My Friday breakfast book club finished its second book and met Friday at one of my favorite “libraries” … Bier Biergarten in Noblesville. Over the last 15 years most of my reading has focused on history and Constitution-related books. Once in a while my soul needs to be recharged and will read something that helps me center myself. Thanks to Tony or Ben, we read “The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O’Neil’s America”
This story was an oasis of good. Brought tears and wisdom.
To a man we loved the book and our collective opinion was that the world needs more Buck O’Neil(s).
One of the final chapters really moved us. In 2006 when Buck was 94 he was passed over for the Hall of Fame when they inducted 17 people; many connected to the Negro Leagues. Across the baseball world there was outrage. When he was told he did not make it there was a moment of contemplation and then he asked, “Do you think they will want me to speak?” And they and he did. What grace. It is a must watch:
There is a part that spoke to me “They always say to me Buck I know you hate people for what they did to you of what they did to your folks I said no man I never learned to hate. I hate cancer; cancer killed my mother, my wife died 10 years ago of cancer, a good friend of mine I hate AIDS a good friend of mine died of AIDS three months ago I hate AIDS but I can’t hate a human being because my God never made anything ugly now you can be ugly if you want boy but God didn’t make you that way so I want you to light this Valley up this afternoon. Agape is a Redemptive Good Will toward all men agape is an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return and when you reach love on this level you love all men not because you like them not because their ways appeal to you but you love them because God loved them and I love Jehovah my God with all my heart with all my soul and I love every one of you as I love.”
The author Joe Posnanski, a lifelong friend of Buck’s, highlighted when Buck would break out parts of a poem, song, or impromptu haiku. In the section of the book titled “Autumn”, Joe recounted a conversation with Monte Irvin and Buck. Monte Irvin was lamenting the delay of Negro League players getting to the major leagues. Irvin asked, “Why did they think we were inferior? Why did they think we could not play this game?” Buck whispered,
It makes no sense,
Hate
It’s just fear.
All it is.
Fear something different
Something’s
Gonna get taken from you,
Stolen from you,
Find yourself lost.
In this current environment where our nation’s tribalism is stoked through fear and anger multiplied by social media’s algorithm’s rage currency. The rich and powerful exploit rage to keep the majority in check. Maybe we just need more Buck O’Neil(s).
Over the past year I have served on the Fishers Innovation Grant Committee. Mayor Fadness asked me to form the committee and help in its implementation. The city wanted to promote innovation in our school district. The city provided $500,000 in the initial grant and provided another $50,000 in the 2025 budget. The city has distributed $350,000 to the HSE school district at every level across the district. The city has funded everything from music program development, STEM programs, ENL programs, virtual reality equipment, multi-media programs, and skilled trades.
The committee’s work has confirmed what I already knew; the HSE school district is filled with teachers doing amazing work. We have awarded a number of STEM education grants; of those we supported Robyn Stout (SCIS), Lisa Harvey (FES), Jennifer Suskovich (MakerSpace), and John Hochstetler (RVIS) stand out. The committee had a chance to watch Lisa’s class use the LEGO Spike program with her 3rd grade students. I love watching great teachers teach…. I love the craft. Technology without craft is just play; what stood out was watching the kids fail, problem solve and try again repeatedly without quitting. Help came in the form of encouragement and revisiting the problem-solving tools they had learned. Robyn’s program at SCIS focused on 6th grade students to provide a bridge from Jennifer’s 5th grade STEM program and the junior high’s programs. Robyn’s passion for STEM is contagious. Her room radiates challenges and energy. Our district is blessed to have two true agents of change in Jennifer and John. Their programs are benchmark programs that should serve as models in and outside of our district.
One of the show-piece programs in HSE schools is the media programs at Hamilton Southeastern High School; the programs are innovative and forward-looking. David Young, Bill DeLisle, and, tangentially, Jamie Follis, a social studies and film teacher, have carved out award-winning and transformative programs. Their student-centered productions are so relevant and reflective of today’s media needs. The city updated their equipment and provided new equipment needed to create a series of short films to augment their award-winning feature film productions. What stands out the most in their programs is that the students engage in every aspect of production and most importantly they produce amazing work. These programs cover announcements, weekly programs, short films, long films, and social media work. These soft and hard skills transfer easily into the marketplace and into higher education programs. My only wish is that they and the district would brag more about what they are doing; although, they were just featured in a district newsletter. The community would be impressed if they could see snapshots of what these kids produce.
Our district benefits from a group of unicorn teachers teaching English as a New Language. Our committee funded Virtual Reality and translation tools for this group of amazing teachers. Becky Schroeder, Jim Ziino, Jeff Brunnemer, Jenifer Young are using innovation and passion to increase the English proficiency and more importantly integration into school for a huge number of students. At our final grant award cycle, we happened to be at Hamilton Southeastern High School as the ENL teachers received their students’ proficiency growth data for the year. The data was startling in how much the kids had grown over the year. This is a testament to the work of the students, but just as important the dedication of a group of teachers that used innovation to move the needle on their kids. There was a blurb in the district newsletter, but it does not really capture the achievement. The consistent theme of these teachers is dedication to seeing their students succeed.
Things that I Would Love to See in the District
A commitment to STEM. STEM has been an educational buzzword for most of my former teaching career. Professional development hours have been dedicated, speakers provided, readings distributed, and our district has STEM pillars in some schools and little in others. The city does not have the resources to plant a STEM program in every school in the HSE district. One of the members of the grant committee is an expert on STEM programs; especially as it relates to STEM state certification requirements. Kaleigh would have a great STEM coordinator and elementary STEM out-reach coordinator. She would be great as a mobile STEM teacher, bringing programs to every elementary school and grades lacking a program.
The District Needs an AI Vision. Every school district in the country needs to get in front of the impact of AI on education. AI is a great tool for people with an advanced executive function; defined as the ability to recognize poor results, critically view returned information for relevance, and pose questions with enough conditions to get the results desired. The challenge is that students do not have these functions developed enough to be critical consumers of AI results.
Every district must focus on executive functions.
Critical Thinking and Fact Checking. Students must be able to analyze the AI responses for accuracy, bias, and completeness. They need to practice fact-checking using multiple sources. Build habits of asking good questions—clear, focused, and purposeful—this is harder for students then you think. Watching students trying to search Google is painful for most teachers.
Cultural Literacy. There is a place for cultural literacy in today’s world. Even though you can look up anything, you must know what is possible to be able to search. Anyone who took my class may remember cultural literacy tests (people, places, events, key concepts). My goal was to create a core of knowledge from my year. Anything learned in September should still be known in May or why else would you teach it? This is critical to the growth of the executive decision-making process of recognizing when AI is wrong.
Teach what AI is and is not. AI is not truth…it predicts text from known text. AI’s limitations must be taught (bias, misinformation, and why it loses it way). It is also important to teach about AI’s controversies; is it plagiarism, should AI cite its sources, etc.
AI is regurgitation not originalism. Teachers need students to focus on what is important, reflection, perspective, empathy, point of view and synthesis.
Teachers need to know how to teach in an AI dominate world.
One place where I would like to see the district be proactive is through remediation. I have done some research into Khanmigo and have discovered its strengths and weaknesses (the same as all AI platforms), but extensive study might be worthwhile. I know of one person at the HSE central office who just received his master’s degree in AI technologies and would be a smart choice to lead this kind of study; not to mention that he is curious and his knowledge recent.
In a world of AI at your fingertips, teachers need to relook at the idea of homework. If a student is old enough to have a smartphone, then the student has unrestricted access to AI tools. The strength of AI as a homework helper is that it manages the bottom four layers of Bloom’s Taxonomy with amazing accuracy. Some may quibble of the “analyze” layer but go to ChatGPT and try some of your standard homework questions and ask yourself if you would accept the answer.
I stopped giving homework in my last years of teaching. My reasons were simple. I wanted to control the learning process and to be there when the struggle occurred. It made my practice and formative assessments more focused. This was a focus during my Social Studies methods classes at Ball State University this spring. The kids were shocked how quickly and accurately AI did math homework and answered questions on worksheets.
I would like to thank the people that I work with on the committee; Kaleigh Arndt, Amy Murch, Brad Jackson, and Jordin Alexander.
In a recent video posted to X, Micah Beckwith decided to flex his historian muscle and political science analysis. After setting up the dynamics of the 3/5ths Compromise; he decided to add his political scientist analysis by saying that “It was not. It actually was the exact opposite — that helped to root out slavery,” He finished his crack analysis, “Don’t buy into the DEI, radical revisionist history.”
During the Constitutional Convention, Southern slave states were fearful that they would be overwhelmed in the House (representation based on population) by the “large” states—Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia (state with the largest number of slaves). To increase their representation, the Southern states wanted their large number of slaves to be included in the population count. Of course, the large states (not counting Virginia) did not want to relinquish their numerical advantage in the House. Some delegates argued slaves should not be counted at all—after all, they said, slaves are property, not persons.
Fundamentally, Beckwith misses one major point at the core of the argument…the compromise was necessary because the United States enslaved people. Period. Even though many of our Founders held slaves they wrote extensively on its fundamental abhorrence. It is interesting to read Patrick Henry’s thoughts on slavery. Many of these founders who held conflicting views were addicted to the benefits of slavery. They were subject human failures just like everyone, they were not demi-gods.
If you want to see the duality in its time read Federalist No. 54, which addressed the Compromise’s core arguments. Below are two powerful (for me) excerpts:
Section 4. Change Law, Slaves Become Citizens
“We subscribe to the doctrine,” one of our Southern friends might observe, “that representation relates more closely to persons and taxation more closely to property. We join in applying this distinction to the case of our slaves. But we must deny the fact that slaves are considered as merely property and in no way whatever as persons. The true state of the case is, they have both qualities. Our laws consider them, in some respects, as persons and, in other respects, as property. “Since the slave is forced to labor, not for himself but for a master, since one master can sell him to another master, since he is subject at all times to be restrained in his liberty and chastised in his body by the capricious will of another—the slave may appear to be degraded from the human rank and classed with those irrational animals which fall under the legal denomination of property. “On the other hand, by being protected in his life and limbs against the violence of all others, even the master of his labor and his liberty, and in being punishable himself for all violence committed against others—the slave is clearly regarded by the law as a member of society, not as a part of the irrational creation. He is regarded as a moral person, not as a mere article of property. “The federal Constitution, therefore, is correct when it views the character of our slaves as a mixture of persons and property. This is, in fact, their true character. It is the character bestowed on them by the laws under which they live. And it will not be denied that these are the proper criterion. Non-slave states dispute the inclusion of slaves in the computation of numbers. But the pretext of laws, alone, has transformed Negroes into property. And it is admitted, if the laws restored the rights that have been taken away, the Negroes could no longer be refused an equal share of representation with the other inhabitants.
“This question may be looked at in another way. Everyone agrees that just as wealth and taxation are measured by numbers, numbers are the only proper measure of representation. Would the convention have been impartial or consistent, if they had excluded slaves from the list of inhabitants when calculating representation, then inserted them to calculate tariff contributions (taxes)? Could it be reasonably expected that the Southern States would agree to a system that considered their slaves, in some degree, as men when burdens were imposed, but refused to consider them in the same way when advantages were conferred? “Wouldn’t there also be some surprise that the same people who reproach the Southern States for the barbarous policy of considering part of their human brethren as property, should now contend that the government, to which all States are to be parties, should consider this unfortunate race more completely in the unnatural light of property than the very laws they complain about?
The compromise was found in Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution was a compromise, incorporating ideas of both property and person: Population would be calculated by adding “the whole Number of free persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed,” plus “three fifths of all other Persons.”
Source: Center for the Study of the American Constitution. The Impact of the Three-fifths Clause on Representation in US House of Representative, 1793.
Beckwith also asserts that the compromise hastened the end of slavery. WTF. The three-fifths compromise had a major impact on U.S. national elections and governance for decades. For example:
10 of the first 12 presidents were slave holders.
The Southern Slave State advantage would also keep legislation based on population from being passed through the House of Representatives. So, the Southern Slave states received the advantage in representation, but none of the disadvantage in taxation.
As a result, the vast majority of Supreme Court justices were appointed by slave-holding presidents; include Roger Taney, appointed by Jackson, who wrote the majority opinion in Dred Scott v Sandford des to come. Which ruled that slaves were property even if they moved into a state that banned slavery.
Thomas Jefferson election to the presidency would not have happened 1800 without the 3/5ths Compromise advantage in the Electoral College.
The 3/5ths Compromise advantage allowed the passage of the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a pro-slavery state.
The Compromise allowed for the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, in which Indigenous peoples were forcibly removed from their land.
The Compromise allowed for the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which allowed residents to determine for themselves whether they wanted to allow the enslavement of Black people in their territories.
The 3/5ths compromise may have allowed for the ratification of our Constitution, but there was a human cost. As a result, the entrenchment of slavery in our founding would have a direct link in the Civil War and the extreme cost in human lives.
