As first timers, it was very reassuring to see my daughter’s smiling face. Each day I became more impressed with Rockbrook itself and the entire staff’s (and campers’) unending supply of energy, enthusiasm, expertise, creativity, and caring love. Thank you for making us a part of the Rockbrook family.
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The year-round staff competed in the Brevard Camp Bowling Cup last week. Our team was made up of Charlotte, Mandy, Connie, Richie, Gary, Jeff and Lily. The results: Team Rockbrook won and took home the trophy. It’s now proudly displayed in the window of our downtown office.
The evening was exciting as 6 local camps came in team uniforms to the local bowling alley. Other camps in attendance were Camp Carolina, Camp High Rocks, Gwynn Valley Camp, Keystone Camp and Camp Illahee. After round one, Charlotte (RBC Associate Director) and Gary (maintenance staff and bus driver) made it to the championship round. After an intense final, their combined scores brought home the trophy.
If you’re a horse kid, an equestrienne (a girl who loves all things horse related), then you will love the equestrian camp programs at Rockbrook. You’ll of course learn a lot about riding and improve your horseback skills, but you’ll also gain important equestrian confidence. This photo shows a little of that. It’s a great shot of what it feels like to be comfortable in the saddle, to really know and trust your horse, and to build up a set of instincts about horseback riding.
The secret to all of this is not just great horses and great riding instructors; it’s also making the equestrian lessons fun for kids. With the right match of horse and rider and the right level of instruction, you feel good in the activity, not worried about anything and certainly not bored either. At Rockbrook, we’re riding, and learning, and becoming more confident equestriennes, and having tons of fun doing it.
During the fall and winter we travel around the country sharing Rockbrook with potential campers, current campers and their families. We always love it when Rockbrook Alumnae are able to join us at the parties and share their camp memories and stories.
Just a few weeks ago we had a great show in Charlottesville, VA and were thrilled to be joined by McKenzie Harper Inigo and Mercer Reeves. McKenzie and Mercer were both campers and counselors for many years. Mandy and Sarah enjoyed getting to catch up with both of them! Those Rockbrook friendships sure are special no matter how many years it has been since you were at camp together!
Our friend Tom Rosenberg at Blue Star Camps recently turned us on to Zoe Weil, the author of several books on “Humane Education” and the president of the Institute for Humane Education. He quite rightly claimed that the experience of camp is a powerful and effective way to bolster this kind of education for children. But what makes education “humane?”
Looking at the Institute’s Web site, you find “Humane Education” instills:
the desire and capacity to live with compassion, integrity, and wisdom, but also provides the knowledge and tools to put our values into action in meaningful, far-reaching ways.
Humane education aims to inspire children to be curious, creative and thoughtful in their approach to the world, and thereby fosters a kind of warmth and sensitivity whereby they can be better problem solvers, help others, and lead more meaningful lives. The Institute has developed a body of lesson plans, books, videos and articles to help educators incorporate these goals and principles.
Much of this revolves around the notion of community and that’s why camp is so well suited to encourage humane education. Coming to Rockbrook means joining a close-knit community where campers and counselors alike agree to cooperate and respect each other. We live together in cabins, share chores, resolve disagreements, and experience firsthand the importance of honest communication. It’s the power of community that heightens our awareness and inspires humane values while at camp.
Most children experience far too little humane education and as a result fail to respond to many of the issues and challenges of our day. Camp can be one way to help raise a humane child. It can be a real lesson in community, in compassion, and in respect. We already knew camp was a special experience; now we know another reason why.
Zoe Weil doesn’t mention camp, but you can get a great sense of what she’s doing from this TED talk.
One of our favorite and long standing Rockbrook traditions is the special treat known as “The Biltmore Train.” It is an all you can eat ice cream extravaganza that has been happening at Rockbrook for many years. It is a Rockbrook “Surprise” and is announced with a special “choo choo” train song and skit. When the tradition started the actual Bitmore Dairy Truck would drive up to camp and serve the ice cream (as seen in the photo above). The Biltmore Dairy is no longer in business but we sure still enjoy it’s namesake activity. “Biltmore, Biltmore” can often be heard being chanted around camp as the campers hope for the surprise ice cream day to arrive.
