Confidence builds confidence, builds confidence.
Quite a few years back, I was teaching 3rd and 4th grades. Our entire school was putting on a dance performance in the Aspen District Theater. A parent of one student pulled their child from the performance because he was nervous and they didn’t want to hurt his confidence. To this day, I have never seen a child build confidence by avoiding a thing.
One of the foundations of our camp program is the bicycle. Parents buy them, load them, haul them, lock them, and fix them. It’s a lot of work. Thank you! So why bikes?
Quite a few years back, I was teaching 3rd and 4th grades. Our entire school was putting on a dance performance in the Aspen District Theater. A parent of one student pulled their child from the performance because he was nervous and they didn’t want to hurt his confidence. To this day, I have never seen a child build confidence by avoiding a thing.
One of the foundations of our camp program is the bicycle. Parents buy them, load them, haul them, lock them, and fix them. It’s a lot of work. Thank you! So why bikes?
For starters, they are practical. It’s efficient to move kids from point A to point B on wheels.
Secondary, but essential, they are fun.
Third, they are symbolic.
Learning the Bicycle by Wyatt Prunty
The older children pedal past
Stable as little gyros, spinning hard
To supper, bath, and bed, until at last
We also quit, silent and tired
Beside the darkening yard where trees
Now shadow up instead of down.
Their predictable lengths can only tease
Her as, head lowered, she walks her bike alone
Somewhere between her wanting to ride
And her certainty she will always fall.
Tomorrow, though I will run behind,
Arms out to catch her, she'll tilt then balance wide
Of my reach, till distance makes her small,
Smaller, beyond the place I stop and know
That to teach her I had to follow
And when she learned I had to let her go.
I like to see a kid feel challenged. Yes, summer is all about fun, but sometimes camp is designed to throw in a bit of Type-II fun, an experience that may not feel fun in the moment, but the reward outlasts the frustration. Monday morning jitters. Who will be at camp? Will I feel part of the crew? Camping out in a rainstorm. Will it ever end? Will we ever dry out? Working for five days, bit by bit, before the ski chair is finished to completion. Patience, young Grasshopper! Waiting another year to reach the lowest branch of the Maple tree before eating lunch in the upper branches. Patience, again, young Grasshopper! Learning with experienced and trusted adults, how to navigate tricky social dynamics. Lifting the tires off of a bigger bike jump, or a curb, or an inconsistent lump in the blacktop.
A few weeks ago I was at the Basalt wave with the 11-12 year-olds when the Blue group (9 and 10 year olds) joined us unexpectedly. I didn’t see any counselor right at first, so I asked one of the girls, who I had never met before, “Who are you with?” I was meaning to ask which counselor was with her group, but she didn’t miss a beat, “We’re with Garry’s Bike Camp.” She had no idea who I was, but she knew the importance of the bike, and that’s the part that really matters.
Secondary, but essential, they are fun.
Third, they are symbolic.
Learning the Bicycle by Wyatt Prunty
The older children pedal past
Stable as little gyros, spinning hard
To supper, bath, and bed, until at last
We also quit, silent and tired
Beside the darkening yard where trees
Now shadow up instead of down.
Their predictable lengths can only tease
Her as, head lowered, she walks her bike alone
Somewhere between her wanting to ride
And her certainty she will always fall.
Tomorrow, though I will run behind,
Arms out to catch her, she'll tilt then balance wide
Of my reach, till distance makes her small,
Smaller, beyond the place I stop and know
That to teach her I had to follow
And when she learned I had to let her go.
I like to see a kid feel challenged. Yes, summer is all about fun, but sometimes camp is designed to throw in a bit of Type-II fun, an experience that may not feel fun in the moment, but the reward outlasts the frustration. Monday morning jitters. Who will be at camp? Will I feel part of the crew? Camping out in a rainstorm. Will it ever end? Will we ever dry out? Working for five days, bit by bit, before the ski chair is finished to completion. Patience, young Grasshopper! Waiting another year to reach the lowest branch of the Maple tree before eating lunch in the upper branches. Patience, again, young Grasshopper! Learning with experienced and trusted adults, how to navigate tricky social dynamics. Lifting the tires off of a bigger bike jump, or a curb, or an inconsistent lump in the blacktop.
A few weeks ago I was at the Basalt wave with the 11-12 year-olds when the Blue group (9 and 10 year olds) joined us unexpectedly. I didn’t see any counselor right at first, so I asked one of the girls, who I had never met before, “Who are you with?” I was meaning to ask which counselor was with her group, but she didn’t miss a beat, “We’re with Garry’s Bike Camp.” She had no idea who I was, but she knew the importance of the bike, and that’s the part that really matters.
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