A Special Invitation

This painting on the wall at camp by York artist Brett Greiman
honors donors who make Camp Pennwood possible.

Watching your kids grow up is a pretty cool thing. You see them go from helpless to tentatively trying things on their own, to a level of independence unimaginable when they were babies. Most of us get to see our kids become fully separate individuals, moving on to lives and families of their own, a bittersweet progression that leaves us both proud and nostalgic.

Those of us who are educators also get to watch other people's kids grow up, and, as with our own children, we have a special stake in the process. As these children and young adults pass through our classrooms and our schools, we get a chance to nurture them, watching as they grow and change, contributing in some small way to the separate individuals they are becoming.

If we're really lucky, we get other glimpses over the years as well. Concerts, sporting events, drama club productions. Graduations, college activities, weddings. As someone who spent most of her career at the elementary school level before moving on to teach at a college, I've had the amazing experience of meeting my elementary school graduates again in the college classroom, being a part of their lives at two very different stages.

My daughter, now a college sophomore herself, has spent the last two summers as a counselor at a camp for kids with special needs. Last week, she invited me to Friends and Family Day. Having been cut off from similar events after her sixth grade year, I should have been excited, but my first reaction was mixed. I still had so much  to do to get ready for my impending semester and a whole unchecked to-do list on my desk.

But she wanted me to go, and that was enough.

I might have been too foolish at first to recognize this for the gift that it was, but it didn't take me long to realize my mistake. My daughter and her friends -- many of them former students of mine -- were impressive. They were poised and attentive, loving and firm. They knew their campers. They knew when to exchange a smile and when to use a firm tone. They knew almost instinctively who needed help before they needed it, and when a camper demonstrated a need, a counselor arrived in a heartbeat to meet it.

But the best part was the fact that all of this happened in a lively, fun-filled environment. These young counselors weren't just about meeting the campers' needs. They were about making sure their kids could enjoy the experience.

As proud as I was of my daughter, I didn't miss the contrast between my kids and hers. While her campers' parents had seen their children go from helpless to tentatively trying things on their own, to a level of independence unimaginable when they were babies, many of them would not get to see their kids become fully separate individuals, moving on to lives and families of their own.

What had begun as a day to watch my daughter in action quickly became a day of gratitude. I was grateful to enjoy the opportunity to see what she'd been doing all summer; grateful to see my former elementary students as engaged and compassionate young adults; grateful to see that I'd raised a child who, along with her friends, was in a position to be a leader, one who could give of her talents so freely and naturally.

And I was grateful to see the campers in action. Just like the counselors and the parents, each camper brought his or her own personality, likes, dislikes and capabilities to camp that day. While there was a definite contrast between the futures of the counselors and the campers, amid all of the differences, there was joy. Joy in the accomplishments, joy in the interactions and joy in the celebration of a summer spent together.

Photo: Rudy Anderson via Pixabay

Today, the teachers I worked with side-by-side for twenty-seven years will start a new school year. It's the earliest start our district has ever had, and my friends are ready in some ways, not ready in others. Still, I have no doubt that the teachers who played a part in shaping those camp counselors I saw last week will work their magic once again, shaping a new generation of kids who will finish school ready for a level of independence unimaginable when they first started. Along the way, I hope these kids will not only improve their knowledge, critical thinking and academic understanding, but also nurture their own gifts of compassion, kindness and social intuition.

But above all, I hope they -- students and teachers alike -- find joy.