Coaching as a Way of Being: How Camp Gedi Turns Conversations Into Change
By Ashley Baylen
Ashley Baylen is a Co-founder and Executive Director of Gedi Village, a living lab for transforming education. Based in Toronto, Canada, Gedi Village is a physical campus designed to respond to the urgent need for change in how we learn and grow. At its centre is a K–8 learning environment, alongside a development hub for families and educators, and shared spaces for the wider community. They are not a traditional school. They are a community of learners, educators, and families working together to explore new ways of learning and being. Camp Gedi is the first living prototype.
At Camp Gedi, we like to say that every conversation matters. Not just the big, ceremonial ones, but the little moments in between. The conversation over a turkey sandwich. The chat while sitting on the grass waiting for the rain to stop. The quick check-in at the water fountain. Every single interaction is an opportunity for coaching.
Before camp even begins, every member of our team, including teachers and volunteers, completes a coaching course. This is not a crash course in “how to be a better camp counselor.” This is a deep dive into a coaching mindset that shapes the way we listen, ask questions and invite reflection. The goal is not to “fix” a child or teach them a set of strategies they can pull out like flashcards. It is to empower them to see themselves as the authors of their own story.
On the first day of camp, we introduce coaching to the kids in language they can grasp. We explain that coaching is about helping each other notice what is inside our heads and hearts, how to make sense of it and decide what to do next. It is not giving advice. It is not telling someone what they should think or do. It is a way of listening that makes the other person feel seen.
Throughout our three-week session, every camper receives one-to-one coaching from a staff member each day. It is not a formal “sit down and have a serious talk” kind of thing–though sometimes it becomes that. It might happen while walking to the park, sitting under a tree, or in the middle of building a giant cardboard castle. The point is that it happens regularly and intentionally. And as the days go on, the campers start to practice coaching with each other, asking thoughtful questions and really listening to the answers.
The magic is in the ripple effects. Coaching changes how kids interact with themselves and with others. We see them taking more ownership of their choices, slowing down before reacting and even shifting how they handle conflict. By the time they go home, these changes are spilling into their family lives, their friendships, and eventually, their school communities.
Take Sam, for example. Sam is a camper who, according to his mom, never shares anything about his day. He is also stigmatized at school. He challenges the norm, asks a lot of questions and struggles when he feels controlled, so teachers sometimes see him as rowdy or disobedient. On the third day of camp, his mom sent us a message:
“Sam is sharing details from his day every evening and having an amazing time. You definitely have something magical going on and it is obvious that there is intentionality in every moment and conversation. Sam is not like this at school or other camps.”
Sam confirmed it himself. “I am not like this at school,” he told us more than once. Something about being listened to without judgment, and being asked questions that made him think about his own thinking changed the way he showed up. Both for himself and for others.
Sam is not alone. By the end of the session, parents tell us their kids are communicating more openly, being more thoughtful with siblings, asking deeper questions and showing an awareness of how their words and actions affect others. One child started writing notes to their parents about things they were grateful for. Another told us they now pause before reacting when their friends do something that bothers them. A few even began coaching their parents, which depending on the parent, was either very endearing or mildly terrifying.
This summer we also piloted peer coaching sessions where campers practiced listening without interrupting, asking open questions and reflecting back what they heard. We watched as nine year-olds leaned in with genuine curiosity, asking, “What do you need right now?” and waiting quietly for an answer. These moments were small but powerful.
And the thing is, it sticks. Coaching is not a trick that fades when camp ends. It becomes part of how kids see themselves in the world. They go back to school with a little more courage to speak up, a little more curiosity about others and a deeper sense of connection.
Our next chapter is the Gedi Guild, a year round program that will give kids the space to develop these coaching skills even further, along with leadership, collaboration, and critical thinking skills. If camp is the spark, the Guild is the slow burning fire.
At Camp Gedi, coaching is not an add-on. It is the foundation. It is the quiet, intentional way we build trust and belonging. And it is proof that when you make every conversation count, you can change the way kids perceive themselves and the world around them.
