Camp and continuity

The Forward revisits "How Goodly Are Thy Tents," a book about Jewish summer camps which came out last year (why does The Forward say it's new?), and which comes to the interesting conclusion that

"some of camp's strongest effects are on the counselors, not the campers. As it turns out, it is the staff of camps who develop the strongest bonds both to the camp in particular and the Jewish community in general. As they struggle to teach, organize, survive and, somehow, sleep, they — even more than the campers — are having their lives transformed. Moreover, because most staff are between the ages of 18 and 25, it is they, and not the campers, who are in the most critical period of identity development in contemporary American society — a time known as "emerging adulthood." To paraphrase a well-known camp song, the kids may be brats and the food may be hideous, but studies suggest that the experience of being a camp counselor is more than just fun and fooling around; it can be even more life changing than that of being a camper.

Funny, all I seem to remember from my summer as camp counselor is the bratty kids and the hideous food. Not to mention, the ongoing battles against the head counselor, who refused to let us add any fun Jewish activities to the kids' sports-heavy schedules, although they were bored out of their minds. And yet, and yet...