The Camping Program Sponsored by the Herald Tribune Fresh Air Fund, With Emphasis on Its Recent Developments in Camp Decentralization
Abstract
Background of the Study The writer chose to make this particular study of the camping program sponsored by the Herald Tribune Fresh Air Fund for several reasons. First, because of his own deep, personal interest in the welfare of children, an interest which determined his choice of a career in Social Service in the field of Child Welfare. The camping program, rather than the Friendly-Town program of the Fund was chosen as a field of study in view of the writer’s association with the camping program as a counselor for the past two years. During that period, much first-hand information was gathered for this study. Organized camping in America is only about fifty years 5 old. In recent years it has slowly but steadily gained momentum and recognition as a medium for achieving far-reaching results, not only in recreation and education, but also in the development of desirable social attitudes and of more effective social relationships and adjustments in children. It has been hypothesized by several camping authorities and other leaders in group work that an eight or nine week camp vacation, or even a two week vacation (as offered by the Fund) could create (or dissolve) social attitudes and direct children's personalities into healthy directions. The validity of the hypothesis is indicated when we compare the time that the child spends in the camp with the time he spends in school, (The eight or nine week camp season actually has more of the time of the child, excluding ten hours of sleep, than the school has in a year). The two week vacation period offered by the Fund is equivalent to three months’ school attendance.
Subject Area
Social work|Social research|Social studies education
Recommended Citation
D'Auria, William C, "The Camping Program Sponsored by the Herald Tribune Fresh Air Fund, With Emphasis on Its Recent Developments in Camp Decentralization" (1951). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI30724921.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI30724921
