Believing that a growth mindset is available to everyone at any time is a fundamental, anchoring belief at Camp Fire. The value of introducing a growth mindset—the belief that you can always learn new skills—continues to reward young lives through increased love of learning, personal resilience, and self-confidence. At Camp Fire Green Country’s recent Spring Campout, such experiences as archery and fishing challenged the thinking of youth and families while offering them opportunities to engage their growth mindsets together. Persevering, even after missing a target the first eight times or tangling a fishing line on rocks and trees before making a perfect cast, provided a safe setting to try new things and struggle through learning until, ultimately, realizing that mindset makes all the difference.
As Emily Weller, Expanded Learning Coordinator, Camp Fire Green Country, shared in the council’s recent newsletter, “As a youth development organization, the pursuit of knowledge is at the heart of all that we strive for. This commitment to lifelong learning can be found within each and every one of us, in all of our daily actions. As advocates for a growth mindset, we must continue this hard work but also take the time to celebrate and reflect on just how far we have come.”