Date: 14th March - 15th March 2011
Reflection of W7 Cluster Camp 2011
Let me first describe what is exactly this camp is about. This camp is actually a leadership camp, it is to let them to understand and apply basic principles of leadership skills in their respective school settings. The W7 cluster teachers hope that through this camp, they will be able to overcome the fears and challenges of a primary school leader, becoming an overcoming leader of courage, character and care and lastly to learn to communicate better with their peers. These are the participating schools; Fuhua Primary, Jurong Primary, Lakeside Primary and Shuqun Primary.
For this camp, the W7 cluster teachers engaged vendor to help in assisting them in completing these objectives. This vendor is none other than Camp High Achievers (CHA). This camp takes place in Shuqun Primary School compound.
There are a few main games that actually affect the students and from there they were graded accordingly to the skills. These skills are influence, initiative, care, commitment and respect which Shuqun teachers felt that it is essential for leaders to have.
These are the few main games: Hort Park Race, Candle War and Dry Rafting.
Hort Park Race:
It is just a race that involves pacing and orienteering. But because it was raining and there was Cat 1 (Lightning Alert). This meant that it is impossible to start the race. So the trainers started to give them strings to learn how to tie timber hitch. Although it was just a short time, they were able to make the lash look like timber hitch.
After that we started the pacing journey up Mount Faber. It was tedious to me as I am not as active as before so I felt very tiring and exhausted but I decided to look as if it was not tiring at all to the kids. This is because I remember that as an instructor you must look professional in term of being fit at all times. The group that I was with is quite pampered kids. Simply because they were complaining about the rain and do not know how to wear raincoat.
The instructors do not know how to encourage them or give them words of affirmation to get them going. It seems like only the teachers are the one giving words of affirmation to the students and encouraging them. I felt that as if the teachers are the instructor, as an instructor should be more confident and should be the one encouraging them at all times. If using what I learn, motivation is a way to get them to develop a realistic view of themselves but if the instructors do not even bother to explain how would the students know what they are in for? That is what I feel.
Leadership skills are supposed to be seen in them during the camp. But from my point of view I do not really see it in them. For example in my group, the instructor wants the student to express their view on a mural that is at Mount Faber and guess what, everyone just stand there and do absolutely nothing. The instructor just keep saying quickly, faster but apparently nothing happens. Only after my prompting of what they have learn during the workshop, the instructor then recall that she needs to puts what they have learn into practice.
Their OIC have already given them some hints about how to go about in this camp yet we as teachers still need to prompt the students about what they should do so that they can complete a task faster, then that is a bit pointless of hiring such instructors. I feel that the instructors are not equipped with the skills that can bring the students up to the level that the schools are expecting.
Candle War:
The CHA have an interesting game that actually can test the integrity of the leaders. I find this really prove the integrity level in the leaders. For my team, they often complained to me about how other teams blow their light away and how other team strategy to cheat. The instructor in charge keep explaining that other teams cheat is their problems; the most important thing is that their own team is not doing against their integrity. This then gives them the confidence and that they are doing the right way.
I am not saying for other teams as I do not really know what was going through their minds when they are strategizing it. If I am do say about it, I felt that the instructor really need to emphasis more about integrity to their teams like my instructor did. But for an overall, it was debrief that actually I felt it impact the students further. This is because it really emphasis on integrity and that why it is important to have integrity when playing games and even in real life.
Although the games were played differently between the 3 different ICs, but I felt that it should impact them in the same way.
Dry Rafting:
This is the last game of the camp. Basically students are given 4 poles, rafra strings, a hula hoop and newspaper. They are to form a shape of a raft with 4 poles and rafra string and banner with hula hoop and newspaper. After they have formed the raft and banner, a few balls are given to them, they are to throw the balls into the banner and when the banner breaks, the team is then out of the game. I felt that this game is interesting in term of getting the students to think of solutions but at the same time, facilitators should not just teach about how to tie the different lashing but at the same time to get those who have grasp the concept to teach.
Firstly by doing so we can ensure that students who have learnt are sure of what they are doing. Secondly, by doing so we can ensure that students are able to put what they have learnt into use by teaching others; this act as a way of revision. But most of the instructors did not really do so and that I have a strong belief those students have long forgotten these lashes after the camp.
There was an incident about the group not being that co-operative which result a girl was accidentally fell down, with no injuries of course. The girl after one part of the game decided not to play the game anymore as she felt that she was wronged by other people and that she felt being ignored by a few of the members in the team. The instructor did not do anything about it. I felt that if I was the instructor, I would have asked my other instructors to help out in watching out while I would have gone to talk with the girl.
By having discussion with the girl and encourage the girl in doing a few things and debrief with her, we can get from her understanding what exactly she feel before, during and after the game. This will then fulfill the fact as an instructor in term of being inspiring instructor.
Conclusion:
After the camp, I was doing up the statistic, and I have a discussion with two different in-charge and I have two different answers. OIC want to ignore those who are scoring pure 1 or 1 – 2 marks per traits while vice principal hope to give them more training or room for improvement. My ideas are that students who are counselors should be given more training while those who are not, do not really need to be given training. If I am to follow the school’s motto, vision and core values, I would have agreed with vice principal to give them more trainings.
Recommendation:
This should be more of a follow-up but since it is my reflection it is a recommendation to me. I feel that since we have 30/49 students who are student councellor, I would advise that we could give them some things to plan for, for example planning for speech day/prize presentation day, planning a carnival/fundraising for Japan or even as simple as planning for a teachers’ day celebration. This is because they can put what they have learnt from the camp into use and that through the planning process we can see how much they have learnt.
Not forgetting our CCA leaders, I would suggest that by having them to take initiative to host events. Although they are only primary school, I believe that they can do miraculous things when given a chance to show what they really have in mind. This is still not possible to be done without the help of the instructors/teachers/principals. Simply because there might be a need to use school fund for certain events, such as teachers’ day, that is definitely given for.
With this in mind I felt that the feedback that the instructor have given are quite subjective and that maybe those who are scoring pure 1 or 1-2 marks per traits would shine brighter than those who are scoring well. This is because certain students just do not like camps so they do not do well but when they are given a role to lead in an event, they might excel in it.
After events are done, we would have even more clear ideas about who are the students that really have leadership qualities in them and who do not have.
Leaders are not leaders if they are not given a chance to lead but if everyone is a leader who then will be a follower. I think this is still a debatable question that no one can prove it wrong nor prove it right.
More to come for Attachment @ Shuqun Primary School.... :)
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