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Welcome to Teachers At Risk
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Children's Mental Health Ontario
International Edubloggers Directory
The Learning Disabilities Association of Canada
Jul
24
It takes a whole village to raise a child . How many times have I heard that? How many times have I said that? So recently when I learned that my village, the City of Mississauga, and its corporate citizens like Wal-Mart Canada, Pepsi, Bell Mobility, Sysco Food Systems and GE Canada are joining forces to expand the free after-school drop-in program for kids ages of 10-15, I was absolutely delighted. Believe me, kids that age need something to do after school that occupies them in positive ways, helps build their self-esteem and gives them a sense of purpose. I’ve talked here before about how important it is for kids to have good relationships with adults, even a good relationship with just one adult can make a huge difference to a kid. They’ll have that opportunity in these programs to do build those relationships.
I’ve also talked about how many of my students have told me that they were “good” until grade seven and then they got “bad”. That’s when they started to drink, do drugs and engage in sexual activity. It’s all about peer pressure and wanting to fit in. Most parents have no idea. What’s so great about this program is that it targets that at-risk age group. In the high needs areas of the community , the program runs three days a week and in other areas its available one or two days a week. It would be nice if the program ran everyday in all areas, but given this is only the second year of the program I think that it’s great as it is and look forward to it expanding in the coming years.
The program will run for 40 weeks at a cost of $90 000 dollars. $90 000 is a lot of money, but the way I see it is t that it is a good investment in the future of our kids and will pay excellent dividends down the road. What the program is really doing is building kids now so that we won’t have to repair adults later. Kids will be able go to various locations after school and play basketball, volleyball, soccer, floor hockey, badminton, dodge ball and European handball. They’ll also be able to participate in At Play Art Days and in At Play Homework Labs. There’ll even be Mobile at Play locations for kids who are outside walking distance of schools and community centres and wouldn’t beable to participate. Some of these programs will run right in schools and others will run in local community centres.
I think it is in the best interests of our corporate citizens to support and expand programs like this, if only because when kids are participating in these after-school programs they won’t be shop lifting at the local mall or breaking into cars or doing whatever. I know that sounds very cynical, but my students have told me about their adventures after school and how they got caught. They love the thrill of it because they have nothing better to do. That’s what they tell me. Now, they can get their thrills in a positive way by participating in the various programs. The kids will definitely benefit. The village will definitely benefit- at least the way I see it.
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Elona,
I hope that you keep us posted on how this program is doing throughout the year. It sounds like a fabulous thing. I agree - “What the program is really doing is building kids now so that we won’t have to repair adults later.”
Tracy