The Power of Choice
What was the best part of your day today? Got your answer? Was it during a time when you were doing something that was planned for you by your boss, a teacher, your parents, your spouse? It was most likely something you did of your own free will, because you are quite likely the person who knows you best. A quick internet search on the question, “What was the best part of your day today?” will turn up many different answers, but all of them involve a person describing a voluntary action he or she engaged in or a moment in which he or she was freed from an activity that wasn’t preferable(i.e., relaxing after work). Virtually everyone relishes the freedom in their lives. Why, then, do those in charge immediately assume that they must use their power to plan other people’s lives? Can one truly love one’s neighbor as oneself while imposing arbitrary force? At Vanderkamp, we believe that the answer is clearly, “No.”
Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid.” 
This sounds a whole lot like Jesus, no? A fish is not honoring God’s plan for it, or its talents and passions by climbing. It’ll truly get down on itself if it thinks that climbing trees is the end-all be-all. Happily for fish, they are typically left to their own devices. Unhappily for our children, they most certainly are not.
From the time a child is very young, society makes several things very clear to them. They are shown in certain terms that there are certain pursuits that are worthwhile vocations – the Sciences, Math, English, History – while other pursuits are more frivolous hobbies – the arts, games, friendships, and so on. When we really consider what it means to love our neighbors as ourselves, however, we see how problematic these messages for children really are. Finding happiness in life often means finding a particular niche at the crossroads of one’s abilities and interests. No one knows better than the individual what his or her abilities and interests are – so why does society believe that it should force children to pursue certain things they may have no ability or interest in?
At Vanderkamp, we believe that allowing children to choose how they spend their time is paramount to creating a Christian culture and summer camp. When children are allowed to choose how they spend their time and whom they spend it with, the sense of peace that washes over them is palpable. Since safety is our first concern, we are obviously restricted by the number of supervisory staff we have, but as long as an activity does not infringe on the well-being of anyone or go against the likely wishes of the child’s parents, we find a way to make it happen. We offer activities that will hopefully pique a child’s interest, but in the event they want to do something else, they are welcome to do so. This will help them “be in the moment,” as we discussed in our previous article.
In an idyllic Christian community, we believe that all interactions among people would be voluntary. With the precious children who come to Vanderkamp, we expose them to Christian messages while attempting to create a Christian culture around them. Instead of telling them we love them as they are while trying to force them to be something they are not, we allow them the freedom to simply be. When a child is given time to retreat from societal pressures and reflect upon his or her own passions and interests, he or she is truly able to shine. When we consider what it means to love one’s neighbor as oneself, we need to remember how deeply each person seeks freedom in his or her own life and let others maintain that freedom so long as they are not harming themselves or others.
We’ve thought a great deal about what our role as a staff is in ensuring that the freedom children maintain is exercised in a fair way, and hope that you will read our follow-up articles on our methods of loving behavior management.
For a school that radically follows the idea that choice is a necessary thing, check out Sudbury School of Hudson Valley. Their kids came here and had a wonderful time – and we absolutely loved them as well! Check out my testimonial of my experiences with their kids here: Sudbury Testimonial.
