Self = "who am I?" and Esteem = "how do I feel about who I am?"

Feeling good about oneself enhances the ability to learn, to participate, to grow and to be happy. A sense of confidence and resiliency enables children to successfully tackle the many challenges they daily face. All of us receive messages from the world and from others that tell us who we are. These messages often become internalized and form a cornerstone of identity. When these messages are negative and suggest things like "I can't do it" or "I'm no good at math", there is no way for the child to have a "can-do" attitude about life and its many problems. The self is defined as what they can't do and there is no way to feel good about it.

Our culture is heavily balanced towards directing, correcting, or admonishing children about their behavior. It is only through a positive emphasis on teaching appropriate behavior in a systematic and supportive manner that the sense of self changes and becomes more positive. When this process also involves positive peer influence, it becomes more effective. Kids encouraging and helping each other makes it easier to learn.

Quest Camp is uniquely designed to provide a learning environment which is individualized, structured, supportive, giving frequent encouraging feedback from both peers and professional staff, and focuses on changing that negative view of self into a confident sense of mastery.