Weekly Media Roundup: November 4, 2015

A Fading Art: Continental Starts Cursive Writing Club (Sahuarita Sun, Arizona)

Sixteen elementary school students in the Continental School District are spending their afterschool time learning what many see as an antiquated art: cursive writing. Most states using Common Core have replaced cursive with more technology-based learning programs due to fading interest and time constraints, according to the Sahuarita Sun. But a number of educators, including fourth-grade teacher Kathy Rieman, hope to preserve the medium through clubs and afterschool lessons. Rieman pledged to teach cursive once a week as long as there’s a demand. “I am happy this many kids are showing an interest,” she said.

Dia de los Muertos:  Southside Spanish Club Learns about the Day of the Dead Celebration (Elko Daily Free Press, Nevada)

Students in the Southside Elementary Spanish Club enjoyed Catrina face paint, sugar skulls and pan de los muertos as part of an educational celebration of the Mexican holiday known as the Day of the Dead. The afterschool immersion program not only teaches students Spanish – they have already learned the alphabet, colors, numbers up to 20 and some simple phrases – but also delves into Hispanic culture through sessions like the Dia de los Muertos celebration. Fourth-grade teacher and club leader Jennifer Cooper believes that celebrating other cultures will expand her students’ horizons in important ways. “Knowledge is what helps us grow and accept the diversity,” she told the Elko Daily Free Press.

Breathing Life into Bluegrass (Anderson Independent-Mail, South Carolina)

High schooler Danielle Yother once had too short of an attention span to make it through a guitar lesson. Now, thanks to the Young Appalachian Musicians afterschool program, she has performed at a music festival, has been featured in a bluegrass magazine and has even had the chance to play alongside actor and musician Steve Martin. “If it hadn’t been for the Young Appalachian Musicians Program, she probably would never have picked up the guitar,” her mother, Dianne Yother, told the Anderson Independent-Mail. The nonprofit afterschool program pairs students with longtime bluegrass musicians to learn how to play and sing, offering discounted instruments so that students in any financial situation can participate.

Youth Basketball Program Emphasizes Leadership, Character Building (Cedar Rapids Gazette, Iowa)

Students may come to the Leaders Believers and Achievers Foundation (LBA) only to improve their basketball game, but program founder Alphonse O’Bannon tries to impart them with many more life skills. “It all started out as a basketball program,” he told the Cedar Rapids Gazette. “We found out there was more than just basketball.” The afterschool program uses basketball and other activities, like hip-hop dancing, to teach important life lessons that include listening, following directions, leadership and goal-setting. The sixth- through eighth-graders in the daily program also receive homework help if they are struggling in school.