This is my only summer camp this year. I'm just too busy with my other
work, but it's important to maintain a connection with the high school
environment as it helps me understand the background of my adult
students. Many foreign teachers in Taiwan have a very limited
understanding of the education system that young people go through, and
this affects their ability to communicate effectively with their
students.
And anyway, summer camps are fun! Activities scheduled for this one include:
some funky arts and crafts challenges
treasure hunting
songs and dance
sports
me, being really really serious about grammar
report writing
and lots lots more
Update: the camp was a great success and I've added a pile of photographs and some more notes below.
The focus of this year's camp was environmental issues. The kids discussed ways to improve energy efficiency and reduce waste in schools. The main art project was "The Green School", using mostly recycled materials.
We also devoted a lot of energy to confidence-building and communicative skills through drama. The class worked together to write a script for a performance, and my colleague Tina helped them get over their stagefright.
As ever, I pushed my students to get the basics right. There is no benefit in painting pictures and dancing if you can't form a sentence, so time was set aside for serious stuff.
But learning should be fun too. There are many ways to motivate students and we tried them all this year!
