Elementary Students Benefit from Tae Kwon Do, Other Programs at Barrow

For a lot of students the day is done at 3:00. At Barrow Elementary School, however, the learning continues for students who are part of its flourishing after-school program. In the halls of Barrow, you can find groups of students working with tutors and talking with mentors . In classrooms are small  groups of students involved in a multitude of activities.

Near the cafeteria is a group of kids studying a chess board and a miniature orchestra playing their instruments. In the cafeteria students are finishing their homework. In the gym, children meet to practice Tae Kwon Do twice a week.

On this particular afternoon, instructors Steven Carter, Betsy Coile and Doug Penning of Athens Tae Kwon Do Center are getting the class started. After making sure belts are tied correctly and everything is in order, the students quickly line up to bow in and begin their warm-up.  After the brief formality of bowing in, led by second grader and blue belt Carson Griffeth, the action begins with turkey rolls, sprints, and bear crawls.

The young martial artists then began perfecting their kicks. Between sounds of small feet hitting pads, Coile and Penning provide feedback and pointers. Not only do students learn how to kick, they also develop confidence, leadership skills, responsibility and discipline. (I can attest to these benefits from my own personal experience with martial arts.) The practice fosters and encourages positive attitudes as well. As Coile says, “a black belt is just a white belt that doesn’t give up.”

Team work is also emphasized in the Tae Kwon Do after school program. Head
instructor Kathy Carter,  a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Georgia in
kinesiology, hopes students learn the importance of working together and learn how  each affects their community. “If one (student) is off, the whole group is off,” she said.

Currently, thirteen children participate in Tae Kwon Do this year. For every ten who sign up and pay, Kathy awards a scholarship to a student. Students who
participate in Tae Kwon Do pay $25 a month for one day a week and $50 a month
for both days during the week.

While Athens Tae Kwon Do Center has partnered with other schools in the past, they have had a relationship with Barrow Elementary for ten years now. “Barrow has been really supportive. They are a very active school,” says Carter.

There is a lot of parent involvement as well. Sometimes parents come to the workouts and there is high turnout every December and May during testing for promotion in rank.

Tae Kwon Do is one of many after school opportunities available to students at
Barrow.

“We are very proud of our ASP Program. We offer a safe and nurturing environment for after-school care for children, pre-K through 5th
grade every day of the schoolyear,” says Jan Mullins, Barrow’s After-School
Coordinator. Some of the other activities include:

-Pottery lessons from the Good Dirt staff

-Spanish enrichment classes taught once a week by a UGA student 

-Chess Club taught by volunteers who have donated their time for the past three years

-Garden Club led by UGA students. They  work together on interdisciplinary activities and instruction aimed at enhancing an awareness of health/nutrition and connections between gardening and eating. Fun arts and crafts activities like painting little birdhouses and teambuilding are also included.

-Tutoring and homework help from various volunteers