This reflection was written by Steve Baskin, owner of Camp Pinnacle and current Board Chair of the American Camp Association. It reflects decades of leadership in youth development and captures foundational thinking that continues to guide how we design the camp experience today.
For more than three decades, I’ve worked as a summer camp professional. As a child, camp was one of the most formative developmental experiences of my life. Later, as a camp director, I’ve watched short two- or three-week sessions become genuinely transformative for children. When I applied to graduate school, I even wrote about camp as a defining experience.
If you know someone who attended camp, you may have wondered what all the fuss is about. How could a few short weeks be so meaningful? How could three weeks for a handful of summers compete with nine months of school each year?
This piece is an attempt to explain, at least in part, why camp has such an outsized impact.
Our Brains Pay Attention to What’s New
The human brain is wired to focus on new and unfamiliar experiences.
Think about moments you remember vividly: your first day at a new school, meeting a close friend for the first time, or learning a new skill that once felt intimidating. These memories tend to stick.
But familiar experiences? Our brains don’t hold onto them in the same way. We know we’ll survive them because we already have.
When something is new, the brain becomes alert and focused. It shifts from what I like to call brick-like to sponge-like. In this sponge state, we absorb more—feelings, beliefs, and meaning included.
I call these moments disruptive moments.
Camp Is Full of Disruptive Moments
One of the reasons camp is so powerful is that it is intentionally filled with these moments:
- The first night away from home
- Living with a cabin full of strangers who soon become friends
- Climbing higher than you thought you could
- Spending a night in a tent under the stars
- Seeing a sky full of stars with no city lights
These experiences gently disrupt a child’s usual narrative about themselves and the world.
And here’s the key: camp professionals know when these moments are happening.
Pairing Moments With Meaning
When a child’s mind is sponge-like, there is an opportunity.
At camp, counselors and directors can intentionally pair disruptive moments with powerful messages—messages that help children see themselves as capable, resilient, and worthy.
Imagine a child who is afraid of heights approaching a climbing wall. After encouragement, she sets a modest goal. She climbs partway, gets nervous, and wants to come down. With support from her counselor and cheers from her cabin, she takes one more step. And then another.
She climbs well past her original goal.
When she reaches the ground, she’s shaking—and proud.
That is a disruptive moment.
What happens next matters.
The Message Makes the Difference
There are many possible responses.
A common response might be:
“Great job! I’m so proud of you.”
That’s kind and supportive—and it works.
A damaging response would focus on comparison or failure.
But the most powerful response reframes the experience entirely. I once heard a counselor say:
“You set a goal, and then you went past it. Many people stop when they reach their goal. You didn’t. That tells me something about who you are.”
That message didn’t just celebrate the climb.
It reshaped how that child saw herself.
She floated through camp for days afterward—not because she reached the top, but because her story about herself had changed.
Changing the Narrative
Each of us carries a personal narrative—often formed early in life.
Some narratives are empowering:
- I can learn new things
- Hard work pays off
- I belong
Others are limiting:
- I’m not good at this
- I don’t fit in
- Things never work out for me
These narratives are surprisingly durable. It usually takes meaningful, emotionally charged experiences to change them.
Camp provides those experiences again and again.
By pairing disruptive moments with thoughtful guidance, encouragement, and reflection, camp can help children revise their internal stories in ways that last well beyond the summer.
Why This Matters
This is why camp’s impact often feels disproportionate to the time spent there.
It’s not just the activities.
It’s not just the friendships.
It’s the combination of new experiences and intentional support that helps children see themselves differently.
That is not accidental.
It’s something we think about, train for, and design carefully—because we believe these moments can shape who children become.