Sources: Fox’s Regimental Losses;United States Department of Veterans Affairs;Library of Congress: American War Casualty Lists and Statistics; Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies; National Park Service
For the very first time I am going to share my voting plan before the election. Before I do that there is some background about me that may be relevant. I have always protected my voting choices. In all my years as a teacher there was never an occasion where I shared my vote; many a student tried to get me to confess, but they would just earn a smirk. Politically I have always been a bit of a mutt; politically I would describe myself as economically conservative and socially liberal. Formatively, growing up in Maine impacted my politics; my earliest heroes were Margaret Chase Smith (her Declaration of Conscience calling out her own party over Joseph McCarthy should be a mandatory reading for all Americans and today’s politician could use a little of her spine), William Cohen (he of the 650 mile campaign walk in 1972; a Republican who served in Obama’s cabinet), and James Longley (the first independent governor in Maine). Maine politics are normally pretty centrist; our Democrats are a bit conservative, our Republicans are a bit liberal, and Independents are moderates (former Governors Angus King and James Longley). Of course, I am glossing over the Paul LePage years and thank God for Ranked Choice voting. I have been a registered Republican since 1976; even though I have never voted straight ticket. I have never considered myself a political absolutist, even though I have always been interested and studied government, American history, and Constitutional history. Lastly, I am distrustful of wealth in politics and think that the Citizens United v FEC (2010), Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission | Oyez, 5-4 decision by the Roberts court was terrible in its reasoning and its effects as it allowed a flood of undisclosed money into campaigns.
I will be voting for Kamala Harris for President.
My reasons are both reactive and reflective. On the reactive level there is no scenario where I could vote for Donald Trump. In addition, I will not vote for another Republican at the State or National level until they truly protect women, children and public schools. I am also not going to throw away my vote by voting third party or write-in or just not checking a box.
As to Trump; as a veteran, it is abhorrent to me that a military member would be forced to salute a Commander-in-Chief who is so bereft of respect for what the military holds dear.
There is a picture of a Trump from his prep school days with a chest full of medals. Cadet medals are not war medals but were awarded for a variety of cadet-school achievements. A classmate of Trump, Senior Cadet Michael Scandron, had a full dozen. On the day yearbook portraits were being taken, Trump asked to borrow Scandron’s dress jacket and his medals. This is telling to me and shows zero integrity. Source: Donald Trump Has Always Been Obsessed With Status—Even If He Had to Borrow It | Vanity Fair
During Vietnam, Trump deferred five times. The Military Selective Service Act of 1967 allowed for the college deferment. Even though I believe that the act was a ploy to keep rich kids from serving at the expense of those without family means; I don’t blame anyone for taking advantage of the deferment after the act passed. Trump’s first four deferments were for college. It is his fifth military deferment for “bone spurs” that screams at me. It is hard to balance pictures of Trump playing sports with his sudden physical disqualification by a family friend. His fifth deferment did not mean that the number of draftees was reduced by one; it meant that some “poor” kid went in his stead. Source: Trump’s Military Draft Deferment Isn’t Unusual – The Atlantic
As a candidate in 2016, Trump argued that the former POW John McCain has not a war hero, because he was captured. The irony that a draft dodger would cast judgement on anyone’s service is galling; and even more so someone who suffered as a Vietnam War prisoner of war.
In 2018, Trump cancelled to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, near Paris. He lied about the reasons. According to sources, Trump feared for his hairdo and dismissed the idea that honoring war dead was important. According to four folks with firsthand knowledge, Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed. Source: Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’ – The Atlantic
Trump talking about giving the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a campaign donor as being more important than the Medal of Honor because the MoH recipients were disfigured or dead. The very idea of comparing the awarding of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Miriam Adelson because she donated $20 million to Trump to the military bravery of one of my heroes, Lance P. Sijan (Lance Peter Sijan | Vietnam War | U.S. Air Force | Medal of Honor Recipient (cmohs.org)) was beyond the pale.
I took three We the People teams to Washington DC and visited Arlington National Cemetery. Arlington Cemetery is hallowed ground…period and, as such, must be treated as so. The advantage of having a tour guide is the chance to hear the stories attached to each tombstone. I have always left my teams with other teachers at Arlington to pay my respects on my own. I visited John F. Kennedy site for my mom and left a Kennedy half dollar. My last time attending, I visited Section 60 to pay respects to the grave of Captain Humayun Khan (Who was Capt Humayun Khan? – BBC News). On my visit to Captain Khan’s grave, I left my very last Air Force Challenge coin. I was struck by the difference between Section 60 and the older parts of Arlington. Families were visiting graves with young children visiting. The idea of doing a campaign photo-op in Section 60 is repugnant and the smiling thumbs up photo is so disrespectful. Source: Why Trump’s Arlington Debacle Is So Serious – The Atlantic
The January 6th Insurrection should have been disqualifying for Trump. The 165-page filing by Jack Smith (politico.com/f/?id=00000192-4ed8-d086-a1fe-7edb0e150000) even after removing insurrection evidence precluded by MAGA Supreme Court Trump (Presidential) Immunity decision in Trump v United States (2024): Justices rule Trump has some immunity from prosecution – SCOTUSblog is clearly convincing of his guilt. His speech at the “Save America March” in Washington D.C: was clearly made to provoke violence. I took the Oath of Allegiance four times in military to protect our country of all enemies foreign and domestic. Trump is clearly to me a domestic threat.
Trump is devoid of civic virtue. Washington in 1795 wrote the following to a friend, “republicanism is not the phantom of a deluded imagination: on the contrary, under no form of government, will laws be better supported, liberty and property better secured, or happiness be more effectually dispensed to mankind;but the form of government must be supported by a virtuous citizenry.” The founders worried about grifters in the government which is why there is a domestic and foreign emoluments clause. The Foreign Emoluments Clause (Article 1, Section 9, Clause 8): “[N]o Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under [the United States], shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State” and the Domestic Emoluments Clause (a.k.a. the Presidential Emoluments Clause) (Article II, Section 1, Clause 7) “The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.” The Trump Supreme Court slowed rolled two emolument cases, Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington (CREW) v. Trump and District of Columbia v. Trump until Biden assumed the Presidency and then declared the cases moot. The Supreme Court ruled in Blumenthal, et al. v. Trump that the Congress members who filed suit lacked standing in the case. Lastly, the grift extended into his core advisors, Jared Kushner (who received $2 billion from Saudi Arabia– Jared Kushner defends controversial $2bn Saudi investment (bbc.com)) and Ivanka Trump, China grants 18 trademarks in 2 months to Trump, daughter | AP News, who received patents from China to include voting machines…there is irony here somewhere.
I will end with the lying. It is hard to pick. The lies Trump is telling about FEMA’s response to Helene is immoral. The Republican governors have spoken out about the effectiveness of FEMA’s response. Trump’s lies are straight from the Roy Cohn playbook of denying, fighting back, and doubling down on lies. Trump’s claims about the Helene response are actually thing Trump did in his responses to natural disasters. First, his lies about diverting money from FEMA to house migrants are actually his actions: No, Biden didn’t take FEMA relief money to use on migrants — but Trump did – The Washington Post. His claims about denying benefits to Republican states are lies, but Trump did this to California, Puerto Rico and North Carolina: Trump initially refused to give California wildfire aid because it’s a blue state, ex-aide says – E&E News by POLITICO (eenews.net) His lies about Springfield, Ohio and Aurora, Colorado have had real consequences in those communities. Militias traveling into North Carolina and Tennessee looking for FEMA workers are real consequences on innocent people.
Enough of Trump.
My stance on State and National Republicans is based on three issues: Women, Children and Public Schools. There are Republicans at both levels that I have supported in the past; Todd Young, Kyle Walker, Susan Brooks. No more.
Women. I am a proud girl-dad. The impact on women’s health after the Dobbs decision has been severe. The stories of women suffering in Texas, Alabama, Utah and Florida are harbingers for the future for women in Republican led states. The Supreme Court letting stand a 5th circuit’s preliminary injunction of the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) guidance in Texas v. Becerra, No. 5:22-CV-185-H (N.D. Tex.) that ruled that HHS may not enforce the following interpretations contained in the July 11, 2022, guidance (and the corresponding letter sent the same day by HHS Secretary Becerra):
(1) HHS may not enforce the Guidance and Letter’s interpretation that Texas abortion laws are preempted by EMTALA; and
(2) HHS may not enforce the Guidance and Letter’s interpretation of EMTALA—both as to when an abortion is required and EMTALA’s effect on state laws governing abortion—within the State of Texas or against the members of the American Association of Pro Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) and the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA).
In 1986, Congress enacted the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) to ensure public access to emergency services regardless of ability to pay. Section 1867 of the Social Security Act imposes specific obligations on Medicare-participating hospitals that offer emergency services to provide a medical screening examination (MSE) when a request is made for examination or treatment for an emergency medical condition (EMC), including active labor, regardless of an individual’s ability to pay. Hospitals are then required to provide stabilizing treatment for patients with EMCs. If a hospital is unable to stabilize a patient within its capability, or if the patient requests, an appropriate transfer should be implemented.
The EMTALA Guidance notes that “[e]mergency medical conditions involving pregnant patients may include, but are not limited to, ectopic pregnancy, complications of pregnancy loss, or emergent hypertensive disorders, such as preeclampsia with severe features.”
The Guidance reiterates that the “determination of an emergency medical condition” and “[t]he course of stabilizing treatment” are “under the purview of the physician or qualified medical personnel.” And the Guidance observes that “[w]hen a state law prohibits abortion and does not include an exception for the life of the pregnant person—or draws the exception more narrowly than 5 EMTALA’s emergency medical condition definition— that state law is preempted” in the emergency situations where EMTALA applies.
I cannot imagine that if one of my daughters went into the emergency room with an ectopic pregnancy that the hospital would not be able to stabilize her and stop the bleeding because of state laws like Texas SB 8 tie the hands of physicians. This is criminal and shows a complete lack of concern for the health of women and, by extension, my daughters. This by itself is enough for me. The statistics since the overturning of Roe v Wade and the passage of draconian state laws are slowing coming out: Pregnancy deaths rose by 56% in Texas after 2021 abortion ban, analysis finds (nbcnews.com)
Children. The Republican party’s sanctification of the 2nd Amendment; and the campaign money generating from the gun nuts have sacrificed the lives of American children. I knew that the Republican party was without a soul after the complete inaction after the murders at Sandy Hook Elementary school. Even though the American people overwhelmingly support things like universal background checks, red flag laws, and other common-sense actions the Republican party is unmoved. The fact the guns are now the number 1 killer of children should move state and national legislators to action, but one party is unmoved. In addition, the Republican efforts to kill programs like Head Start, SNAP, WIC, and the Affordable Care Act are anti-children.
I am still moved emotionally by the speech of former President Obama after the Senate killed common sense solutions after Sandy Hook.
Schools. The relentless attacks on public education are crippling. You see the effects in the drop in the number of kids entering into education programs at college. The courts have failed miserably in the cases where public monies are being transferred to religious schools which seems to be a clear violation of the establishment clause; however, as the Supreme Court has proven over and over again; their rulings are not based on the rule of law, but on the application of political power.
I apologize for the length. For those of you that know me well know that my mind needs to process analytically most of my decisions.
The decision in Trump v United States (Immunity Question) is beyond the pale in the application of rule of law. This court, when convenient, apply original intent and powers (Dobbs); and when not they ignore original intent. In place, they create history through selective incorporation of the framers’ words. Chief Justice Roberts used Hamilton’s words in Federalist 70 about an “energetic presidency” as justification for the granting of absolute immunity on Presidential actions to keep Presidents from hesitating in taking action. Duh, legal limits should always cause pause before any government official takes action. Roberts conveniently ignored Hamilton’s assertion in Federalist 69’s that Presidents can be checked through criminal prosecution.
I have the read the decision and found Justice Sotomayor’s warning in her dissent chilling. She wrote:
“When [the president] uses his official powers in any way, under the majority’s reasoning, he now will be insulated from criminal prosecution. Orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune. Let the President violate the law, let him exploit the trappings of his office for personal gain, let him use his official power for evil ends. Because if he knew that he may one day face liability for breaking the law, he might not be as bold and fearless as we would like him to be. That is the majority’s message today. Even if these nightmare scenarios never play out, and I pray they never do, the damage has been done. The relationship between the President and the people he serves has shifted irrevocably. In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law.”
This court is banking on Biden’s decency to not act as Trump acted. There is no longer any check on the President short of impeachment and removal. A check that has always been thwarted by party politics.
During the Ratification Debates, Patrick Henry warned us on this very thing in 1788 at the Virginia Ratification Convention. Henry said, “If your American chief, be a man of ambition, and abilities, how easy is it for him to render himself absolute! The army is in his hands, and, if he be a man of address, it will be attached to him; and it will be the subject of long meditation with him to seize the first auspicious moment to accomplish his design; and, Sir, will the American spirit solely relieve you when this happens? I would rather infinitely, and I am sure most of this Convention are of the same opinion, have a King, Lords, and Commons, than a Government so replete with such insupportable evils. If we make a King, we may prescribe the rules by which he shall rule his people, and interpose such checks as shall prevent him from infringing them: But the President, in the field, at the head of his army, can prescribe the terms on which he shall reign master, so far that it will puzzle any American ever to get his neck from under the galling yoke. I cannot with patience, think of this idea. If ever he violates the laws, one of two things will happen: He shall come at the head of his army to “carry every thing before him; or, he will give bail, or do what Mr. Chief Justice will order him. If he be guilty, will not the recollection of his crimes teach him to make one bold push for the American throne?“
Hamilton wrote: When a man unprincipled in private life desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, [possessed of considerable talents, having the advantage of military habits]2 —despotic in his ordinary demeanor —known to have scoffed in private at the principles of liberty —when such a man is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity —to join in the cry of danger to liberty —to take every opportunity of embarrassing the General Government & bringing it under suspicion —to flatter and fall in with all the nonsense of the zealots of the day —It may justly be suspected that his object is to throw things into confusion that he may ‘ride the storm and direct the whirlwind.’
