Sunday, May 2, 2010

“St. Paul schools rethinking how kids do recess” plus 2 more

“St. Paul schools rethinking how kids do recess” plus 2 more

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

St. Paul schools rethinking how kids do recess

Posted: 01 May 2010 08:08 PM PDT

Back in the day, recess on the playground was the time for boys to be boys and the fainthearted to step aside.

Then came a succession of lawsuits and reforms. Tag, basketball, football and almost anything with contact was replaced by closely monitored activities, padded play sets and a shorter time period. The result was lots of sitting and talking and not much exercise.

Now, that will change, too, if the non-profit Playworks has its way spreading its gospel of physical but non-competitive play here and across the nation.

At Eastern Heights Elementary School on St. Paul's East Side, the new way means kids playing "switch," a kind of running musical chairs -- five players race to claim one of four bases. Disputes over who got there first are settled by the serendipitous swinging fists of "rock, paper, scissors" and nothing else.

Eastern Heights was among nine St. Paul elementary schools that took a crash course last week in the Playworks system. Playworks personnel, "coaches" they call themselves, managed every recess and play period at the school and worked with teachers to demonstrate new games and new rules for playing together.

Instead of being left to their own devices at recess, students learned how to play "butterfly" tag and something that looks like flag football without the football -- all on the school field hemmed in by rambler and split-level houses.

Principal Jayne Ropella said she didn't have a problem at recess that needed fixing before Playworks arrived, but the system helps in other ways. The new games require students to listen and respond, and that fits the school's "Responsive Classroom" model that tries to build community among students by helping them develop social skills along with academics, Ropella said.

"This is making play fun, and they're learning while they're doing it," Ropella said.

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

'Big brothers' can change kids' lives -- and their own

Posted: 02 May 2010 04:42 AM PDT

Over the past decade, Matt Jarvis has spent hundreds of hours with his "little brother," DeAndre Tinsley.

That included trips to Cincinnati to watch the Reds and to Downtown Indy to see the Indians, games at Hinkle Fieldhouse and Conseco Fieldhouse, breakfasts and lunches, study sessions and casual chats.

What began as mentoring through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana has evolved into a friendship that both say they value.

Big Brothers Big Sisters, though, says Jarvis is a rare commodity and that it doesn't have enough volunteers like him: men who can commit four to six hours a month to build a relationship with a child in need of a role model.

The nonprofit has launched a campaign to persuade the men of Indianapolis to take up that mission, an irreverent push that needles men with the playful suggestion that they might not be brave enough to be a mentor.

It's easy, the group says.

"You can make a big difference just volunteering four to six hours of your time a month, and the impact that has on somebody's life, the one-on-one time, makes a difference," said Jarvis, 31. "We are friends now more than anything."

Beyond testimonials from those such as Jarvis, Big Brothers Big Sisters is dispatching a mascot around town to put the pressure on: a chicken.

So far, the chicken has appeared at sporting events, popped into restaurants and even run a 5K race.

Curt Bennett, chief recruiter of men for Big Brothers Big Sisters, said staff members are trying to break down people's preconceived notions about mentoring. For instance, he said, many people say they don't have time but could easily incorporate volunteering into their daily lives as they watch sporting events or have dinner.

Volunteers who want to become a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters must be 18 or older and undergo a background check and interview before being matched with a kid.

"We're just letting people know being a big brother is fun," Bennett said. "Just include him in your life. Let him share the laughter with you when you play basketball with your buddies or go to the IMA to check out the art museum."

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Cops and Kids to take place May 8 in city park

Posted: 02 May 2010 02:09 AM PDT
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