Our son will be attending CTY @ Loyola this summer. It is his second summer in the 7th+ group and his fifth overall.
What I found quite impressive is the number of years the instructors and admin have been working @ CTY. Incredible. And as you can see from job descriptions at the link, they ain't in it just for the money.
Here's a link to JHU/CTY Job Openings page:
http://cty.jhu.edu/jobs/summer/While the caliber of teacher will vary from site-to-site and/or year-to-year, all of our son's teachers have been college professors within the given subject area. Last year, his TA (as in teacher's
assistant) was working on his Phd in some math discipline @ MIT. So CTY does not seem to be bringing aboard slackers.
As much as I enjoy our son's brain getting stretched, I also value the social aspects of the camp. Homework is rare, which isn't so bad considering the length and intensity of classes. But the kids aren't just turned loose at the end-of-day. The students have required activities -- athletic, artistic, discussion-based -- each day and for a portion of the weekends.
For a better look at the social side of camp, spend a little time browsing here:
http://www.realcty.org/mw/index.php?title=Main_PageHere's a link to an official "Site Information Packet" from last year with official details on the daily life:
http://cty.jhu.edu/summer/docs/student_site_info/LosAngeles_2013.pdfI appreciate the attention to safety and security, especially as the kids are usually on campus at the same time as a variety of other summer camps for sports, music, etc. Chaperones are always present; the students are never permitted to wander around campus alone.
Perhaps as important to me as everything else is the regular chance to be away from home & family. Both for his benefit and ours. He definitely gets a boost in his confidence and independence after those three weeks away, something that can only help as he'll be heading to college in a few short years. I remember that many/most of the kids in my college dorm were away from home (not counting family trips, etc.) for the first time in their lives. Not a pretty sight.
This summer he will be attending CTY for three weeks, immediately followed by a music camp for three weeks. And before those six weeks, he'll be at a habitat-for-humanity-esque week out of state with our church's youth group. It'll be interesting to see how that all unfolds.
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I distinctly remember the first year we dropped him off at CTY. He was only 8 and the youngest by an average of at least two years. There were definitely some trembling lips and a few tears as we departed, but he was quickly pulled into the middle of a ping-pong game allowing us to slip away.
Last year -- his fourth -- was no big deal at all. Packed him up and shipped him out. I could've sent him down alone by plane and thought nothing of it. (My lovely wife, however, doth protested quite vehemently.)
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Yes, it is a financial challenge for us. And more than once I simply put in on a credit card to be dealt with later. But as long as he's getting something out of it, I'll continue to make it happen.
I suppose I should add the perfunctory: "But YMMV."
Dandy
(YMMW: Your Mileage May Vary)