Lastly, this Court has always had a problem with history. In particular, most of its 2nd Amendment and the Dobbs decisions were historically problematic. There were two briefs filed under this suit that featured the very history that should have been used as foundations in the historical context. They are each sourced and explained in pretty plain language. I would recommend reading both.
In the end there is in reality only one solution…vote. Vote as if our republic depends on each person to perform their civic duty to become informed and cast a vote based on knowledge.
The last two consecutive local election were high stakes (one for control of the HSE school board; and the other for control of the Fishers City Council and a funding referendum for the HSE School district). Despite the stakes, the voter turnout was embarrassingly low.
For clarification, the number of registered voters is thought to be between 70 and 80 percent of eligible voters so I picked 75% as the percentage. The numbers were no more or less disappointing when picking a 70% or 80% number.
Voter turnout rates are always lower during non-Presidential elections, but even Presidential elections do not turnout great numbers. The United States Elections Project reported the following registered voter turnout rates:
2020 – 66.8% (Joe Biden v Donald Trump)
2016 – 61.4% (Donald Trump v Hillary Clinton)
2012 – 58.6% (Barack Obama v Mitt Romney)
2008 – 62.2% (Barack Obama v John McCain)
2004 – 60.7% (George W Bush v John Kerry)
2000 – 55.3% (George W Bush v Al Gore)
1996 – 54.2% (Bill Clinton v Bob Dole)
1992 – 61.3% (Bill Clinton v George H. W. Bush)
1988 – 57.4% (George H. W. Bush v Michael Dukakis)
1984 – 61.9% (Ronald Reagan v Walter Mondale)
Lower voter turnout matters! The problem with low voter turnout rates is that the election outcomes reflect the most motivated (extreme) voters versus the will of the people. Also, it is impossible to have a voter mandate when election winners receive such small percentages of eligible voters.
The Framers Feared Small Voting Blocks!
The problem was low voter turnout was addressed by our framers in the debates over our Constitution. Normally, the most motivated voters are single-issue driven or what the framers referred to as “factions”. In Federalist #10 written by James Madison, he defined factions, “By a faction, I understand a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adversed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.” Madison later wrote that there were only two ways to control factions, “There are two methods of curing the mischiefs of faction: the one, by removing its causes; the other, by controlling its effects. There are again two methods of removing the causes of faction: the one, by destroying the liberty which is essential to its existence; the other, by giving to every citizen the same opinions, the same passions, and the same interests.” Neither option appealed to Madison as each would destroy the democratic ideals of the new nation. He offered that to control factions in a republic, “Extend the sphere, and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens; or if such a common motive exists, it will be more difficult for all who feel it to discover their own strength, and to act in unison with each other. Besides other impediments, it may be remarked that, where there is a consciousness of unjust or dishonorable purposes, communication is always checked by distrust in proportion to the number whose concurrence is necessary.” In short, Madison said small factions would be controlled by large groups with competing opinions to negate smaller factional voices. However, Madison’s ideas would require that the MAJORITY would be there to control factions.
In my humble opinion, low voter turnout eliminates the check that Madison envisioned and then our republic is dominated by unjust factions.
Top 10 states with the highest voter turnout rates based on the data from the 2020 presidential election.
Minnesota – 79.96%
Maine – 77.97% (State motto is Dirigo Latin for “I lead“)
Iowa – 76.42%
Wisconsin – 74.96%
New Hampshire – 74.76%
Colorado – 74.50%
Massachusetts – 73.94%
Nebraska – 73.15%
Oregon – 72.74%
Montana – 71.77%
Minnesota has had the highest voter turnout rate in the country for several recent election cycles. So I looked at the reasons why:
Strong Civic Culture – Minnesota has a long history of civic participation and voter mobilization. High school students are encouraged to pre-register to vote as soon as they turn 18. This culture stresses the importance of voting.
No Excuse Absentee Voting – Minnesota allows “no excuse” absentee/mail-in voting, meaning any registered voter can request and cast an absentee ballot without having to provide a verified reason. This makes voting more convenient.
Same Day Registration – Minnesota also permits same-day registration which allows unregistered eligible residents to go to the polls on Election Day, register on the spot, and vote. This greatly expands voter access.
High Voter Awareness – Minnesota generally sees an engaged, politically aware populace. There are robust efforts from government, political parties, interest groups and schools to conduct voter registration drives and get-out-the-vote campaigns.
In addition, Minnesota has added a civics test (50 questions sourced from the INS test) that high school students must pass to graduate. Also, Minnesota has added a high school civics course to their mandatory high school classes.
Our Country Has a Voter Education Problem
National Association of Educational Progress “report card” that showed the proficiency rate for civics among high school students has dropped from 24% to 22%. As bad as that proficiency rate is for civics; history proficiency is even worse at 13%. There is a cost to the lack of civic and history knowledge and that cost is dangerous.
I used to tell my Weoples (We the People students) that fake news only really fools the uneducated mind. One of the strengths of a liberal education is the ability to bounce information off an educated sub-schema. The greatest importance of civic and historical knowledge is to prevent demagogues from rising. The framers were frightened of the rise of a demagogue.
During the convention, Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts said “demagogues are the great pests of our government and have occasioned most of our distresses.” He also called them “pretended patriots,” unprincipled politicians who steer the people toward “baneful measures” through “false reports.“
James Madison of Virginia twice alluded to “the danger of demagogues.” Alexander Hamilton of New York spoke of this peril of democracy more than any other delegate, naming it seven times. Demagogues, Hamilton said on the floor of Independence Hall in late June 1787, “hate the controul of the Genl. Government.” Further, Hamilton wrote that republics went from demagoguery to tyranny. He wrote in Federalist No. 1: “History will teach us that…of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants.”
What is the Cure?
My world is too small to cure the nation of its ills. However, I believe in the “starfish analogy.” Obviously, my experiences color my recommendation. It starts with education. Dr. Diana Owen from Georgetown University has done extensive work on the impact of high-quality civics education on the knowledge of students. She has written extensively on the impact of James Madison Legacy Project and the We the People program and the positive impact of both programs on civic knowledge and, just as importantly, and involvement. I have seen first-hand the short and long-term impact of the We the People program on students. I would start with the following:
Adopt the We the People program at the 5th and 8th grade level for all schools. Expand the current We the People curriculum to include US History benchmarks with a goal final goal of an in-house or state competition.
Provide lesson plans and curriculum maps for the program to ease the transition.
Create a state-cadre of teachers to provide in-house or regional professional development to help ease the transition.
Encourage districts to send teachers to the summer We the People institute for additional exposure and training.
Offer a stipend for the teaching of and participation in an in-house or regional competition.
When I was judging at the We the People central region, one of the Indiana Bar Foundation board members talked about what they were doing to increase the We the People program in Indiana. One of the proposals was to start recognizing schools as “Civic Schools”. I think this is a great idea. I would like to see the program expanded to recognize “Civic School Districts”.
In fall of 2022 and spring of 2023, I taught three adult We the People classes; two based on the We the People curriculum and the other on Women’s History. It was a lot of fun for me and I loved the conversations. I would love to see city governments offer civic classes taught by local teachers. The civic classes can be tailored in length (narrow one-night programs in the model of a podcast) to longer programs that can be combine with an understanding of city government.
Books
I finished reading Timothy Egan’s A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them and I cannot recommend this book enough. There are real heroes in this story.
I am currently finishing Heather Cox Richardson’s How the South won the Civil War. The book is not long, but it is dense and I find myself highlighting constantly and sharing passages with friends.
In late summer / early fall the mayor asked me to get involved in his proposed HSE educator grant program if the city council approved his idea. Of course, I said yes…I mean my schedule is pretty open with my only real obligation to be a babysitter for my grandson once or twice a week.
Noah and Grandpa!!
In conversation with the mayor and his chief of staff we hammered out what the mayor was looking for in the grant program.
First off the focus of the program is to encourage teachers to bring innovative ideas into the classroom. As I thought my classroom it occurred to me how much conference professional development played in my development as a teacher. It was at a conference that I was introduced to the idea of an interactive notebook that pushed my use of formative assessments and would organize learning for almost my entire career; in my second year of teaching I attended a conference to hear Jay McTighe speak on his and Grant Wiggins work on understanding by design that challenged me to teach with enduring understanding goals that would define my lessons for the next 25 years; my teaching partner and I spent a week writing lessons with Roger Taylor in Michigan that would help me construct thematic units that integrated across disciplines with divergent thinking; later it was at a conference that I was introduced the concepts of Cornell notes and visual notetaking that would change the way my students took notes from simple transfer of information to interacting with the notetaking with a focus on understanding and engagement.
The grant program is not just about professional development. This grant can also be matched to a teacher’s individual subject passions and authentic learning. Deb Kletch’s long-term program to study the American Chestnut (an endangered species) by tracking data on the American, Chinese, and hybrid-Chestnut trees. This program involves students in recording and reporting data authentically across school years. The program makes the scientific method more than just memorizing steps on a work-sheet but makes it three-dimensional to her students.
The city wants to foster and encourage Hamilton Southeastern teachers to bring innovation to classroom.
I have stressed to them that they are far from helpless. I responded to a early morning text with one of my former Unit 6 members who is 15 with the following suggestions.
First, I told her to start a countdown timer until she could register to vote. Make the timer visible. Share it with others. Encourage others to do the same. Share the countdown time on a regular interval. Keep the interest alive.
Second, I encouraged her to form a voter registration group at the high school with a plan to use their social media reach and student government involvement to register new voters. Encourage them to reach out those in college to submit absentee ballots on time.
Third, develop a platform of issues in order to expand the tent to find others that have similar passions. I suggested the March for Our Lives organizers as a model for action.
Fourth, I reminded my change-agent that all politics are local. Find a candidate that has similar views and help canvas for them. Get involved beyond social media. Contact her Indiana representatives with her concerns.
Fifth, make a goal of increasing voter turnout rates. The Indiana voter turnout rates in the highly motivated 2020 election was only 65%.
I would remind my former students on the message on the back of our team t-shirts this year: “Fate whispers to the warrior, ‘You cannot withstand the storm.’ The warrior whispers back, ‘I am the storm!“
My experience with Camp Tecumseh started 26 years ago during my student teaching experience at Hamilton Southeastern Junior High. In the fall of that year we took the entire seventh grade to Tecumseh under the management of Brad Jackson, Charlotte Gwin, and Mike Plautz. The field trip was an education within education. I embraced every moment; walking the 200 acres, helping with calculating the board-feet in a tree using a Biltmore stick, calculating what size of city that could be nourished by the little stream from the lake, canoeing with the kids, climbing beside reluctant kids encouraging them as we went, performing in the teacher skits watching all the smiling faces, square dancing the Virginia Reel jumping from one laughing child to the next…it was “sublime”. It was there when I decided what kind of teacher I wanted to become. As a 36-year-old student teacher the experience was foundational in my development; it grounded me. It brought out the importance of the education experience, it illustrated how much connecting with kids mattered, more importantly, it was a reminder to me that at their core kids just wanted to feel the joy of being kids…maybe for the last time. My 25 years as a Camp director has been a labor of love. I have spent over 26 weeks away from my family through the years supporting this program. My girls would come up most years to square dance and would attend as students in my school; they would become counselors and help keep and expand the legacy.
Lessons
Over the last 6 years we have updated our lessons to take advantage of technological advances and our 240-acre classroom. Our core lessons can be divided into land, water, animals, and sky.
We have worked hard to use the 240 acres of Camp with purpose. To satisfy the science and social studies standards for orienteering and understanding the navigational tools that allowed people to circumnavigate the globe we teach our students how to calculate and use pacing and compass to navigate. We put those skills to a test by having kids geocache that uses these skills along with GPS handhelds to find hidden treasures throughout the pine and oak forests of Camp.
We have written lessons for kids to calculate the value of the trees of Camp and use that information to determine which trees are worth the time to cut. We use a Biltmore forestry stick, tree identification guides, and lots of walking to find potential trees to harvest. The process takes lots of practical math and team discussion. The process is REAL, the tools are REAL…we even update the tree prices each year before we attend.
Camp Tecumseh has taken our lessons and moved them into their education programs. Just this year they asked for our new Protist Lesson featuring water from the lake and streams and digital microscope labs for the kids to really explore the microscopic world.
Extra-Curricular
We want all our kids to experience something new. Most of our kids have not been to an outdoor camp. We have them canoe on the Camp lake. This is one of my favorite activities to watch as they try to propel their canoe along the lake. Watching them trying to turn is a study of teamwork in action and no experience is complete until you watch kids trying to figure out how to stop the canoe from running into the shore/dock/side of the hill. There are a lot of life-lessons to be learned while canoeing; like, do not lean over the canoe side at the same time, do not splash the person in the front of the canoe, do not paddle in opposite directions if you actually want to move forward, and, my favorite, canoes do not respond to verbal commands.
