Camp Kupugani Blog
“Reverse” Stereotypes In My Life (Part 3)
[Continued…] There’s a perception that African Americans have only one manner of speaking–reinforced on TV, music, and media. Ghetto-speak, “Black English”, other derogatory terms are often used to describe it. In meeting a brown person who does not speak that way, sometime a well-meaning white person might say that brown person is well-spoken or “articulate.” It may be intended as a compliment, but…if someone were to tell you that you were “articulate,” how would you interpret that? Would you understand that as saying that others of your background cannot speak […]
Pondering “Reverse” Stereotypes (Part 2)
By living in northern Illinois, Iowa and Spain, my experience has been that (in general) people from small towns generally have limited worldly exposure. Most have not traveled much, lacking the opportunity to broaden their horizons due to lack of finances, time, desire, or opportunity otherwise. Therefore, their worldview is often shaped by mass media portrayals. My experience has been that the media often portrays negative images of certain races and ethnicities, and rarely shows successful members of those communities. Local television stations often air African-Americans only when their mug […]
Is There Such a Thing as “Reverse” Stereotypes?
(This is the first excerpt of a multipart blog to unravel during the coming weeks.) My life hasn’t been much different from any other life of a young adult from northern Illinois. Since I was young, my family supported me in all of my decisions and always pushed me to be my best and pursue my aspirations. Because of my family’s influence, I always strove to be the best both academically and outside of the classroom with extracurricular activities. As high school in a different, yet similar small town to […]
5 Reasons Why Your Children Are Safe With Us
Especially in a world where many perceive risks to pervade their day-to-day lives, the last thing that parents need to worry about if their child is safe as s/he is away at summer camp. There are several reasons why parents can rest assured that their children are in good hands while at Camp Kupugani. Here’s Why: The topography of camp (i.e. bluffs, cliffs, water, rural location bounded by large farms and forest) prevents / minimizes any outside access. This includes the thick brush and trees that prevent outsiders from looking […]
Camp’s Social Teachings Vital to Child Development
Camp provides social opportunities that can’t be experienced in other venues, like schools. Social life at school is not likely to provide truly wholesome, guided, and nurtured opportunities to make sincere friends and to respect others. Over the years of our parent surveys, an overwhelming majority of our parents noted their child’s improvement in the quality of relationships with others as a result of their child’s camp attendance. School teachers provide valuable learning tools inside the classroom. We often employ teachers as counselors and recognize the positive character traits they […]
Things I Learned When I Stopped Yelling at My Kids
Often, despite being an “intentional parent” and trying my best to offer only constructive lessons, well-thought-out feedback for my child, and other mature, responsible, fatherly-type actions, I find my voice rising seemingly uncontrollably, and only afterward realize…whoops, I yelled for no apparent reason. An article from blogger “Orange Rhino” encapsulates why we should endeavor to manage those emotions properly. Below are the highlights from her pledge to refrain from yelling at her kids for at least a year, with the whole article at this link. 1. Yelling isn’t the only […]
The Value of a Good Camp Experience is Immeasurable
There is immeasurable value to a dollar spent on a good camp experience – it develops the whole person via a comprehensive social and experiential education. At Camp Kupugani, we focus on each child’s individual needs. Our intentional empowerment program strengthens individual identity and appreciation of others. Campers develop tools including: appreciation of diversity, communication skills, leadership, positive self-image, body image, healthy relationship building, self-expression, social awareness, and environmental awareness. The learning happens almost without knowing it; from our campers’ viewpoint, they simply have a great time making fantastic new […]
Mistakes Parents Make with Their Kids
Here’s a good blog post by author Tim Elmore describing how parents being over-involved in their children’s lives negatively impacts them. He also offers some good corrective advice. Below are excerpts, with the whole post available at this link: 1. We Risk Too Little We’ve insulated our kids from risk. Author Gever Tulley suggests, “If you’re over 30, you probably walked to school, played on the monkey bars, and learned to high-dive at the public pool. If you’re younger, it’s unlikely you did any of these things. Yet, has the world become […]
Why Parents Should Focus on Their Own Happiness
A blog post from Christine Carter, Ph.D, a sociologist and happiness expert at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, emphasizes that parents should focus on their own happiness instead of continually focusing on child-related perceived obligations. Check out her two-minute video making the case for NOT always spending more time with your kids.
Interesting Facts About Women
At our girls-only sessions of Camp Kupugani, we’re all about having fun while helping our campers develop into strong women. “Officially,” March is International Women’s Month, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t think carefully all of the time. Here are some interesting facts (taken from www.internationalwomensday.com) about gender. Just some things to think about. Global Issues … Of 1.2 billion people living in poverty worldwide, 70% are women. Women own around only 1% of the world’s land. Business / Finance … Women control $14 trillion in assets and this […]
How to Help the Teacher of Your Energetic Child
We value the work that good teachers do to empower our children. It is an often thankless job. Sometimes, even with best intentions, certain teachers are unable to maximize the learning environment for certain students who may not fit the ideal mold for certain classrooms. A student who is lively and energetic, intelligent and social does not necessarily thrive in an environment where often the student who repeats back what the teacher says, remains compliant and regurgitates what s/he is told—can be the one most favored. Below is a letter […]
10 Habits Of People Who Never Worry
At our overnight summer camps near Chicago, we strive to be intentionally empowering and intentionally challenging, so that our campers maximize their potential. Amanda Chan posted this Huffington Post article, summarized below, (and in full at this link) describing ten (originally 11 in the article) habits of people who never worry: It is clear that there are some personality types that are more linked to worrying than others. And while everyone worries from time to time, it is possible to worry so much that it starts to have a noticeable impact on […]