Job Discussion Forums

[dragonpiwo]

Summer's coming. What's the going rate for a camp these days?

[Master Shake]

How long? What are the duties involved - just teaching, or teaching + pastoral care & leading activities?

[dragonpiwo]

2 weeks with someone like Bell. Camps always involve teaching and activities which can go until the evenings.

[Master Shake]

Camps always have evening activities, but the teachers aren't always the ones who run them. The camps I've taught had Polish councilors who did evening activities and looked after the kids. Teachers were officially 'just' there to teach. We still got roped into doing some activities, like a karaoke evening and treasure hunt, though. It was actually a lot of fun.

The 2-week Bell camp I did paid about 1,600zl + room and board.

[sparks]

I have no idea why anyone who is in any way established in their place of teaching would do a camp. A never-ending day with kids? Weeks of slogging through the mountains, or sucking sand? A couple thousand zl for your efforts? I think a shotgun blast to the face would be more pleasant.

[spiral78]

I used to occasionally do a few weeks in the summer with older teenagers who were actually serious about learning English, because they were soon enroute to English-medium universities. But I think this is an unusual type of camp to find....

[scottie1113]

Greetings from Bell/BELT summer camp in Piaski. I've been doing Bell camps for six years and I think this is my tenth or eleventh camp. It's two weeks with kids, this year 11-18 but we've had slightly younger kids in years past.

The day runs from 0800-2200 but it's not all teaching. We have evening activities, usually until 21.30 or 21.45, always fun for everyone. I have no real idea of how much I'm making. I signed my contract without reading it but it was the same as in years past so I think it's 1500 nett for two weeks.

You know my situation in Poland. After eight years here, I'm doing very well, thank you, and I have a small pension from the US (Social Security). I don't come to summer camp for the money, the food or the room, which I'm sharing with two other guys . I come for the kids. I love them. They come from cities in Poland where Bell/BELT has/had schools, and we've had kids from Switzerland, France, and Czech, The first two had Polish families here, not so the Czech chicks, twins who were here last summer and who are coming to the second camp this Sunday. have worked with some of the staff here for six years-the least amount of time I've worked with anyone at this camp is two years. We all like each other and work well together.

It's 22.30 now and I just came back from a session in the hall in front of my room with all the staff and four of the kids. They're still out there talking and I'm going to rejoin them after I post this.

Camp is about people, not money. If you go to a camp for money, you're in the wrong profession. Just my two cents.

[sparks]

As long as you aren't eyeing the kitchen knives funny

[Master Shake]

If you don't like guns, stay out of the army. If you don't like kids, stay away from summer camps.

[delphian-domine]

Out of curiosity, what's the normal working expectations at these camps?

Is it really 0800-2200 non-stop, or do you simply have to teach and then do other things as you wish?

[Master Shake]