Our kids have the chance to rock climb on an outdoor climbing wall called Mt. Wood. Most have never tried this before. We teach the counselors, staff and teachers to encourage our kids to try…once we get them on the wall we encourage them to take one more step up, we get them to concentrate on 3 points of contact and making a plan on what course to take. Seeing the smile on their faces when they get to the top is worth the work it takes to get the kids to Camp. Most of the time they want to try again immediately; a far cry from the timid kid of 10 minutes prior. Of course, one of my teacher partner has convinced some of the kids that the owl at the top of the structure is made of chocolate, but only those who take to hardest path are close enough to actually lick the chocolate owl. Every year some pixie gymnast get to the top and finds out that maybe we lied. 😊
We get kids to WANT to square dance. It starts with having enthusiastic counselors, followed by enthusiastic teachers, and simple dances to warm them up. We Bunny-Hop with counselors at the head of all the dance lines, then we into a traditional German Octoberfest-style Chicken Dance, which then leads us into Heel-Toe square dance and finishing a traditional Virginia Reel. When we have time we launch into the Electric Cotton-Eye Joe, our own version of the YMCA, and the Cuban Shuffle. We get parent chaperones and even Camp staff dancing with us. Some Camp staff even come on their nights off to have fun with us. Watching the kids laugh and smile without the normal worries cannot be replicated outside of Camp.
Brad Jackson is our institutional storyteller. All his stories are themed and filled with life lessons of kindness, responsibility, and self-awareness. When Brad bares his soul on his story about Dawny the kids lean in. As he tells how he had a chance to be a real friend and failed in real time touches kids. They feel his regret even 50 years later. He is what Social-Emotional Learning strives to achieve.
Positive Externalities
One of the casualties of the modern plugged-in world is the joy of being outdoors. Our kids only go outside when there is an organized activity with scripted activities. We tell our counselor to walk around the Camp. We play a form of Bingo where the kids take group pictures at The Big Chair, Ghost Cabin, Colgate Cabin, Trader Joes, the Suspension Bridge, the Great Oak, Eagles Nest and other Camp landmarks. I normally get in 25 to 30 thousand steps each day.
Long Term Impacts. I wanted to address the question, “Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze” by asking the question to a group that had “no skin in the game”….my former counselors. I reached out to a counselors through social media.
What my former counselors said
In the end, the question “Is the juice worth the squeeze” is the wrong question. What should have been asked “Are the health benefits worth the squeeze?” I will let my former counselors answer that question. I posted this on social media
Is the juice worth the squeeze? A question that I think applies to a lot of things in life. For a lot of basic life things? No. For a lot of the things in public schools? No. For Camp Tecumseh? Yes.
I grew up going to the junior high Camp Tecumseh program as my father has run the program my whole life. I still remember sliding down the black hole for the first time with seventh graders and counselors that I looked up to. I remember square dancing with all the “big kids” who had pure joy written across their faces. I remember them chanting and clapping in perfect unison “I love Camp T” during the Chicken Dance. I remember dinner was WAY cooler at Camp Tecumseh than dinner had ever been before (even as a five-year-old who had been to Chuck E Cheese and CiCi’s Pizza). Everyone was happy and all I could think about was when it would be my turn.
Fast forward to me as a seventh grader. On the first day of seventh grade, I was so excited to be at the junior high for one reason: Camp Tecumseh. I knew I would be going that year and the only bummer was that I had to wait until spring. In a time of your life when you feel nothing but awkward, Camp Tecumseh was a pause to all of that. Everyone was on the same playing field. We all got to take the bus, sleep in the cabins, build the kites, learn the lessons, hear the stories, and square dance our hearts out. For many of my peers and me, it was a turning point for us. While yes, our awkward side stood out more than we would’ve liked, we didn’t care. We got to have FUN. Fun like the classroom simply can’t be. Fun with our teachers, friends, and these awesome counselors who seemed like they walked on water. This was another big thing for a seventh grader. We could tell they were cool. They didn’t care about all of the “fixxy” hairstyles at camp or what outfit they were wearing because they were there to have fun. This gave us seventh graders something to strive to be. On top of that, we were also told they were good students with bright futures. Suddenly, it wasn’t “cool” to be the kid flunking out who just “didn’t care”. It was cool to be the successful student that got to spend three days of the school week at camp with friends. It was cool to not be the type of “cool” that seventh graders knew.
Being a counselor is something I will never forget and never take lightly. It was the best part of high school. It was an honor to get to go because you had to have certain grades and nail an interview (that many did not get past). It was also an honor to be looked at as a leader by peers and former teachers. It was also a heck of a lot of fun. There aren’t many field trips in high school. You don’t get to get away for educational purposes or resume builders that aren’t boring. For three days, you get to be the people that walk on water to the seventh graders. You get to rat your friends out for the silly things they do around camp and watch them be nominated in front of everyone. You get to teach those, that really aren’t that much younger than you, and realize how far you’ve come as a human. You get to build relationships with your peers that you otherwise wouldn’t have interacted with. You get to square dance with a whole room of people and bring out your inner “dancing queen”. You get to build a balloon that only goes five feet and still feel like you finally mastered it. You get to do skits in front of one of the biggest crowds you’ll perform in front of and happily embarrass yourself to no end. You get to leave after three days with stomach pain from laughing so hard. You get to leave after three days with a heart bursting with joy. You get to leave feeling whole.
Camp Tecumseh taught me valuable lessons that I still use to this day in my job as a nurse. Teamwork is one of the biggest in balloon-making, skits, lessons, and square dancing. Time management in getting places on time, completing the lessons, and actually teaching the seventh graders in the process. Compassion for the kids who struggle and need the extra boost of confidence or guidance. Leadership is obvious. As a counselor you’re in charge of those awkward seventh graders and making sure they get their work done, have fun, and don’t do anything that will get them nominated.
Junior high and high school are the times that adults look back on and shudder with terrible memories. Most adults will say, “I would never go back to junior high/high school”. I can’t say that because I would give anything to go back and experience Camp Tecumseh again as a student or a counselor. Even just for a day.
Caitlin (Fassold) Grecco
NICU Nurse Riley Children’s Hospital
“Is the juice worth the squeeze?” When it comes to this program, this is the wrong question. Rather we should ask ourselves who do we want to shape our children and teenagers to become, what legacy do we want to leave behind? As a former Tecumseh student and counselor, I cannot tell you why it is worth the work to make the program happen, because ultimately, that is your decision. However, I can tell you that the person I am today is a better human because of this trip not only as a student, but as a counselor. Today’s world is filled with doubt. It is scary. I am sure it has been like this in the past, and I’m sure it will be like this again in the future. What do we lean on in times of challenge? We lean on our resiliency, we lean on our confidence, we lean on our connections, we lean on our real-world experience, and we trust that the good memories ultimately outweigh the bad. These are the things Tecumseh teaches EVERYONE- the teachers, the parents, the counselors, the children. I can tell you from those memories, about how I used math to calculate floating boats down the stream as a child. I remember canoeing in the pond. I remember laughing. I remember my counselors waking up in the morning to curl their hair and the smiles on their faces. I remember the goal to become a camp counselor. It gives me a since of warmth, security, companionship, knowledge, happiness. At that age, I did not know what it would take to become a future counselor, but I did know that I desperately wanted to. I do know that being surrounded by nature for a few days, riding a bus and singing songs, and being reminded to just be a kid while getting to learn was more valuable than any classroom lesson plan. In fact, those are the ONLY lesson plans I remember from that age.
A member of Cara’s study group responded her response on social media!
I recognize that the request for this email was more about the experience of a counselor. As a successful physician scientist, this program ignited my spark for teaching and exploring. It reminded me of the love I have for children. It reminded me of the beauty of the world through their eyes. It removed the stress of being an emotional, hormonal teenager, and being surrounded by nature, kids who don’t care about who the most popular person is and renewed lifelong friendships. It built my confidence with the trust they put in me to teach these children, to be responsible for someone else’s world. It forced me to think outside the box. It gave me hope for the future, it gave me passion, and it gave me gratitude. On my team, I had a child who was struggling with mental health. A child who couldn’t find the value in living anymore. What world have we created when our children have no desire and cannot see the beauty around them. The big feelings that surrounded her from a world full of difficult things to process were so much for her little mind. I made my entire weeks goal to remind the kids on my team of the beauty that surrounded them. Did we learn math, yes. Did we learn science, yes. Did we practice art, yes. Were those all things they could get from a classroom? Sure. I promise you though, the laughter, the happiness, and the smiles are things those children will never forget. I have no idea what happened to the girl. I hope I had the ability to make a small impact in her life. I hope for 48 hours she was able to forget about all the bigger problems that surrounded her at home and just be a child. These moments reminded me of perseverance. They reminded me of the beauty in the world. They built my confidence. They shaped me. They are a core memory, and they are more valuable in my mind than anything else. They shaped me not only as a future worker, but as a mother of two small children. I use those same lessons to teach them. And when I go to choose a school for my children, these are the types of programs I will look for. This is what I want my child to experience. Both as a student and as a counselor. When I look at them, what do I want for them? Of course, I want a good education, but most of all I want them to be happy and resilient. I want them to have good role models, I want them to be surrounded with people that they can share things with and will encourage them. Children and teens learn the best in stress free environments. For this reason, it is a major focus of the American Academy of Pediatrics. It improves health, learning, memory. This program is a positive legacy. I am one person; I am not going to convince you “the juice is worth the squeeze.” However, 20 years later, I deeply value these memories and it brings sad tears to my eyes as I write this, that anyone would ever doubt this program. I hope for the sake of our children and our teenagers that this program never ends, and that we never lose the light inside of us to see its value. Mr. Fassold and Mr. Sturgeon will always hold a special place in my heart and know that I would move the earth and the moon for them should they ever need it for the opportunity they gave me to be a counselor.
Sincerely,
Cara Slagle
Cara Slagle, MD
Assistant Professor, Division of Neonatology
Co-Director, Center for Acute Care Nephrology
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Hi Mr. Fassold,
I saw your Facebook post about Camp T and immediately knew I needed to share with you the importance of my experience as a counselor.
There are the big takeaways for many counselors during Camp T: leadership, critical thinking, developing friendships, and reconnecting with old classmates (at the time, the program also brought back both high schools). High school is an awkward and uncomfortable time, putting kids in this environment to grow and become leaders was such a unique educational experience.
Personally, you helped me discover my passion: event management. My senior year, you chose Sean Delaney and me to own the production of Skit Night (everyone’s favorite!). This was the first time outside of volleyball I felt confident, comfortable, and in control of a situation.
Realizing how much I loved the planning and execution of live events, and up against the impossible task of choosing a college major, I explored marketing and events. Four years later, I graduated from IU Bloomington with a degree in Event Management. Today, I work for a tech company, owning all event and field marketing programs for our top industries.
Without Camp Tecumseh and your leadership, I may not be where I am today. This is long overdue but.. THANK YOU!!!
Pictures attached! 🙂
Lauren Smith
Camp Tecumseh was something we all looked forward to year after year from the time we attended as students to the last trip back as a counselor. It was a time to get outside of the classroom and bond with our friends and classmates and make memories that have lasted forever. It brought us counselors closer, removing the groups, stereotypes and preconceived ideas of our peers. We were all there for the same purpose- to give the students the best experience, just like the one we had. A to have a lot of fun amongst ourselves. It was an incredibly moving and special part of our senior year selfishly but also knowing that we were able to give back. Something to this day that is brought up in conversation with family, friends and today’s students. I have only the fondest memories and can’t imagine not having this opportunity. – Emily Bailey
Hello and happy Friday! I saw your post and wanted to send my thoughts. Fortunately, you caught me on the last day of my maternity leave 😄 Hope you are doing well, and please let me know if I can help in any way to keep Camp T alive and well!
As a graduate of HSE and former employee of the district, I can wholeheartedly say that Camp Tecumseh is an amazing experience for students and counselors. I have fond memories of my experience as a 7th grader attending Camp T, that went beyond just the activities. I was able to interact with classmates that I wouldn’t have spent time within school and could see them for who they truly were. We had to work as a team, while many of us tried things for the first time such as canoeing or balloon building. I still remember my counselor and how much I admired her. I knew I wanted to be a Camp T counselor when I was in high school. Looking back, being a counselor was one of the highlights of my high school experience. It brought me confidence that I didn’t know I had and confirmed my love for working with children and youth. Flash forward 8 years later, and I began my career as a school counselor at Fishers High School. I was fortunate to work with hundreds of students during my time at FHS and got to hear many of their experiences at Camp Tecumseh as students and counselors. At the beginning of the school year, my students would already be asking about how to become a Camp T counselor. It warmed my heart to see them experience the same excitement for the program that I had. I can truly say that this program can have a long-term impact on all of those involved and is such a treasure for HSE Schools. – Natalie Calvert Riding
Hey Mr. Fassold!
It’s Megan Huffman (formally Megan Graves) It has been a while I hope you are doing well! I saw your Facebook post and thought I’d help out and share my experience being a Camp T counselor.
