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?
Friday, January 8, 2010
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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