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First if you don’t know what Footwork is, visit these links before reading the rest of this post.

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OK now that you’ve seen a little bit of footworkin’, a Chicago Charter school, Catalyst Charter School has found a way to use Footwork to help keep at risk students in school.  The article in the Chicago Tribune describes footwork as:

Equal parts tap, break and African tribal dance, footworkin’ is the urban equivalent of ballroom.

At Catalyst–one of 15 schools opened in the fall–pupils also have the option of taking a footworkin’ class for credit. Three days a week, pupils learn the history of footworkin’ from instructor Christopher Thomas, a member of the award-winning footworkin’ “battle clique” Creation.

Pupils are also taught basic moves such as “dribbles,” in which the dancer mimics the footwork of a basketball player dribbling around an opponent. Pupils who stand out are offered a chance to try out for the school’s 16-member footworkin’ team

Administrators say the class and team seem to be helping youths get better grades. Parents say their children exhibit a newfound confidence, are more patient and frown at the thought of being absent because they don’t want to miss footworkin’ practice. “It makes them responsible for themselves and it focuses them,” Neis said of the pilot program. “It’s cutting-edge in terms of something that appeals to kids.”

Footworkin’ found its way to the West Side charter school via teacher’s aide Andre Minto, vice president of Chitainment, a group that manages local deejays and dancers in the footworkin’ community. When Neis asked the staff to suggest programs that would motivate kids, Minto dusted off a proposal that his group pitched to Chicago school officials in 2004, “The Jukology Incentive Program.” The idea is to create footworkin’ teams in grammar and high schools to promote academics. Over the years, Chitainment representatives said, they had encountered Chicago public school students who devoted countless hours to footworkin’ but were flunking school. They said they hope to create a citywide footwork league in which teams from different schools would compete for glory.

Full article here

According to the administrators at the school, the results have been very positive for the kids who are involved in footworking. To be involved in the dance team, students must maintain their grades and attendance. The article goes on to talk about a student named Maurice, who credits the school’s Footworkin’ dance team whth his success in school- for him it became that extra incentive to keep his grades and attendance up, so that he could be a part of the school’s dance team.

This is such a great example of a school that has found something it’s students do, out of their own volition, for hours outside of class, and used it to encourage and foster learning. The only down-side to a program like this, would be issues of funding – especially with our current educational lawmaker’s emphasis on standardized test scores. Aside dialogueLittle Jhonny raises his hand, and the teacher comes to his desk.“Yes Johnny?”

“Mr. Kade, where is the section on Footwork?”

“What section Johnny?”

“The part of the test where I get to show you my footwork?”

“I’m sorry Johnny, but there isn’t one. In fact I’m not supposed to even answer your questions during the MEAP exam. It’s just that some people think these tests are more important than finding ways to keep kids engaged in learning at school.”

“Oh man…”

So anyway, without becoming even more sarcastic…I think it’s great how this school has opened itself up to this extracirricular activity, after all, that’s supposed to be the point of extracirricular activities like various sports, music & drama in school right? They are there to help motivate students to do well, to foster good attendance and, hopefully learning.

Sources:

An Inspiration to Step Up – Footworkin’, a Chicago-born street dance, helps pupils toe the line at a charter school

By Johnathon E. Briggs

Chicago Tribune

More stories, pictures & video at: 

chicagotribune.com/footworkin

1) A wide range of media and media technologies are owned and utilized by families and young children.

2) Families and individuals at every economic level participate in media and technology ownership and use.

3) There are differences in the incidence of ownership by income level for some media, particularly in more expensive and emerging media technologies that are less commonly found at lower income levels. Other technologies enjoy near universal penetration.

4) Ownership and involvement in media and technology is about both affordability and perceived value(s); not everyone necessarily wants all media.

5) The use of media—or the functions that media technologies serve—is similar across the income spectrum. Once owned, there is little variation in how these technologies are used.

These findings paint a complex portrait of the relationship between income and media technology use and ownership. Certain media technologies, such as television, radio, and CD players, are now essentially universal (over 90% of all households with young children own these technologies). It has taken decades to arrive at these levels of ownership and access. Computers became available to the public a mere 20 years ago and have become part of daily life in many households (computers are present in 63% of all households and 37% of households at the lowest income level—those earning less than $25,000). These current rates of computer ownership reflect their relative newness. Cable or satellite subscriptions are keeping pace, providing Internet and cable channel access for many households (over 80% of all homes, and 58% of householdsearning less than $25,000 have cable access). Further, the rapid rise of mobile phoneuse (mobile phones are present in 75% of all households and 58% of lowest income households), as well as ownership of DVD players (present in 84% of all households and 69% of the lowest income households), and video games (found in 58% of all households and 40% of the lowest income households) all illustrate the rapid integration of media technologies across the income spectrum.

Full study here

I think these findings are very encouraging. While there is still a fairly significant gap regarding access to a computer & the internet between income levels, at the rate that computer useage is increasing among low imcome families, the gap will continue to narrow significantly. This is extremely important in a world where (yes you may roll your eyes as I say it) access to technology and the knowledge to use it, are becoming increasingly vital.

In another article from I&M Online (a Nantucket Island Newspaper) that discussed the prevalance of computer use in highschools:

Like many colleges these days, Colorado College requires all students to bring their own computer, although there are several computer labs with printers on campus. Even if it was not required, though, O’Connor said she’d probably still bring her own computer.

“It’s just easier that way,” she said.

The same even goes for public high school. Phoebe McKee, a senior at Nantucket High School, said that although the school has a two computer labs, it is much more efficient to have her own computer at home.

“More than half (of my classes) require pretty much everything to be word-processed,” said McKee, the other half being science and math courses. “The high school is pretty good at providing for the students in the technology department, but it is harder than just having one at home. Probably about more than half the time, for literature and history definitely, the Internet comes in a great deal (for research).”

full article here

This last point is key – it’s easier to have a computer at home – ownership translates to effective use. Hopefully that gap keeps closing quickly.

Sources:

Education Week

“Home-Based Digital Divide”

The Inquirer & Mirror

“Back to School Survival Gear: Laptops & Cellphones?”

by Gabriella Burnham