot of time being spent in the office. This has resulted in me feeling isolated from the group, not looking forward to the next working day and missing out on doing activities.

On the other hand, I have really enjoyed working with the rest of my group once my 1:1 has gone home. My group is made up of lots of great kids and I thoroughly enjoy working with them. At times, they do challenge me in the wrong way but it has improved my behavioural management skills, something which is important in my future career. The activities on offer at camp are so fun, and I enjoy taking part in them when I can, especially high ropes, climbing and water  adventure. Outside of work life I have a great group of friends who I have gone on city breaks and adventures with, and I very much look forward to making more memories with them and seeing where our travels take us next.

The environment in which is work is in many ways similar to that of the UK. The main one is that English is the primary language of both places. This has meant communication is mostly straightforward, with the only bump in the road being different words for different things, slang words and accents. The work schedule is very similar in that I am used to the schedule of my work which is at a school, which is made up of lessons, transitions, breaks, arrival and hometime. This follows a very similar schedule to that of camp, which meant it didn’t come as too much of a shock.

One big difference is my living arrangement. I am very used to having my own room and privacy both at home and university. Here it is very different where I have to share a bunk bed, desk and room with other people, minimising the amount of privacy I have. Social life is very different. At home I would see my friends every couple of weeks due to our busy schedules, but here I am with my friends 24/7 because I live with them. This results in a very quick and fast paced social life.

English is the primary language of America too, so my language skills haven’t developed much. However, I have developed an understanding of regional accents and dialects, as well as various slang terms that are used in place of other words. It has been interesting to see how Americans use different words for the same thing, such as our “pavement” being their “sidewalk”.