As soon as I left Camp T as a student, I KNEW I wanted to be a counselor once I hit high school. I looked up to my counselor so much and wanted to do the same for my future campers. Being a Camp T counselor seemed to be right up my alley, but I also knew it would push me out of my comfort zone. At that point in my life, as an average high school student, I never really had the big responsibility of overseeing a 7th grader, let alone a whole group of them. It really challenged me. I had to really tap into my creativity, leadership skills, and “mom mode.” I wanted to make sure my campers learned what they needed to, had a blast, and stayed safe in the process. I really enjoyed the challenge.
The biggest thing that impacted me from being a counselor was the relationships I built in the process. There is nothing like spending a few days at camp with your good friends, favorite teachers, and a good group of kids. I was able to build new relationships and continue to grow deeper in the ones I already had. I also loved being able to pour into the young kids. I wanted to be a role model and a counselor that they looked up to. I did all of this while having an absolute BLAST. The memories made at camp are ones I will keep for the rest of my life. I look back at pictures of square dancing, blind-folded hikes, rock climbing, etc. and all I can do is smile and wish I was back there now.
I would 10000% recommend being a Camp T counselor. I promise you the work and missing school is so worth it 🙂
Megan Huffman, SPT
Indiana University
Doctorate of Physical Therapy Program
Class of 2023
Camp T is 100% worth it. Being a counselor taught me patience and made me problem solve to a different level. You can be a leader among your peers, but when there is an age gap, and you’re trying to force kids to do school outside of school that takes a different level of leader. It doesn’t only help me either. My camp kids still reach out to me for advice and to talk about problems they’re having etc. For example, I was given a “problem child”. During camp T I saw this kid not only start out as a problem child but evolve into someone who actually did their work and participate in the activities. This kid just needed an advocate and someone to listen to them about why they hated school so much and to this day I’m still that person for them. Without Camp T I don’t think this would have ever happen and this is only my story. Think of all the other kids who have been impacted and helped during this wonderful opportunity! – Tati Lockridge
I was a Camp Tecumseh counselor for all three years I was eligible at HSE. It was this leadership opportunity that solidified my choice to pursue teaching. I have no doubt that my life would look incredibly different without my time at Camp T.
Kurt Henderson
To Whom It May Concern,
First, I will introduce myself. My name is Rachel Stady (Smith). I lived in Fishers, IN for 26 years until my husband’s job took us out of state. I attended Camp Tecumseh as a 7th grader at Fishers Junior High and as a 3 year counselor at Fishers High School (2011-2014). I knew going into Indiana University that I wanted to teach junior high, specifically 7th grade. I was awarded Outstanding Future Educator by IU after completing my student teaching at Fishers Junior High. I then substituted for Fishers Junior High helping with many different facets of the school. I went on to teach 7th grade in Noblesville Schools where I was awarded Teacher of the Year by NJHS and was graded as an “exemplary teacher” every year. I had the long-term dream of returning to Fishers Junior High and continuing the legacy of the teachers who impacted me there. While it was gut-wrenching to leave the community, I say all this so you understand my validity in the field of education and how strong my allegiance still is to the community. An allegiance that was no doubt created by my experiences and the teachers/adults involved with Camp Tecumseh.
I will restrain myself to just a couple of the more important aspects the Camp Tecumseh program provides (I could write a short novel if needed). The experiences offered at Camp Tecumseh are not simply replicated in a classroom. Sure, you can have group projects and pair students up yourself but it is not the same. In my 3 years as a counselor each of my groups had students who were vastly different and ran in different circles. These students did not have the option or convenience of having just one class where they had to work together and they could go about their day like normal. Or the popular option to just do their part and let the other students do theirs and never actually work together (we’ve all been there). Students were with their group all day for multiple days, and they had one-on-one attention from a high school role model who fostered their cooperation despite their differences. It brings tears to my eyes to this day thinking of my students proactively wanting to be together and spend time with another student who they at first thought they had nothing in common. I witnessed my students learn how to be leaders and how to navigate students who take on a more vocal leadership role and those who need more direction but are just as crucial to the overall task.
Furthermore, the hands-on activities Camp Tecumseh provides ensures students work together in real time. Again, not sitting at their desk huddled around a computer or going home and finishing their part etc. The activities and the leadership of a high schooler working with a small group is 100% required to see these results. They cannot be replicated in a classroom where a teacher is working with 30+ students. If you are thinking, yes, it is a fun program but we need to focus on academics. That is the beauty of this program. You have professionals in the field of teaching curating these activities. They are so well crafted that the kids remember how fun it is but they are indeed learning. Isn’t that what we strive for in any lesson? Isn’t that a trademark of an exemplary teacher? Isn’t that how we engage our students? Isn’t that the type of learning our brain remembers? We see less and less of these experiences offered for kids starting as early as elementary. It would be a disservice and shame to take this away from our junior high kids.
I hope my next point speaks to your hearts because I truly believe in order to have a successful community you must pour into the people living there. The seeds of community are planted into our students from an early age. For myself and many others, our Camp Tecumseh experience in 7th grade was the first time we felt those seeds being nourished and watered. My 7th grade year and 3 years as a Camp T counselor are the main reasons I knew I wanted to teach 7th grade. Furthermore, the Camp Tecumseh program and the teachers who run it poured into my life not just in 7th grade. Their reach and impact extends beyond a classroom. They continued to water and nourish those seeds well into my high school years and my adulthood. This program allows our community teachers to pour into the students for six years (I’d argue much longer but I digress).
Here is the kicker, because of Camp T many of those students leave our school system wanting to pour back into the Fishers/HSE community. Many alumni want to come back as teachers and pay it forward. It’s one of the building blocks of a strong school system. The benefits of this program are long-lasting. It is not a group project you are done with in a week or so. It is not a field trip to the museum of science that was cool but you forget about. This program blooms flowers in its students who later go on to nourish the next generation. I have more allegiance to the Fishers/HSE community, specifically FJH and FHS, than I do Indiana University. That is a direct result of this program and the many adults who poured into me and molded me into the person I am today – not just one academic year, but over the course of my life. Our community needs people to take pride in it, people who want to give back, people who want to see it continue to pour into its young minds. Camp Tecumseh does just that. I guarantee there would be a swarm of gut-wrenched community members, of all ages, if this program ceased to exist. That in itself should be enough testimony to the validity of this program.
Respectfully,
Rachel Stady
Hi Mr. Fassold!
It’s Emily Grasso, and I am a former Camp Tecumseh counselor. I saw your post on Facebook, and I thought I would message you about my experience. I loved it when I was a kid, because I was learning outside of school. I got to travel somewhere with my friends, and it was both fun and educational! It covered all subjects, but the science/math aspect is what I remember most. I learned so much about science-related topics that I would not have seen in action in a school building. I loved it…and science is NOT my thing. I loved my high school counselor, and it was so cool to have a mentor to follow around all week. I will never forget the skits at night, square dancing, or Mr. Jackson’s stories. I smile now just thinking about it. Kids don’t often get to “have fun” like that at school these days, and they need something to look forward to. Some of my fondest memories from junior high school are from Camp Tecumseh.
As a counselor, it was so much more. By leading a small group of teenagers, I slowly began to realize that I was made for this. I loved mentoring them and teaching them. I discovered that teenagers can actually be fun! My leadership skills improved as well as the foundation of my teaching skills. This is one factor that led me to want to become a teacher. I currently work with 9th and 10th graders with learning disabilities. I feel like I am with a bunch of middle schoolers every day, and I see their eyes light up when we do an interactive activity. I know that if they had the chance and the funding, they would have done something like this in a heartbeat. As for me personally, I loved being able to reunite with my friends for an extended period of time. I had to split and go to HSE high school, and it was a real bummer for me. Being able to interact with my old friends was something that I needed more than I realized.
The last and most important thing for me was the amount of trust the FJH teachers put into us counselors. It can be hard to trust big teenagers to look after little teenagers. The fact that I was chosen to do this felt like an honor. I felt a sense of respect and responsibility. I felt valued by the adults, and I knew that I served a purpose in this experience. Being entrusted with this responsibility gave me confidence. I could keep a small group of kids alive by myself…success!
I have also attached some pictures- not sure if you can use any of them. They are a little grainy and old, but the fact that I still have them shows how much I truly valued my time at Camp T.
If you need anything from me, I am more than happy to help out. Camp T is something that they should keep around!
Emily Grasso
Good afternoon,
For three years, I always looked forward to those three days where I got to be a Camp Tecumseh counselor for Fishers Junior High. It meant reuniting with former teachers who guided me expertly through seventh grade and reuniting with former junior high classmates. More importantly though, it gave me the experience and privilege to lead a passionate group of seventh graders through an experience that the classroom just cannot offer. Disconnecting from technology and getting to experience the outdoors is something you just don’t get at school. Going kayaking, building a weather balloon, hiking through the woods, line dancing, looking for local wildlife, and of course the baked oatmeal, are all experiences that have stuck with me as a 2013 graduate of HSE. During my last year as a Tecumseh counselor, we experienced a dreaded rainstorm and flooding that had us locked in the dining hall together. Instead of ruining the experience, it brought us even closer, with fabulous karaoke renditions that brought the teachers, counselors, and students together. It is one of the most unique experiences we offer seventh graders in our district.
To put it bluntly, discontinuing Tecumseh would be an incredible disservice to students in the HSE school district. The juice is 100% worth the squeeze. The teachers who make Tecumseh happen wouldn’t put their effortless hours into making the program happen if they didn’t believe with full conviction that it wasn’t worth it for their students that they care deeply about. As an FJHS and HSE HS alumna, I would be deeply disappointed to see this program discontinued.
I saw your Facebook post and immediately had to send an email! Being a Camp T counselor was my all time favorite high school experience. It was also the most memorable part of 7th grade. I remember it so clearly. I had the best time and learned SO much!! I sadly lost all of my pictures of Camp T besides this one. Camp Tecumseh is absolutely worth all of the work. It gave me first hand experience of running my own group of kids without any other help. It taught me how to be independent and make flexible decisions without the help of others. It helped me prepare for my dream career – being a teacher. It taught me how to be a leader. I was exposed to a lot of new experiences that helped me grow as an individual as well as a future teacher. I loved every second of it, all 3 years that I was a counselor. The relationships I made will always have a special place in my heart. I knew I made a positive impact on those kids’ lives and that’s all I could ever want. I thank YOU for giving me those opportunities, for believing in me, for giving me a chance to grow. I appreciate you and everyone else involved with this program. PLEASE keep it going!!
Tyne Mather
Hey Mr. Fassold, this is Mitchell Shafer, and I’d like to share my Tecumseh experience with you.
For me, Camp Tecumseh was likely the single most important experience I’ve had in determining my career path. Going into it, I thought that I likely wanted to teach, but I was extremely nervous about it. I was terrified of going to college, taking all of these education classes and then finding out I hated it, or that I just didn’t have the skills. Being a counselor at Camp Tecumseh and interacting with kids as well as leading those mini-lessons made me realize that not only did I enjoy teaching, but I was also pretty good at it. I’m now finishing up my student teaching this semester, and I will graduate from the University of Dayton with a double major in Adolescent to Young Adult Education (7-12) and English in May. Without Tecumseh, I often wonder if I would have had the confidence to stay with something I believed to be a passion of mine, but was so anxious about without that experience. Tecumseh for me confirmed that passion, and it helped lead me to where I am today.
I am so grateful for the experience of being a Camp counselor. In reflecting on one’s life, there are some opportunities and god willing a few people one can point to as being pivotal to one’s development. I am lucky to be able to count my camp experience as one such moment, filled with many such amazing individuals. I know a generation of doctors (including myself), lawyers, scientists, community leaders, even a professional athlete, who benefited from the mentorship of amazing teachers in the course of counselor training and who owe the Camp program for enriching their public school education. I am grateful that my school system had the vision to support opportunities like Camp Tecumseh in the midst of tighter budgets, ever-evolving academic priorities. The presence of programs like Camp Tecumseh in HSE’s curriculum demonstrates an understanding that students learn best from using all their senses and that education is more than just books, tests, and grades. These relationships and memories I formed during the course of Camp were foundational to my development, and I feel so blessed to have shared a small part in the program as a counselor.
Morgan Smith, DO
I wanted to reach out about how I believe Camp Tecumseh is worth all of the hard work that gets put into it. Some of my greatest memories were made at Camp T as a student and as a counselor. At the time as a student it was difficult to give up my phone but it allowed me to enjoy what was around me, which wouldn’t have happened without Camp Tecumseh. With the world continuing to change and kids gaining access to technology younger and younger, Camp Tecumseh allows the students to finally experience what they have been seeing on their phones. Creating a bond as a student to a high schooler was another cool experience and allowed a safe space for the student to open up about themselves. I still am connected with almost all of the students I had as a counselor from both of my years and love that they still feel comfortable enough to reach out whenever they need. I don’t know how camp would work now that the students haven’t gotten to experience it because of covid. You guys as teachers are amazing and create a wonderful atmosphere, however the counselors are the ones the students are looking up to and want to be. The counselors I had when I was a student are the reason I wanted to become a counselor. The counseling position helped shape me into who I am today. It helped me grow and mature and I was able to take what I had learned from my experience and continue to use it in my life today.