There’s big news coming out about western North Carolina summer camps. Back in March, the North Carolina Youth Camp Association and the American Camp Association, commissioned researchers at North Carolina State University to study the economic impact of summer camps in this region. Using online surveys, Dr. Michelle Gacio Harrolle and Dr. Samantha Rozier-Rich led the effort to measure all of ways camps contribute to the local economy. Certainly the camps themselves purchase local goods and services and hire regional employees, but camps also bring to the area staff members and families who likewise stay in hotels, eat at restaurants and visit local attractions.
How much does all this add up to? There are approximately 50 summer camps in Buncombe, Jackson, Henderson and Transylvania counties, so how much do they collectively add to the local economy? Or put differently, if the summer camps were hurt, how much could the economy be hurt?
Back in 1998 a similar study (same counties in North Carolina) showed summer camps generating, each year, almost 100 million dollars for local communities.
Today, the results of the economic impact study show a dramatic increase. The total economic impact of summer camps on these four NC counties is 365 million dollars. This is the total of direct, indirect and induced spending by the camps, their camper families and employees over one year, and reflects just how vital the summer camps are for the people in western North Carolina.
The full results of the study will soon be reported on the North Carolina Youth Camp Association’s Web site, but here are a couple of points from the executive summary.
The effect of summer camps on local economies is far greater and more significant than most people would likely guess. With this study, we can finally quantify the crucial role camps play in western North Carolina.
About a year ago, the Kaiser Family Foundation published the results of an extensive study examining the amount of time children (ages 8-18) spend consuming different forms of media for recreation: TV, movies, Internet sites, video games and mobile devices (ipods, tablets, and smart phones). They conducted the study by surveying children in 2009, following similar efforts in 1999 and 2004. The goal was to quantify average media use and show trends over time.
The trends really aren’t too surprising, but the quantities have to make you pause. Overall, daily media use among children and teens is up dramatically from 5 years ago. This follows from an increase in the availability of recreational technology (in particular mobile devices— no longer must we be at home or plugged into a wall to consume electronic entertainment), but also from a tendency to allow children unrestricted access to television, video games and computers. Interestingly, the study does not count text messaging or using a cellphone for a telephone call. So what are the totals? Here’s a summary of the findings:
The study makes no conclusions beyond reporting these averages. It does not suggest, for example, a cause and effect connection between high media use and poor grades in school (though it does show that correlation). Essentially, whatever the consequences of electronic media/entertainment use, we have confirmation here that they are increasing.
There is, however, another conclusion we can’t ignore. As children spend more of their free time consuming electronic media, they are certainly spending less time doing other things, perhaps valuable things. Just think of what else our kids could be doing during those 53 hours each week! They could be playing outside (our favorite!), forming new friendships, developing their creative powers, or being physically active. And this is just scratching the surface. There’s no doubting the allure of technology and its power to push aside other beneficial, more human, activity. With this study, we have evidence that for our children, more and more is being pushed aside.
Camp, as we’ve mentioned before, is a place where we intentionally turn off our electronics. We reclaim those 53 hours! And spend our time actually doing things: arts and crafts, sports, horseback riding, outdoor adventure, singing, dressing up, and pretty much playing around all day long. Far beyond what electronic entertainment media provides, spending a few weeks at a summer camp like Rockbrook is a wonderful opportunity for children to exercise so much more of who they are. Camp reminds them that “life is much more fun in the real world.”
It’s really getting exciting around here at camp now because the horses are starting to arrive! Several have made it up from South Carolina, a few from Virginia, and a bunch from down in Laurinburg, North Carolina. It’s great to see them back in the mountains and enjoying their time in the Rockbrook fields. They’ll also be enjoying the latest addition to the Rockbrook Horseback Riding Program— a new double riding ring!
That’s Robbie in the photo.
We recently uncovered another piece of Nancy Carrier’s history while searching through some old documents. One of these documents was the Bryn Mawr College Calendar and Register of Former Students. Guess who was listed? Nancy Barnum Clarke! Nancy was listed as a Graduate Student in Psychology, Geology and Biology in 1909-1910. It also indicates that she received her Bachelors of Science in 1909 from The College for Women in Columbia, SC.
Bryn Mawr was the first college in the United States to offer Graduate Studies for women. We can imagine Nancy leaving Brevard and venturing to Pennsylvania for further schooling. She was quite an amazing woman and very ahead of her time!
See the image below for Nancy’s record. She is listed third from the top.