Kankakee State Hospital Summer Camping Program

By Joseph B. Tremonti, Ed. D.

THIS ARTICLE IS A SUMMARY of the planning, development, operation and evaluation of a summer day camp and three week-end camping experiences funded by Title I for twenty emotionally disturbed and trainable mentally retarded adolescents of Kankakee State Hospital.

OBJECTIVES

The general objectives of the summer camping program were to enrich the educational experiences of the residents and to develop self-reliance. An analysis of campers needs led to the development of the following objectives: to develop adequate gross motor skills through a sequential outdoor educational recreation program; to develop children's self-preservation skills; to develop social communicative skills; to develop appropriate appreciation for natural resources and conservation concepts; to develop appropriate pupil-peer relationships; to develop water safety skills and to encourage apreciation for aquatic leisure time activities; to develop interaction between resident students and their community counterparts; to decrease resident students' institutional dependency; to develop students' awareness of the geographic make-up of their surroundings in the community, county, and state; to develop adequate home management skills, i.e., cooking, serving, and table manners; and to develop academic skills by having them attend formal education classes during the morning.

STAFFING AND PLANNING

The summer camping staff consisted of the Education Administrator, Title I Coordinator, three educators, four counselors and one activity aide. The staff spent the first week in an orientation program and planning of a complete ten-week tentative schedule for the program. Behavior modification techniques were included in the planning and a system of points was devised.

PROGRAM

Formal school sessions were held in the morning. Afternoons and evenings were devoted to a camping program with activities appropriate for the students' needs, age, maturation and level of interest. The activities included Arts & Crafts, sports, field trips, week-end camping trips, etc. Ratings by the staff and campers of the various activities were as follows:

Excellent: Soccer, Swimming, Hikes — off grounds, Football, Weights, Totem Pole, Movies, Field trips, Trips to Pistakee Bay, Discussions, Free time, and Circus.

Very Good : Softball, Croquet, Dancing, Fishing, Frisbee, Pool, Wrestling, Trampoline, Bowling, Miniature Golf, Boating.

Good: Jogging, Kickball, Badminton, Drawing, Decoupage, Candles, Water Colors, Sawdust Mache, Plaster models, Volleyball.

Fair: Skating, Hikes — on grounds, Ping-pong, Basketweaving.

Field trips and off-ground hikes fulfilled a striking, almost compassionate interest of the students while emphasis was placed on natural resources and conservation. Marked improvement was noted in management skills. Peer relationships were stressed and remarkable growth demonstrated.

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS

The first meeting between the staff and campers was very tense. Although the staff was eager to get things off to a good start, the campers were very negative, hostile, critical and stubborn. By putting the responsibility of what to do in the campers hands, it seemed to go a long way in establishing better relationships between the staff and campers.

At first, an anti-craft attitude was taken by the rougher members of the group, who were usually the most influential. But the idea of designing, carving, and painting a totem pole really appealed to them.

The campers were taught such things as managing supper which included making sure everyone was served before taking seconds, not to overload plates, use of good table manners, and cleaning up of the dishes and picnic grounds after supper.

The campers really enjoyed camp trips such as those to Pistakee Bay. In some ways the teens might have seemed rowdy and nerve-racking, but they were very careful not to misbehave in any way they considered serious.

STAFF DECISIONS

Staff decisions had to be made even though they were very difficult at times. Some of the issues included:

The need for affection between campers was very evident. How

Joseph B. Tremonti, Ed. D., is Educational Administrator, Dept. of Mental Health, Kankakee State Hospital.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 26 January/February, 1972

much showing of affection should be allowed? The only guidelines were what the normal high school kids would be allowed to do in public.

When it came to "crushes" on the staff, each member had to be very careful not to cause any teen to feel rejected but yet not to encourage any attachments.

There were always times when the campers would refuse to participate. No one was forced to participate, but they had to stay with the group.

Another important issue was that of conformity to the outside world. If the staff pushed too hard for conformity, the teens would be to quickly reminded of the traditional system that has disapproved of them.

In order to decide what should be done on any issue, the question of discipline arises. The best way to discipline and how much should be used was always a touchy problem.

The question of trust arose on many occasions. One generalization can be made concerning trust: the staff always watched the group more closely than the campers realized. Staff members tried to find practical reasons for their prohibitions rather than implying they were not trusted.

FRUSTRATIONS OF THE CAMPERS

As the campers became more closely knit, they began verbalizing certain frustrations. Some of them were:

Concerning their goals and purposes in life, the most common answer was, "I want to get out of this place and lead a better life." They did not clarify themselves any more than this. They are only interested in getting away from "this place," the state hospital.

They do not like the stigma attached to a mental health facility. They complained about using cars and buses marked DMH, using hospital marked towels at public beaches, or going places with the more obvious members of the group.

They did not like the idea of not being trusted at all. Particularly when staff members whom they liked were reluctant to trust them.

OBSERVATIONS

Some commonly repeated patterns among the campers were:

Prevaricating to satisfy various ego needs.

The importance of winning was especially evident in individual sports.

Hypochondriatic behavior. Dealing with it quietly, firmly, and matter-of-factly seemed less likely to reinforce psychosomatic behavior patterns.

"Rule of the Strongest." Physical prowess was very evident and important among the campers. The staff was constantly trying to keep from unconsciously appeasing the "tougher kids" to be fair to the milder campers.

Impulsiveness was one of the most noticeable traits in these campers. Most of the campers could not act in terms of their best long-range interest. An example of this would be when a camper would get angry, strike another camper and is immediately sorry. But the remorse did not in any way effect future actions.

EVALUATION

Evaluation was a continuous process by the staff who had regular formal and informal meetings with the director and coordinator of the program.

In a highly structured and intensive program such as this, teacher evaluation would prove a more accurate basis of pupil achievement rather than standardized tests. Teachers submitted their evaluations of student achievement in personal characteristics. Great improvement was noted in general attitude of students toward school; over-all behavior in school; quality of work being produced; and cooperation. Some improvement was noted in general attitude of students toward peers, family and other adults; work habits as pertaining to classroom work; punctuality of students coming to class; self-confidence of students; quantity of work being produced; emotional stability; personal grooming habits; ability to accept authority; and ability to accept correction/criticism. Improvements were also noted in attitude, work habits, social awareness, personal grooming, behavior, ability to follow directions, and ability to accept criticism.

Results of these evaluations indicated that:

Most of the teachers saw some definite areas of improvement in each of their students.

One of the aims of this program was to awaken in each student a desire and interest in school work, and most teachers agreed that this had been achieved in most instances.

Materials were adequate to meet the various needs of the pupils. Supervision and direction were well planned — both the teachers and pupils benefited.

Participation in the summer program was a valuable learning experience for all.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 27 January/February, 1972

KANKAKEE...

CONCLUSION

The conclusions were that all students had greatly improved in gross motor skills and coordination, as was evidenced by their improved playing ability, and they had also learned "good" sportsmanship.

Social communication skills were improved not only in discussion groups with peers (formal and informal), but were also evident when students met and talked with community people on field trips.

Every possible opportunity was given students to think for themselves, to be responsible for the results of their actions, to be aware of their community and surroundings, and to further develop academic skills. These techniques were aimed at lessening institutional dependency.

It was felt that the objectives of the camping program were met. This was evidenced in all students academically, emotionally, and socially, according to the judgments of counselors, staff, and others involved with the students.

If the camping experiences had a lasting value, it will perhaps be best seen in the adolescents' future behavior and their own reminiscences.

Perhaps the only further evaluation of our program that might be more meaningful to us would be a comparison of our program with that of other camps using different approaches.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 28 January/February, 1972