How Teen Adventure Camps Build Stronger, More Capable Young Adults
In addition to an insanely fun summer, we strive for our teen adventure camps to allow students to experience meaningful growth in different ways than they do at school, home, or organized sports. Our graduates say their Adventure Treks experiences are a defining and profound learning experience that have significantly improved their confidence, independence, and communication and teamwork skills—otherwise known as non-cognitive skills!
The benefits of teen adventure camps are endless and long-lasting. We believe our Great 8 Outcomes are a natural result of our program, and best learned through adventure, challenge, immersion in an outdoor and tech-free community, and interaction with exceptional role models. Studies show that the Adventure Treks experience makes brains inherently more receptive to learning. Our emphasis on using the close-knit community and fun and challenging outdoor activities makes Adventure Treks the perfect place to improve the skills needed to thrive in the 21st century.
We closely follow and align our program by the research of the P21 (Partnership for 21st Century Learning) organization, leaders in education and innovation (at companies like Apple, Google, and Dell) who believe that non-cognitive and social traits are the key to 21st-century success. Our philosophy permeates every aspect of our program; if you’d like to dig deeper, feel free to read a few blogs on kindness, building character, competing with video games, how disruption enhances learning, and the ongoing concerns of single-sport specialization. And if you’d ever like to chat more about philosophy, please give us a call!
The Great 8 Outcomes (aka non-cognitive skills)
1. Communication
Few ideas are the product of a single mind, and being able to effectively communicate in a constantly changing world is a much-appreciated skill. Teammates need to be able to share and articulate ideas, build trust, and understand each other.
2. Collaboration and social achievement
Because working in teams is essential to success, the ability to work well with others is vital—even when your team is not of your choosing. Creating and maintaining fun, substantive social connections is a hallmark of success.
3. Creativity
The ability to generate multiple ideas and think out of the box is engendered by a supportive and free-thinking community.
4. Critical thinking
The world’s problems don’t have simple answers. These challenges require the ability to critically analyze a situation and formulate potential solutions that are not often obvious.
5. Leadership
We solve problems in groups. These groups need leaders with heart that bring out the best in its members. Adventure Treks provides numerous opportunities to both lead and follow.
6. Self-management
Lasting success requires the ability to postpone short-term gratification or personal needs in pursuit of more important long-term goals.
7. Resilience
Everyone encounters challenges and failures. Those who rebound from failure and see problems as opportunities will succeed when others give up.
8. Optimism
An optimist is someone who believes that problems are temporary and that he or she has the ability through effort and persuasion to effect change.
These skills are critical to thrive in the rapidly changing and increasingly competitive world in which we are raising our children. Recent data suggests that new communication methods (texting, social media messaging) are causing teens to lose focus, impeding the development of the very skills needed to succeed in a world filled with technology. We combat that by unplugging the internet and creating a community that flourishes with face-to-face communication.
