New Publications
A Time to Talk: Communicating with Campers
When I was a young, first-year staff member at camp, two orientation speakers left me with distinct lessons that have carried me through forty more years in camping. The first was a recommendation from Camp Director Grant Koch, who said, “Ladies and gentlemen, take advantage of your opportunities.” The second was advice from Tufts University…
Read MoreHow to Run a Teen Program at a Summer Camp Wary of Teenagers
Some camps welcome teens, but others do not — perhaps because they find normative adolescent behaviors intolerable. Why should we care? Because the summer camp experience is uniquely symmetrical with the developmental demands of this age group, including identity, independence, and social relationships. After all, where would be better for teens than camp in terms…
Read MorePost Pandemic: Why the Kids May Not Be OK
By Stephen Gray Wallace, featured in Psychology Today. Even with a new subvariant of COVID-19 (BA.2) speeding our way, there is an undeniable feeling among the broader population that the sunset of this pandemic is soon to set. People across the land are ditching their facemasks – except where mandates are reappearing – packing restaurants and…
Read MoreTriple Threat
By Stephen Gray Wallace COVID-19 has wrought so many unforeseen consequences for youth mental health that it’s almost hard to quantify them. Some were recently noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which stated that mental-health related emergency room visits for children aged 12 to 17 increased by 31 percent from April…
Read MoreThe Long Arc of Misery
By Stephen Gray Wallace. Why resiliency is key for kids during, and after, the pandemic These days, it seems that every time we are about to turn a corner on COVID-19, we somehow miss the intersection. Such is the long, slow, agonizing slog that is the pandemic. By now, most people are familiar with the…
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