It?s Friday afternoon. School buses are meandering through the streets. While the town prepares for the weekend slowdown, the gym at Washington Elementary School hums with activity. Twenty-five children ages 3 to 12 are transfixed by the instructor teaching them about respect, discipline and teamwork. These are the children of the local Boys and Girls club, who normally spend four hours here after school until their parents pick them up on their way home from work.
Usually the children experience a few hours of fun in a protected environment. However, today they are learning some important life skills that are not taught in our schools.
Hannah Ajmani, a Senior at the Pingry School in Martinsville, NJ has created a program called R.E.S.P.E.C.T. which teaches some important life skills. This program encourages children to role play selected real-life situations they all face in school, in the cafeteria, or on the playground. For example, the children learn how to deal with the problem of bullying, always prevalent in their lives. Ms. Ajmani, who is also a national level synchronized figure skater and a third-degree Tae Kwon Do instructor, has incorporated fundamental principles she has learned from these disciplines into her program.
The children learn about being respectful of others and how to deal with those who are not. They acquire these skills through games, role playing, and other interactive activities. This program has made a tremendous difference in the atmosphere of the school and in the lives of the students.
This program is being piloted in West Orange in preparation for usage by Boys and Girls Clubs nationwide?. Who said Snooki was the only trend-setter in New Jersey!
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