For any camp, safety MUST be number one.
However...
At LSC, the highest priority is a relationship with God
Then safety is truly number one...
It makes sense, when we understand that God's presence, and the fundamental message, "be nice with each other," is something that is present everywhere. This is not the best place for a theological treatise, and neither to discuss how language is limited and outright confusing. "Highest priority," or "fundamental?" Both mean pretty much the same, but actually are contraries... The former is "on top", the latter at the base or bottom... We can even say "behind everything," or, "in front of all." That's what we get when we mess with the Alpha and Omega.
"Everywhere," will have to do for now, and/or, "the it of everything."
We don't assign a number to God. Actually, in computer work, a list doesn't start with "1", but with zero. And zero happens to be unique for many reasons, there's people making good money explaining the philosophy and metaphysics of zero. Not that I will, here. Moving on.
The good news is, having explained away dealing with the metaphysical, what we are left with is much simpler, because material and visible.
For camp, our top procedure, method, concern, is safety. The way I have explained it in the many trainings and presentations that I have given on this subject in several continents, is this: "if we put safety first and fun second, fun can take place safely, all is good, we get to keep both." "However, if we let fun take first place and set safety aside, fun will not last. Very soon something will happen, and, after having lost safety, now we lost fun also."
It's as simple as that. The more we prepare and make things safe, the less we will have to worry. Now, an accident is, by definition, something that wasn't planned or predicted. Some people might call an accident "having bad luck." You know what? to a large extent, we can make our own luck, and that is a fundamental Life Skill. The way it works is, you work hard in preparing, building a good, solid foundation, for whatever you are doing. In this case, we are running a camp. A highly trained director, training staff to the highest standards. That is the way that we attract good luck. Accidents, if they happen, are mere inconveniences, and most often can be traced precisely to something forgotten. The unexpected seldom bothers those who are well prepared.
At the end of each day, we did build up our own luck, it can be done!, makes sense?
Fun is what kids come to camp for. Maturity can be defined precisely by the ability to put safety first, before fun. By definition, kids should not be expected to have this kind of solid maturity yet, and that's OK. It is precisely by a youth's willing and increasing acceptance to cooperate and be safe, that a camp can dare to have high ropes, sailing, wilderness camping.
Did you know that, statistically, camps are actually safer than any other environment for kids? Safer than schools, or even their home? It's rather simple, and comes from that explanation that we share with anyone willing to listen. A camp that does not focus on safety will probably have a very short run as a business. Something will happen, hopefully not hurt a kid too bad, but stupid enough to enable a lost lawsuit, and that camp is bye bye. Kind of survival of the fittest, in a way.
Those of us that intend to be here tomorrow, and then again the next day, we learn from each other, and especially from those with no luck, i.e., from mistakes made by those who were not paying attention. And we figure out ways that those mistakes will not happen to us. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance, works as well for a humble camp as for the loftiest of republics. Then, we deserve our fun. We earned it.
In the grand scheme of things, because ours is a skill camp, according to New Hampshire statute, we put "learning" above "fun," where a recreational camp, the other category that NH statute considers, would jump there right away.
We also added "wellness." That's a new trend, and it's not a bad idea. While "safety" is kind of dry, physical, material, and operates on "par" measure, like, "kid came with 10 fingers, left with 10 fingers, it's par for the course!," wellness considers beyond a zero-sum, to actually a positive, increasing level through the camp experience.
Wellness is rather complex, considers many areas, is much more subjective than just a clear and evident "safe" camp.
All out staff will be trained to CampWell Level 3 standards, by our Level 2 Certified director.
The, THEN we will have joy abundant, adventure, memories to last a lifetime, that no one can ever deny.
On the personal plane, "family" is number one. That's something that any child can understand. It might soon be forgotten or set aside by the youth who dreams of independence, yet we hope that family will again get that #1 place in his and her heart when two mature adults are building theirs, and as they hold together for life through thick and thin, and even more so when little ones show up.
Shouldn't "safety" be also on top, for an individual?. We say, "no." We don't stand by our spouse or child or parent only when it's safe to do so, actually it's the contrary, we hold on tighter when things are rough. That's what makes a family to become a real family. It's not about convenience, or comfort. People who don't focus on these priorities in order are bound to soon lose all of them. We all have seen it happen, even when that hasn't impacted us directly.
The next priority and obligation for a youth is school and other formal learning, for a grown-up it will be a job or business. We know all too well how "good" things go when a so-called adult considers his or her job to be more important than family. Not. But, that job is important, that school is important, and is more important than other projects, even those of personal development.
Now, that can be a tough one. If the school is toxic, as many schools are, or the job is a dead end, shouldn't one focus on some alternative, instead? Short answer: it depends. This list assumes things are at least generally positive. Jumping things on purpose after deliberate consideration and accepting the consequences and possible heavy price is reasonable. Meanwhile, that part-time job to get some pocket money will have to be less important than homework, even though the personal development taking place while tending tables and cleaning floors might actually be more educational than the drudgery of someone following a teacher manual and wasting everybody's time. But it's got to be done.
Finally, having done what must be done, we can have fun
Recreation, entertainment, doing things just because, it's not bad. Within measure, these are not a total waste of time. Maturity, positive peers and good role models will help young people to figure out better choices than those made by classmates without those advantages. Good choices, better life skills, to make our own luck. In a way, that is the "practical side" of what LSC provides. Who really cares about some particular skills to handle a sailboat, or to make a fire. Fun, no doubt, good within measure, but, when they happen within this environment that builds strength, bravery, and wit, even higher achievements come within grasp.
You may enjoy continuing your understanding of the goal of ἀρετή in the Wikipedia article for arete