DC after-school programs
After school programs are a treasure in the D.C area. After school programs protect our children from finding other ways to entertain themselves. The option of having somewhere safe to go to hang out with friends, play pick-up sports games, get help with homework and be able to interact with positive role models.
I don’t think kids have enough positive role models today. We seriously need to consider who our children are interacting with both inside and outside school. In an after school program children of all ages can learn skills that will prepare them for life. Our children can learn from adults who have lived in D.C and know what to watch out for to stay safe. Children can learn to improve their social skills; they can learn skills that will prepare them for college or the workforce.
The most important thing that children can learn in after school programs is leadership skills. Strong leaders are less likely to get involved in gang related activities or drugs. We need our children to learn how to be strong and independent. It seems that teaching leadership has gotten lost in the last couple of generations. Our children are our future and we want them to willingly and with a strong will stand up for their rights and be strong in their ethics and morals. People with strong ethics and morals are needed in the government, the colleges, and in the workplace. We need to teach them to learn how to stand and be strong. We need to help them discover what their ethics and morals are going to be and stand behind their decision by being strong examples of what that should look like.
After school programs need to be supported by parents, school-systems and the children who attend. We need to be sure that our children’s education goes beyond the classroom to learn lessons that will sustain them throughout life. We need to protect our children’s future and after school programs offer more than a safe place to be and a safe place to be themselves.
