Lessons in "Winging It"

Six hours. Thirty-seven campers. And a plan tossed out the window.

That was just her first day. With unexpected camper numbers, frustrated parents, and drastic schedule changes, Carolyn Westgate’s job as director of Camp Wetu, an educational summer program at Mount Hope Farm in Bristol, R.I., presented her with every possible challenge.

“我们必须改变做事的方式，”自称“规划师”的韦斯特盖特说. “我们不能让所有的营员同时进来，所以我们不得不重新做所有的事情.”

拥有历史和中等教育双学位，是the Honors Program and former camp counselor, 韦斯特盖特拥有丰富的教学知识，并准备在领导岗位上展示她的技能. 当她申请担任暑期教育项目主任时, however, 她不可能预料到她会有这么多机会来利用它们.

很快，她就被投入到市场营销、招聘顾问和开发课程等工作中. During camp, she was the go-to person for immediate needs, like distressed campers, parent concerns, and logistics, 与此同时，他们还会制定长期计划，并通过社交媒体帮助夏令营发展壮大.  

While a lot of her work was “trial by fire,” Westland says, she witnessed her classroom learning come to life. 在混乱中，她运用了历史课上的一些元素.

韦斯特盖特说:“希望山农场有着如此丰富的历史. “我觉得这真的是在应用历史，而不仅仅是研究历史.”

就像她在RWU的道路让她沉浸在现实世界的学习中一样, 韦斯特盖特为她的营员们提供了大量的体验式学习机会, 特别是通过营地与波卡诺克特部落的联系. 部落的妇女每周会带领露营者做不同的手艺.

“他们做的每一件工艺品都会向营员解释它的重要性，以及为什么它对他们的文化很重要,” Westgate explains.

部落成员也会在传统习俗中带领露营者, like a sacred prayer and a tribal friendship dance. 他们通过分享神圣的地标和文物向露营者传授他们的历史.

露营者最喜欢的工艺品是他们的货币“wampum”，这是一种贝壳. 露营者会在海岸线上收集他们自己的wampum，并在他们来访时与部落进行交易,” Westgate says.

Westgate made sure that every hour was time well spent. “孩子们不只是为了打发时间而做事，”她说. “Everything they were doing there was hands-on and valuable."

韦斯特盖特还在她的角色中使用了她的教育课程中的关键理论, particularly the “inquiry-based approach,，让课程围绕学生探索的问题展开.

韦斯特盖特说:“尽管我还不是一名教师，但最终实现它真的很酷.

韦斯特盖特来到韦图营地后，对教育工作者来说，文化能力和差异化教学等其他关键概念不再仅仅是教科书上的术语. She recalls working with a child who was unhappy at camp. She and the counselors struggled to help him at first, 但最终我们能够根据他的需要量身定制活动. 通过这种个性化，他们看到了行为上的积极转变.

韦斯特盖特说:“你可以看到它们在短短八周内发育和生长了多少。.

Though unforeseen challenges were stressful at times, 他们教给西门的东西是课堂授课所不能提供的, 这就是为什么RWU在课程中加入了动手学习的机会.

For the fall semester, Westgate is doing her school placement. In the Spring, she will become a full-time student-teacher, 为不同语言和家庭背景的学生提供所有课程.

回顾她在韦图营地的第一天，她学会了预料意料之外的事情.

“这件事发生在我身上很有价值，因为我觉得第一天教书也会发生同样的事情,” Westgate says. “You can never be prepared for the things you see and hear, but once you do it, you just figure it out as you go.”