Thank you, Carlie Westrum
Mr. Fassold,
Ever since I left Camp Tecumseh as a 7th grader, I knew I wanted to be a Camp Counselor as soon as I could. Camp Tecumseh was an incredible experience for me to grow as a leader and for me to reminisce on the glory days of being a Globetrotter at FJH. The connections I made between Camp Counselors and the students I mentored were amazing. I absolutely loved going back to Camp and creating a fun experience for the kids in my group. I just wanted them to love it as much as I did! I also think it is a great opportunity for the 7th graders to get some hands on experience in the outdoors. This is something you can’t teach in science class! Words simply cannot express how much I loved Camp Tecumseh and just thinking about it now has me feeling very nostalgic. I loved it in 7th grade and I loved it in high school. Additionally, I hope you’re doing well and I miss you and Mr. Sturgeon so much!
Best,
Jordan Vohs
From a counselor’s perspective, Camp T was well worth all the time and effort that I put in.
For me, being a counselor was one of the first steps that helped shape me into the leader I am today. There is no way that I could be doing what I do now, organizing and leading events on campus with 100s of attendees, volunteers, and vendors as a part of the student union board on campus, without the experience of Camp T.
Also, it would be wrong to not mention my senior year. As a senior from the class of 2020, I had to mourn the loss of a lot of things. But, one of the things that I mourned the most was not going back to Camp T for my third year. I think it speaks volumes of the program that I cared more about missing Camp than my senior lacrosse season (or even my graduation at some points).
However, it is much more than just leadership and my experiences as a counselor. The experiences of the students are the most important. There is no greater experience than getting to see these kids learn in an environment like Camp T. Many of these kids have spent most of their time in suburbs like Fishers. So, it is amazing to watch them interact with and learn from nature. I still remember seeing some of their faces as they saw the petting zoo area for the first time.
I still follow some of my former “kiddos” on social media, and not going to lie, I feel like a proud parent watching them grow and become leaders in their own right. Seeing them take on the world.
Plus, it is so much more than a learning experience. So much happens in those three days that stays with kids forever. All of the silliness and tradition creates something that they remember forever.
No matter what perspective you look at it from, it is worth it. I wouldn’t change it for anything.
Rebecca Chrisman (Class of 2020)
Dear Mr. Fassold,
I saw your Facebook post asking for how Camp Tecumseh made an impact on our life. It’s hard for me to pinpoint just where it started, but I am going to give it a try.
I am the youngest of my 3 sisters. I watched both of my older sisters go off and be a counselor at Camp T before it was my chance to go. They would come back with stories and joy, and a little extra dirt every year. Hearing these tales made me so excited for it to be my turn, and soon enough, 7th grade was upon me, and my turn was up! Lucky for me, my older sister was a senior in high school and also a counselor at Camp Tecumseh at the same time. On the outside I was “so embarrassed” that my sister was in the skits, but on the inside I was beaming with pride to be related to her. Things were tough at home, and being able to bond in a safe environment helped us grow together. While I can’t tell you how I calculated the rate of flow of the river that week, I can tell you that this trip opened my eyes to having the classroom be everywhere, not just inside the school.
Let’s fast forward to high school, when I eagerly applied to be a counselor at Camp T. I was an excellent student and kept my grades up to ensure I would know enough to teach these 7th graders for a few days. My mom took me to the store where I bought matching bandanas I would give to my group to help them feel bonded, as well as more candy than 5 kids could eat (or so I thought). Teaching kids through an activity book enabled me to develop leadership skills and self confidence that I was greatly lacking. It allowed me to be a role model for others, when I was consistently being overlooked. As a selfish teenager, it also taught me about empathy and looking outside of myself as I was caring for others. Serving as a camp counselor empowered me in ways that I hadn’t thought about until writing this email. Not only that, but it also allowed me to unplug and spend time with my friends during a critical time of turmoil.
If that was all Camp Tecumseh did for me, it would be enough. However, with my experience, I would go on to be a camp counselor at a sleep away camp for 2 summers when I was in college. This opened up my world and influenced me to pursue my education in counseling. I got my master’s degree and I have worked as a high school counselor for the past 5 years because I am determined to help students find their worth. I never asked for mental health help from my counselor in high school, even though I needed it, but rather sought out leadership opportunities. Camp Tecumseh gave me confidence and filled a gap that spending time with nature alone can fill. I’m not sure what career I would be in right now if it weren’t for Camp T, so you can say the pudding to the face was well worth it.
I have continued to believe that the best learning takes place outside of the classroom when you can apply it to real world scenarios. I believe that fresh air is good for the soul, and with the mental health issues facing our students today, turning off their cell phones and learning important social skills while being outdoors is just the healing balm we need after the past two years.
For me- the juice is definitely worth the squeeze.
Michaella Beatty
Hi Mr. Fassold!!
I hope you are doing well. I wanted to send along a narrative about the positive impact that Camp T has had on my life:
My time at Camp T was one of the most memorable experiences of my high school career. At camp, I was able to connect with and teach middle school students, learn more about the outdoors, and engage with a community of peers and teachers who inspired us to ask questions and learn from one another.
When I was younger, I never saw myself as a teacher, however, my experience as a counselor helped me to see not only the importance of teaching, but also the impact of mentorship and peer learning. The middle school students learned about the outdoors, but they also learned about high school and other general life experiences. They would ask me about what it was like in high school and the importance of what we were learning at camp. Camp provides an opportunity for these connections and organic learning experiences that are just not possible in the traditional classroom. Also, camp helped more kinesthetic learners, like myself, see, smell, and hear what they were learning.
On a more personal level, my experience at camp helped me to identify my passions. Early in my college career, I was very lost about what to do with my life. But, through experiences like Camp T, I was able to reflect on my love of the outdoors and my gift of leadership. The Camp T model of outdoor education made me aware of efforts to connect young students with nature. It helps them to appreciate nature and learn more about the world around them. I ended up going into the field of public health where I work to lead collective efforts to make sure everyone has access to environments like parks, trails, and community gardens. I whole-heartedly believe that connecting people with experiential learning opportunities (i.e. visiting farms, seeing different neighborhood parks, growing food in a garden) promotes deeper understanding and a sense of empathy towards others. I connect this passion back to my time at Camp T.
Being a Camp Tecumseh counselor was a one-of-a kind experience that had a part in shaping me into an adult who values service, learning, and engagement with the community and environment around me. I sincerely hope that students continue to have the opportunity to attend camp. Our teachers and mentors work so hard to make it happen and I am truly grateful for their efforts to help students learn in such an impactful way.
I hope this is helpful! Your work with Camp T is seen and valued by so many. Thank you for all of your work to impact future generations!
Best wishes,
Julia Brunnemer
Hello! I hope all is well,
My name is Emily Monson, a former camper and counselor for Tecumseh. To be honest, it’s difficult to put into words how much this program has impacted me. when I was in the 7th grade I remember struggling a lot. I have never been the perfect student, learning in the classroom with homework and traditional practice has always been hard for me and with all of the students my teachers were in charge of, there seemed to never be enough 1 on 1 time. When we were told about the camp Tecumseh trip that we would go on at the end of the year I was so excited. I love being outside and I used to go to summer camps all the time, this was perfect. what I didn’t realize is how much that 3 days would teach me.
During my first time at camp I watched my friends become excited to learn about the plants, animals, and life that is so separate from our own and it was contagious. we spent time getting to know each-other, overcoming challenges with teamwork, and being immersed in what felt like a virtual reality science textbook. By day 3 my classmates and teachers felt more like family, we had jokes and experiences to share when we got back that I still think about regularly. I remember feeling like I finally found a way to be successful in learning and that was a huge breakthrough for me. Even my teachers commented on how well I was doing with the school-work while being there, this reassured me even more and made me feel seen.
Fast forward to high school, my sophomore year. I started hearing my friends talk about applying to be a counselor for this same trip I loved so much and thought I would too. My first year of high school was not the best academically (like I said I have never been the perfect student) so I was unable to apply because my gpa was not high enough. this hurt me a lot because I realized that the same lessons I learned on that trip had been lost. I didn’t have that spark for learning anymore and that’s why I couldn’t help other kids receive it through counseling.
I decided that I would find a way to learn that works for me again. I was disciplined, worked hard, by the end of my junior year my gpa was high enough and I was eligible to apply. I was nervous but I remembered how supportive my teachers had been and explained them how I worked to be there again. They accepted me and we started counselor training.
My second experience there was even more impactful than the first. I met the most genuine kids that year who bonded with me and trusted me to help them learn too. We all did something new through a once in a lifetime experience together and we knew how important it was. I watched them interact with nature and work through challenges as a team and in turn, watched their brains have huge realizations about the world around them just like I had. this touched me, and the other counselors. I was able to have conversations about true connection and the joys of watching these kids grow, really making everything feel full circle for me.
With all of this being said I know I would not be the person I am today without the human connection, room for new experience, and eye-opening realizations of life I had while being a part of camp Tecumseh. I always look forward to seeing the photos of kids from the years behind me. I hope this tradition continues as it would be disheartening to know some young minds wouldn’t have the same opportunities I did.
Mr. Fassold,
I came across your Facebook post and wanted to share my thoughts/experiences about Camp Tecumseh. Being a counselor was arguably the most enjoyable and rewarding extracurricular that I experienced in high school. From developing interview experience to mentoring younger students to breaking out of my comfort zone and square dancing with strangers, I can’t think of an opportunity I’ve had that helped me become a more well-rounded individual. My grandparents actually live off Springboro Road up in Monticello so every time I visit, I drive by the dining hall and first couple sets of cabins that we used to stay in.
I have no doubt that the preparation for Camp Tecumseh is a huge commitment for you and the other incredible teachers at FJH, but to answer the question, the juice is absolutely worth the squeeze and I hope this tradition continues. I’ve attached a few pictures that capture some of the great memories I made as a counselor.
Best,
Jake Brattain
I was a 7th grade camper, as well as a 3-time high school counselor at Camp T. My experience as a camper gave me confidence in myself and getting to know the high school counselors gave me role models of what type of person/student I wanted to be going into high school. As a parent of a now 7th grade myself, I am seeing in a whole new way how critical this life stage is. Unfortunately, we are not in the HSE district now, but I would have loved for him to have the opportunity to be poured into and built up by high school students and to experience the Camp T experience. Even more so than when I was a student, with the constant flow of virtual influences and social media today, it is crucial that junior high students have the opportunity to have interactions with real life people a stage ahead of them to pave the way and paint a real picture of what life is like and what is important going into high school. AND the opportunity to spend a few days completely unplugged and in nature. This is something I value greatly as a parent, yet even still I wish my kids has more opportunities like that of Camp T to experience nature and the world outside of screens and media.
As a counselor, I grew so much in self-confidence, responsibility, and teamwork. I grew in friendship with other counselors in a way that I rarely did elsewhere during my teen years. We worked together as we trained and planned. We helped one another out the week of camp when we needed materials or had a question or a difficult situation that we needed a little help with. I got to know many peers from different friend groups that I wouldn’t have gotten to know otherwise, and these bonds sustained throughout high school and beyond. The trust and love that the teachers had in and for us was also a huge point of growth for me and the other counselors. For the first time I began to see myself as someone who could take on real responsibility, who was capable of making a difference in the world, as someone who was on the brink of adulthood. I am so thankful that I had these opportunities that prepared me for the life that was ahead of me.
The Camp T experience is so beneficial for the campers and counselors alike. Please continue to invest in the lives of these students by allowing this invaluable program to continue.
Sincerely,
Dorothy (Ruell) Singleton
Hello Mr. Fassold!
This is Cam Grace and I hope this email finds you well! I miss you all and our time at Camp T together, which is why I am writing this email today.
It’s hard to put into words all of the amazing experiences and memories I had being a counselor. To put it simply, being a Camp Tecumseh counselor was one of the best parts of my high school experience and it is absolutely worth the hard work it takes to put on the program.
Throughout my three years as a counselor I made some lifelong friends and mentors who have been pivotal people in my life such as Maddie Clapp. I have also stayed in touch with many of my campers to this day and have watched them grow into young adults just like I have. The connections we make at Camp T leave a lasting impression on all of us!
Camp Tecumseh is one of those unique times in our high school years that everyone who is involved looks forward to. It is a place where we all come together to not only teach/ mentor younger students but also to have some fun. The traditions and fun activities that we partake in ranging from baked oatmeal to skits are something that I will cherish forever and what made me want to be a counselor in the first place.
Camp T teaches us the values of leadership and community while making learning fun and it would be a great disservice to stop providing these experiences to future campers and counselors. I think on our time at camp with great fondness and hope that I will still see your posts each year to remind me of the amazing times we had!
Best Wishes,
Cam Grace
Ps. Here is a picture of Sloane and I recreating “The Creation of Adam” our senior year with our campers. Best. Time. Ever!
In 7th grade Camp T was one of the most pivotal experiences I had! Especially as a young, impressionable kid I knew from the moment we left camp that I wanted to do anything I could to be a counselor. I still vividly remember the games we played, skits we got to watch, and even examining the different wildlife in the nature center with my original camp t group. It’s not that one big moment sticks out to me now, it’s that during my experience I just remember being so incredibly happy (and then sad to leave camp).
