If you thought I'd dropped off the face of the earth...you we're just about right. After my last post I decided where to go...and I've been doing it.
A Yahoo Group has been established called Bridge Teachers for Youth http://groups.yahoo.com/group/btfy/. Anyone interested in Youth bridge is welcome to join, please feel free to pass the information and link along.
Just like the Bridge Teachers for Youth web site I created www.btfy.org, it is a group where youth bridge teachers can join and solicit help with problems, receive information about new projects and upcoming events, ask questions, bounce ideas and just find a broad shoulder to cry on if needed.
My non-profit Atlanta Junior Bridge has finished the 9 Week Middle School Curriculum we've been working on. The 550+ page curriculum is built for 9 weeks of 45 minute classes. It includes lesson plans, worksheets, quizzes, tests, practice hand records and instructions to run a duplicate game at the end of the course. It was created by an AJB teacher and his (retired school teacher) wife, with input from another AJB teacher and myself.
This was built to fit into the 'spots' I've been told all Middle Schools have called many different things Enrichment courses, Electives, Connection courses and probably many other names.
A week ago Friday I had a 'Teach Kids Bridge' seminar with many of the social and duplicate players I teach. The first portion was talking about how to teach bridge, how to teach kids bridge and the differences/problems they might encounter. The second portion was about this curriculum and the help AJB needed to get the curriculum into the hands of the Board(s) of Education for approval.
BridgeAtSchools http://www.bridgeatschools.org/ is interested and plans to partner with AJB in getting things started.
If any of you know of anyone who might be interested in the curriculum or the project...please pass the info along. AJB plans to offer this (free of course)to anyone who can use it as soon as we field test it a little and I finish linking all the individual files and creating a pdf.
My next several posts will probably be about the method I use to get the curriculum approved and ideas about funding the project long term.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
What have we got going for us?
What advantages does the US have in promoting and creating an organized youth bridge effort.
Technology ... a huge advantage! I don't remember the exact numbers but in the US we have more computers and internet access in one major city than some countries have. Young, old and in-between e-mail and internet have become commonplace. Even my aunts in their 70's are computer literate as well as my 9 year old grandson. If we can contact all the people teaching bridge to kids; we do have a way to communicate information and help.
Sheer numbers. We have 160,000+ bridge players....all interested in engaging and involving youth in bridge. Included in those numbers are not only duplicate bridge players; but also parents, grandparents, friends and social bridge players.
Resources. Almost every ACBL district, unit and club is willing to support (in some way) youth efforts in their area. ACBL has funded School Bridge Lesson Program which offers some financial and physical support to individual teachers.
Dedication. There are at least 23 areas that have organized their local bridge players into providing a concerted effort to teach children bridge and provide them opportunities to play. I'm sure there are more I haven't found as yet.
With so many advantages...why can't we make this work?
Technology ... a huge advantage! I don't remember the exact numbers but in the US we have more computers and internet access in one major city than some countries have. Young, old and in-between e-mail and internet have become commonplace. Even my aunts in their 70's are computer literate as well as my 9 year old grandson. If we can contact all the people teaching bridge to kids; we do have a way to communicate information and help.
Sheer numbers. We have 160,000+ bridge players....all interested in engaging and involving youth in bridge. Included in those numbers are not only duplicate bridge players; but also parents, grandparents, friends and social bridge players.
Resources. Almost every ACBL district, unit and club is willing to support (in some way) youth efforts in their area. ACBL has funded School Bridge Lesson Program which offers some financial and physical support to individual teachers.
Dedication. There are at least 23 areas that have organized their local bridge players into providing a concerted effort to teach children bridge and provide them opportunities to play. I'm sure there are more I haven't found as yet.
With so many advantages...why can't we make this work?
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Where Next?
So what's next for Youth Bridge? Where do we go from here?
We know that learning bridge is good for kids academically and socially. We know that parents who learn bridge (or who already know how to play bridge) can find a new way to relate to their children in an intellectual and adult setting through bridge. We know that young players enjoy the chance for competition and travel that bridge brings them.
How do we match the child who wants to add playing bridge to his accomplishments with the opportunity to learn?
In the United States we have advantages and disadvantages to accomplish this goal. The single biggest disadvantage is geographic. The fact that many single states in the US are larger than most European countries creates an almost insurmountable problem for teachers trying to organize events, share information and communicate.
The ACBL has a web site for young players www.youth4bridge.org and the ACBL Education Department has a funded School Bridge Lesson program to provide some financial and material assistance for bridge players who teach youth classes. I have a website called Bridge Teachers for Youth www.btfy.org where I've tried to provide information and links to curriculums, tools and resources; but this is not enough. Even here in Atlanta we have our own set of geographic problems simply from the fact that with 14 working teachers, we still can't provide classes in every geographic area in Metro Atlanta. What we can do is provide physical support, supplies, training, and communication to our teachers; and learning and playing opportunities to our students.
How can we do that Nationwide?
The next several posts will look at some of our advantages and how we might get them to work for us.
We know that learning bridge is good for kids academically and socially. We know that parents who learn bridge (or who already know how to play bridge) can find a new way to relate to their children in an intellectual and adult setting through bridge. We know that young players enjoy the chance for competition and travel that bridge brings them.
How do we match the child who wants to add playing bridge to his accomplishments with the opportunity to learn?
In the United States we have advantages and disadvantages to accomplish this goal. The single biggest disadvantage is geographic. The fact that many single states in the US are larger than most European countries creates an almost insurmountable problem for teachers trying to organize events, share information and communicate.
The ACBL has a web site for young players www.youth4bridge.org and the ACBL Education Department has a funded School Bridge Lesson program to provide some financial and material assistance for bridge players who teach youth classes. I have a website called Bridge Teachers for Youth www.btfy.org where I've tried to provide information and links to curriculums, tools and resources; but this is not enough. Even here in Atlanta we have our own set of geographic problems simply from the fact that with 14 working teachers, we still can't provide classes in every geographic area in Metro Atlanta. What we can do is provide physical support, supplies, training, and communication to our teachers; and learning and playing opportunities to our students.
How can we do that Nationwide?
The next several posts will look at some of our advantages and how we might get them to work for us.
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