The best summer camps are better models for schools than the best schools

When thinking about planning a day, or a week, or a month, and the role of coach and peers, use the most rigorous summer camps as models more than the most rigorous schools.

This means focus on:

• teamwork as much as individual work,
• stewardship as much as self-interest,
• physical work as much as mental,
• games as much as study,
• leadership as much as compliance,
• badges as much as grades,
• learning to do as much as learning to know, and
• successful accomplishment as much as successful evaluation.