Flash forward to then becoming a sophomore in high school and finally getting to be a counselor myself. My time as a counselor was everything I hoped it would be. One of the best parts about it is that I was able to form relationships with some of my campers that I still keep in touch with today! This happened every year and it was so exciting to see some of the more timid campers come out of their shell and embrace the camp experience. I’ve even had some of my past campers reach out to me about my college experience as they were choosing what to do next with their future. The coolest thing of all though is when you hear about your old campers becoming a counselor as well. It’s a rewarding feeling because you know that in some way their camp experience was profound enough to motivate them to put in the work to be a counselor.
The camp experience is worth all of the effort and hard work that it takes to put on. I believe this with my whole heart because not only was it so important to me as a 12/13 year old at the time but especially as a counselor. I can wholeheartedly say that looking back it was one of my fondest memories of my time in the HSE School District. It’s an experience unlike any other and even now when I’m with my friends and thinking back to our time within junior high and high school it’s one of the things we talk about most! So thank you for all the work you do and have done to make it happen for us! It really makes a difference 🙂
Wishing you well,
Ty Grace
I am so grateful to have gotten to be a Tecumseh counselor for two years! One year, I had the privilege of working with the special education class as a counselor at Tecumseh. I love that Tecumseh makes space for all students to engage in experiential learning. Both years as a counselor, I had the opportunity to work with precious kids who were getting a hands-on learning opportunity that is second to none. In addition to hands-on learning, the seventh graders have the opportunity to connect with positive role models. As someone who also attended Tecumseh as a student, I can attest to the educational benefit of the program. I still remember talking about the different types of soil while looking at the soil samples themselves! Learning that happens alongside the experience sticks so much longer. I am so grateful that this program exists – it is unusual and special. It is an asset, something unique to the HSE experience. I’m hopeful it will continue for years to come!
Meghan (Cross) Krueger, counselor in 2006 & 2007, student attendee in 2002
I was a Camp T counselor my sophomore, junior, and senior year as a high schooler at FHS. As someone who was considering becoming a teacher, “getting my feet wet” (both figuratively AND literally!) as a counselor was an immeasurably valuable experience in real-world education, classroom management, and familiarizing myself with different learning styles and motivating a wide range of students. For me, Camp T solidified my love for educating and I did go on to graduate with an early childhood education degree.
But counseling at Camp T is by no means limited to high schoolers considering becoming teachers! The pre-camp leadership retreat taught me lessons I still revere and use today: knowing when to ask for help, finding my “big girl” voice (which even gave me an edge when I enlisted in the Indiana Army National Guard!), and gaining a deep appreciation for Indiana’s native flora and fauna.
And Camp T itself? The experience was fun as a junior high student attending…but was absolutely brilliant as a high school counselor. It’s an amazing way to bond with classmates across cliques; to build self-confidence and get comfortable in your own skin through being overly outgoing, silly, and ridiculous (as demonstrated by the photo, attached- senior skits are still one of my absolute favorite memories from my senior year!); to be reminded that learning, at its core, should be playful in order to be effective; and most importantly a beautiful, selfless way to pay it forward to younger students and show much-needed gratitude to the 7th grade teachers who go above and beyond in putting on Camp T year after year.
In short- yes. The juice is without a doubt “worth the squeeze” for students, counselors, teachers current and future. Now that I have a little one starting kindergarten in HSE school district, Camp T has even become important to me as a parent- I’d be incredibly proud to watch my son continue a tradition unique to HSE that I’m so grateful to be a part of.
-Zoe Grout
Hello!
I had always wanted to be a camp counselor, but could never dedicate an entire summer to the endeavor. Camp Tecumseh came along and offered the best opportunity for me!
Though I had not participated as a 7th grader (since I moved to the HSE district only in 8th grade), I heard countless good things from my classmates who had.
More than anything, I would say that I gained an understanding of how you can influence people who are only a “half-step” away from you (i.e. though both junior highers and high schoolers are adolescents, a few years of experience is worth sharing). Our employer often stresses the importance of “leading from where you are” and even “leading up” when you can bring something valuable to the topic. I feel that I have an advantage over some of my coworkers because opportunities like counseling at Camp Tecumseh already instilled the confidence in me to be a leader, even when I might feel too similar (or even inferior) to those that I am “leading”.
I never regretted my time as a Tecumseh counselor, even when it meant make-up work for the classes I couldn’t attend while at camp. When I look back all these years later, I cannot describe a single classroom lesson from the weeks surrounding Camp Tecumseh. However, I can tell you almost every detail of camp itself.
I’ve attached a group picture I found from 2010, though you might already have this. I do have several photos of the junior highers, but don’t necessarily feel comfortable sharing them, especially as I do not appear in any.
All the best/Atentamente/Mit freundlichen Grüßen/Atenciosamente
Hannah Hilbert
Corporate Audit
Daimler Truck North America
4555 N. Channel Ave.
Portland, OR, USA 97217
Hello Mr. Fassold,
I saw your Facebook post about Camp Tecumseh and previous counselors sending a testimony about our experience. I am happy to share mine, as I look back on my time as a counselor and a camper very fondly!
As a previous Camp Tecumseh counselor, I can say with certainty that being involved with this experience in junior high school is not only fun, but formative. It is a practical way to learn so many life skills, some being learned without even realizing it at the time. Being a counselor requires organization and structure, in a way that is different from school work organization and structure. As a counselor, you are in charge of other students’ schedules and equipment. It takes months of attending meetings on time to prepare and gather information. It requires responsibility and accountability, given that younger students rely on you each day for guidance and instruction. At a time in your life when you have had limited exposure and understanding to inclusion and acceptance, being a counselor forces you to be exposed to students of all backgrounds and circles, and being a camper forces you to interact outside of your friend group. In addition to providing insight into all of these life skills, camp T attendance is a fun way to learn school principles applied in nature and in real life. I have always looked back on my time as a camp T camper and counselor, both, very fondly, and still speak of how wonderful an experience it was often.
Thank you for working hard to keep the Camp T experience alive. Attached are some photos from when we were counselors (quality is questionable).
Brittany (Allen) Beasley – Counselor, 2008
Hi Mr. Fassold,
I saw your post on Facebook about Tecumseh and how that counseling experience impacted me….apparently the value and/or impact of the program is in question so here are my personal two cents!
Shocker: I was an extremely shy 7th grader. I didn’t “come out of my shell” until a few years later and those who know me now laugh at the thought of me ever being shy. I include that because as a 7th grader attending camp, it allowed me the opportunity to spend time with role models I would not otherwise have. As the oldest child in my family, I didn’t have siblings to look up to and learn from. So having an extended time with these folks helped to show me who I could become as both a person, as well as a leader and mentor. They were cool, smart and silly…not afraid of getting up and dancing (even if they weren’t any good) and helped to encourage all of us to do the same. I wanted to be able to be like that one day!
I was lucky enough to be a three-year counselor, and those are some of my fondest memories from school. Having the opportunity to encourage the kids to try new things and step out of their comfort zone had a huge impact on me and I ended up learning just as much about myself as those kids were learning at camp. School is obviously very important for learning and setting us up for college and careers. However, Camp T taught us (students and counselors) how to be present in a world that is lost in technology. How to build and form connections with people who may need that more than anything else, but aren’t aware or don’t know how to ask. To help remind everyone that while grades are important, treating people with kindness and enjoying your surroundings and adventures is a lesson everyone should learn and re-learn throughout life. Being silly and dancing around in your socks is just as important to kids growing up as learning topics on a syllabus.
It’s been 20 years since my first year as a counselor and I can honestly say that time helped me to flourish into the leader, teammate, coworker and friend that I am today. I hope the importance of this experience and opportunity for both students, counselors and teachers shines through on my and many other testimonials. It is a highlight of my schooling and one I am forever grateful for.
Cheers!
Lindsey
LINDSEY KLUEMPERS, CIC
Good evening Mr. Fassold,
Hope you’re doing well.
Without my Tecumseh counseling experience, I truly wouldn’t be where I am today. Being trusted with the responsibility to keep a group of children safe in the middle of the woods increased my self-awareness, developed my leadership skills, increased my self-confidence, and improved my communication skills. Having teachers who saw my potential long before I could recognize it in myself has been a life changing experience and the memories are what keep me going when I need a reminder to be kind to myself.
Sincerely,
Danielle Bellamy
College of Pharmacy
Purdue University
Mr. Fassold,
In response to your request on Facebook to provide examples of how the counseling experience has impacted me:
-Small team leadership development
Being a counselor was a great early experience in translating a commander’s intent (learning booklets) into actual training in a way that keeps the team engaged.
I used my experience as a Tecumseh counselor when I was a cadet at West Point and during US Army Ranger School when leading and motivating small teams that don’t necessarily want to listen to you.
Learning the value of servant leadership and leading through listening started as a camp Tecumseh counselor. The only way to get through to a group of adolescents (or any group) is with empathy and listening. This is a life skill learned at camp Tecumseh that I have carried with me through the Army and in my profession in medical device engineering.
– Collaboration
Successful camp Tecumseh counselors collaborate effectively with other counselors in order to efficiently complete all assigned tasks for their individual groups. This involves effective planning, communication, and a humble approach to allow other leaders to train/teach your team.
Collaboration strategies learned as a camp Tecumseh counselor helped me personally at West Point, as an officer in the US Army, as an engineer in corporate America, and now as a leader at a startup company. This is a foundational skill.
I hope this helps! I wanted to keep it concise. Let me know if anything is not clear.
It would be great to catch up someday!
John Wagner – counselor from 2003-2005.
Hi Mr. Fassold!
I hope you are doing well! 🙂
I’m really sad to hear that the impact of Camp Tecumseh is being questioned. Being a Camp T counselor is still one of my best memories of high school, and I feel the impact of my experiences as a counselor every day.
Camp T was a formative experience for me, not only as a student attending for the first time, but as a counselor. I was fortunate to be a counselor for three years. Over those three years, I lead a masked mafia, a swaggy group of OGs, and a Maroon 5 parody band. I look back on those three years fondly as some of the best moments of my childhood. Leading three incredible groups of students taught me a lot about the intricacies of building friendships and finding joy in simple moments. I loved having a hand in making learning more interactive and enjoyable. Being a Camp counselor truly fostered my love for mentoring and working with students, which precipitated itself as being a Resident Assistant and Peer Mentor in undergrad. I continue to be a peer mentor in my PhD program. During my interviews for all of these positions, I drew on Camp T as a formative leadership experience. Being a counselor taught me how to be an effective and compassionate leader, and how to tailor my approach to each individual student.
Not only did being a counselor at Camp T prepare me to be a leader, but also helped me come into my own as a person. It really taught me how to create fun in the most random things, whether it was acting over the top in a camp skit about visiting the doctor, convincing my students that the dirt in certain parts of the forest actually tasted like cinnamon (and then being nominated for it) as we perused the woods for wildflowers, or even having lip sync performances to popular Maroon 5 songs and jamming on inflatable guitars on the river while we surveyed the water. There was always some way to make what we were doing fun. It helped me learn to not take things so seriously, but instead to balance fun with work. This is a skill that I’ve had to use time and time again not only in school but in my everyday experience. There have been many ups and downs over the years, but I learned that even though life isn’t always easy, there’s always small joys to be found. Being a Camp counselor showed me how to find these joys.
Aside from what I learned, I also built many lasting friendships with my fellow counselors and the teachers that made the experience possible. Camp T has a special place in our hearts and my friends and I think back to our counselor experiences to reminisce often. We’ve spent many hours laughing about our nighttime treks across Camp grounds and over whose tissue paper hot air balloons came apart seconds into launch. Many of the people I worked with are still my close friends, and one of the teachers who led the experience even wrote me a letter of recommendation for college. Even after all of these years, the people I’ve created bonds with through camp are still some of the most important people in my life.
Any time I talk about Camp or come across old pictures, I feel my face light up. I can’t help but feel overjoyed thinking about how much fun being with the students, staff, and fellow counselors was. I have taken the lessons I’ve learned as a counselor along with me every day, and I cherish the memories greatly. I wouldn’t trade my Camp T counselor experience for anything. I’ve told every student I know that’s passed through the junior high and high schools to absolutely be a Camp T counselor if they can. I always tell them that it was one of the best things that I’ve ever done.
Camp Tecumseh is an experience that I believe every student should get to have, not only for the educational value, but for the incredible opportunities to build friendships. And if they were chosen to be a Camp counselor, I could only say that the time moves fast, and to enjoy every moment, because these memories would be some of their best. Camp Tecumseh, without a doubt, should continue to be a tradition for Fishers Junior High. The students only benefit from its experience.
I hope that this helps! Honestly, it’s hard to describe how much Camp T means to me. Being a counselor is genuinely one of my favorite memories of all time, and I have endless positive things to say about it. I definitely miss it 🙂
Please let me know if there is anything else I can do! 🙂 I’ve attached a few pictures below!
Thank you!! Hershey Kondeti
To whom it may concern,
It has come to my attention that there is a question as to whether Camp Tecumseh is worth the cost. I hope the sheer volume of responses you receive to this question is enough to indicate to you that the answer is an overwhelming “YES”. However, I do hope that you read each response in detail so that you truly grasp what Camp Tecumseh has meant to so many through the years. May that provide reassurance to you, now and in future years, that the funds are certainly well-spent, and may it even compel you to find additional ways to support this amazing experience.
As a 7th grader at Fishers Junior High School, I was already a lover of learning, particularly of math and science. I was content with learning in a classroom out of a textbook, or at least I thought I was. Just a half week at Camp Tecumseh was enough to light a whole other kind of fire in me. The lessons I learned while immersed in nature were far more impactful and resonated more deeply than any textbook or chalkboard lesson ever could.
As a high schooler at HSE, I was fortunate enough to be chosen as a counselor for two years. Even in high school, the middle school lessons and activities at Camp were enough to reignite my love for hands-on learning. But what really made an impression was the opportunity for me to be a leader. The teachers treat the counselors not as their students except older, but as their partners in teaching. I still can’t believe that I was fortunate enough to have mentors like them show me how to connect with students, then turn to me, as their equal, and help me do the same.
Camp Tecumseh fostered my love of science by taking me out of textbooks and into real world observations, and laid a foundation of leadership & teaching. Those experiences have since propelled me through the mangroves of the Florida Keys, studying plankton across the South Atlantic Ocean, even to the classroom as a teacher, and now at Stanford University, where I lead a team supporting the global biomedical effort to characterize every cell in the human body.
Future students deserve to have their flame stoked just like I did. Please do not take this opportunity away from them.
Sincerely,
Jason Hilton, Ph.D.
I don’t know that you’ll remember me as you didn’t have me in class, I had the pleasure of knowing you through National Junior Honor Society, Camp Tecumseh, and We The People. I was Kate Sirk at the time (now Kate Bland). I graduated from Fishers High School in 2009 and was a student at Fisher Junior High in the early 2000s.
Camp Tecumseh was one of the greatest (and fondest) memories of my Junior High and High School experience. Flash back to my time as a counselor in 2009, I was a shy and timid young person. At the same time, I had a great desire to learn, grow, and lead. Being I was as shy as I was, few opportunities came along where I could learn and lead others.
Camp Tecumseh presented the opportunity for me to lead my own group of campers through their camp experience. I enjoyed leading my campers through the STEM related activities at Camp Tecumseh. I’m proud to say I know I learned more than they did over the couple of days of camp. Camp is one of the few opportunities students have to get out and apply skills learned in the classroom to the real world. It’s an example of application of learning in Math, Science, and other classes.
I’ve attached a few photos of me at Camp Tecumseh as a counselor with my very best friends. You may remember Jessie and Emily. Emily is still one of my very best friends (she was a bridesmaid in my wedding) and we’re still close. I’ll actually be seeing her a week from today. You’d be so proud to know she’s a physical therapist now (a really excellent one at that). I know she enjoyed having you as a teacher and we had such a fun time together at camp. Camp is fun, but it’s so much more than that. It’s a course in leadership, responsibility, and conceptualizing.
Flashforward to 2022, I’m over eight years into my business career and I’ve proudly managed a multi level Team at Project Lead The Way since 2018. Access to hands-on learning and STEM activities for students is still a great passion of mine, one Project Lead The Way shares.
I don’t know how much my email will help, but my thanks to you and those who make Camp Tecumseh a possibility for students is long overdue. Thank YOU, I greatly benefited from the experience as a camper and a counselor
– Kate (Sirk) Bland
Hello from the corporate side!
I know I am late, but if nothing else I’d love to share my appreciation for the Camp Tecumseh program. Kids are the most impressionable and often times working through some of their greatest life traumas at this age (at least I was). Camp T fills that gap.
You know in the Mr. Rogers documentary when it prompts you to reach out to those that influenced you the most? I’ve been sitting on these feelings for years, but now feels like the most appropriate time.
Camp Tecumseh and the FJHS teachers that lead its efforts are the reason I am who I am today. This camp and these beautiful souls met me at a time when I was lost to say the least. I was navigating what divorce looked like at home, while working through puberty and trying to find my voice. This was my refuge. Camp Tecumseh taught me you can have fun even when things don’t turn out perfectly (hello compass navigation / balloon making gone awry), camp levels any playground dramas and learning doesn’t always have to be confined to a classroom.
Now roaming the woods and losing Biltmore sticks was amazing…but the teachers, were the real heroes here. Mr. Fassold, Mr. Broviak, Mr. Sturgeon, Mr. Jansen. Whether you realized the role you were playing in my life or not, you took on the role of father-figure with grace and you didn’t let go through junior high or even when I was a HS counselor. You taught me the world was bigger than my circumstances and empowered me to live out my dreams. You pushed me to be my best version of myself and hit me with the tough love that I needed.
I always got the “tough kids” as a counselor, but I think the reason we got along so well is because I could see myself in each of them. I chose to see them for their potential instead of focusing on their faults. I had the ability to come in with zero perceptions of who each of my campers were and leave with an appreciation for each of their little souls / our fun little group bonded.
I’m crying, so I hope that means you are ugly crying too. Grateful for each of you and know that you impacted my life in one of the best extremes. That extra hour at NJHS, starburst candy and stopping by my open house for a proper goodbye meant the world.
Happy Tecumseh Week!
Liz
Elizabeth Dowen (she/her)
Letters from Cabin Parents this Year
Good morning Dr. Stokes –
I wanted to take a moment to share my feedback, as a parent, from my recent experience with Camp Tecumseh with the 7th grade students at Fishers Junior High School. I am thrilled that the students were able to experience this unique learning adventure after a 2 year hiatus due to Covid. While our daughter’s (now freshman) class was not able to go, it was so refreshing and encouraging to see these young people experience the classroom setting in a non-traditional way through camp. I first experienced Camp Tecumseh myself as a 7th grader 39 years ago so I was very excited to have the opportunity to accompany my son and see how the program has evolved over the years.
The kids and teachers worked incredibly hard to create an experience that will never be forgotten – literally! I only know a fraction of the hard work and logistics that goes into making all of this happen and the rewards are evident in the smiles, sweat and memories that these kids experience at camp. It was not until attending camp as a parent, did I realize how much this camp also means to the high school counselors. They work tirelessly to foster an environment of learning, fun and inclusion for all of the kids. These young people showed incredible leadership and there is no doubt that their time at camp will help them become future leaders.
If ever there is a question, “Is Camp Tecumseh worth it”, then I would say absolutely YES! I hope that our school system continues to support this endeavor for years to come. For some, it is their first and possibly only encounter in a nature setting. Camp Tecumseh can truly be a life changing event for these young people.
I’ve been to Camp T three times as an adult cabin parent. Twice with my son, as a student and as a counselor, then with my daughter as a student. It was a unique to spend time with my kids and their friends. My daughter has remained friends with two of the girls in her cabin. Last summer they were over and at age 25 they were telling me how fun it was and retelling stories of Camp T. To have that kind of impact with the kids is priceless.
Our youngest went as a councilor this Spring and came back considering going into teaching as she enjoyed leading her group so much. Each of the kids drew something different out of Camp T and all of them shifted their focus towards teaching after being councilors at camp- David is teaching high school government, Amanda is a GA at IU working on her masters and Erica is looking at student teaching her senior year. Camp T has been a pivotal point for all of them and a meaningful experience for me.
David Duba
Team Tecumseh,
I wanted to take a few moments to say thanks for all you do. Secondly, if you ever need anyone to go to bat for you to defend the program, don’t hesitate to reach out. Those 2.5 days certainly made a believer and advocate out of me. I figure you know the kid’s experience from what you’ve heard and seen, so maybe I’ll just take a few moments to relay my experience as a Cabin Dad. To be honest, it was unexpectedly a little emotional for me (in a good way, I assure you). I grew up in Detroit and never got to experience anything like this as a kid. Aside from maybe a sports coach or running into a teacher at the grocery store, I never really had much interaction with teachers outside of the classroom. Throughout camp, I couldn’t help but think how great it would have been to be a part of something like this.
I think there was a ton of value for the kids to see you let your hair down a little and be silly, have fun. It humanizes you for them and, I believe, helps them along in their own maturation and social development. My Son Lucas, for example, was afraid of teachers in elementary school. Afraid to speak up when he had questions and whatnot. It’s been a journey but he’s mostly past that now. Anyhow, I saw this experience as another important step in the right direction for him.
The High Schoolers were phenomenally well prepared and executed flawlessly from my perspective. I was impressed with the maturity and professionalism I saw from them. My Son who usually resists signing up for ANY after school events is now excited to possibly join the ranks of Camp Tecumseh Counselor someday. They inspired him and there’s a ton of value in that. My wife and I probably sound like a broken record talking about the value of college to our boys, but seeing someone closer to their own age who they’ve gotten to know in Camp take the stage and talk about their college and career plans probably resonates more than anything we can ever tell them. That was a very nice “cherry on top” during our final breakfast together.
As for being a Cabin Dad, I loved it. It was certainly a bit of a challenge managing eleven 13 year old boys every night and morning. They were all good kids though, and it didn’t take much. Funny story, I told them on the first morning: “Your teachers BEGGED and PLEADED with me to make you wear deodorant each day.” I hope for your sake that left an impression beyond just the 2.5 days of camp. Good luck with that.
Not much else to say except great job everyone. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the efforts and execution. Learning doesn’t only happen in the classroom, of course.It takes a village and each of you are certainly helping to raise the next generation. From what I saw at camp, you’re more than doing your part to set them up for success!
Regards,
Chris Sandlin
Dear Ms. Donsbach, I hope this letter finds you well. I’m sure things are busy with the school year wrapping up. I was hoping to take a moment of your time to share a success. My son attends school at Fishers junior high. He is in seventh grade, and he has spent his entire life within the HSE district. Over these many years, he has received exceptional education from the teachers in our district. During the beginning of Covid, while quarantined, his teachers did everything right. They worked hard to ensure that the children were learning everything they needed, and did their best to keep them interested and engaged. Because of some personal health issues, we chose to keep him home for the entirety of his sixth grade year. He completed the year virtually without any concern for setbacks. He even learned how to play the saxophone, from the safety of our living room. Having him home during this time allowed me to get a better understanding of the curriculum and expectations that he had in the intermediate school. All of these experiences were positive, and gave me additional insight, but that is not the purpose of this letter. I’m writing to you because I want to applaud the staff at FJH and the high school students who acted as counselors over the last three days at Camp Tecumseh. I attended as well, as an adult chaperone, and cabin parent. It was incredible to witness these kids thriving in an environment that was devoid of electronics, social media, and other worldly distractions. I was able to witness them putting all of the knowledge that they had gained over the course of the year into use. They started their day at 7 AM, and didn’t end until 11 PM, and they were learning, experiencing, laughing, growing, and creating friendships with people they may have never spoken to before. I witnessed them taking water samples and examining them under the microscope, calculating the velocity at which they exited the black hole, measuring trees and determining how much lumber each tree could provide, and the total cost of that lumber, crafting balloons out of tissue paper and watching them take flight after being filled with hot air, conquering fears of heights by climbing Mt. Hood and exploring across the suspension bridge, working together with a partner to navigate a canoe across the lake, Square dancing, listening to stories, engaging in skits, and learning in an environment that was so rich with the love for teaching. There were many other things that I did not observe directly, as the kids separated off into their study groups with their high school counselors. I did, however, hear from my son about many of the lessons, experiments, and projects that they completed. Each child had a packet to work on throughout the three days. It was 49 pages in length! My son is a great student, and when I asked him about His experience at camp, this is what he said, “ I had such a great time! I am so tired, but I learned more at camp, than I ever would have in three days at school! I just wish that I had an opportunity to go back again!” He is now contemplating the possibility of becoming a high school counselor for other students at FJH when he is old enough. I would be incredibly honored for him to have that chance. Watching those high school kids teach, engage, organize, and lead their study groups made me so proud! I was in awe of their maturity and their ability to maintain a positive learning environment for those kids I spent much of my time sitting back, and watching those students teach, and it was incredible! I know it is a sacrifice for those high school students to be out of the school, but I do believe that it was an incredibly powerful, rewarding, and positive experience for them as well. Leading groups of 12/13 year old students is difficult in itself, but they were able to guide them, and teach them as well. They maintained their safety, addressed minor disciplinary issues, encouraged those who were struggling, supported those with additional needs, and provided preliminary grades to their students. These high school kids worked so very hard, and watching them gives me hope for our future! The teaching staff who organize, attend and prepare for this trip have put on an incredible opportunity for our Jr High and HS students. It truly feels like a “right of passage” and I am so very glad that they were able to experience it this year. I am looking forward to chaperoning again in a couple of years when my daughter goes through. If there was ever any question regarding the value of this trip, I hope my letter can alleviate some of those concerns. I sincerely hope that Camp Tecumseh will be something that the students at FJH will continue to experience for a very long time. I pray that you can see it’s benefit and worth and will continue to include it in the curriculum planning for years to come. Thanks for your time!
Sincerely, Cheryl”
Final Thoughts
I understand the logistics are hard sometimes for administration. I don’t really mind the questioning of established programs to see if the merits are still there.
If you have experienced the program…at Camp…then you understand its impact.
My seventh graders get to be in a pure outdoor learning classroom with “real world” relevant learning.
My seventh graders get to unplug and be kids again; they dance, they have recess, they laugh, they chase tissue paper balloons waving folders keep them aloft, they push past fears to climb and canoe.
My counselors learn to really lead…they impact my seventh graders by being role models and mentors to a generation desperately lacking these models.
Lambs to Lions 