Printed October 17, 2004

Educational opportunities go beyond the three R's

by Kristy Kennedy

When it comes to teaching children, the three R’s come to mind. However, for those who have a passion for working with kids but aren’t so interested in teaching the basics, there are opportunities to snare just about any type of knowledge. Yoga, gardening, pottery, dance, computer technology, model rocket building - educational opportunities for children across the Chicago area are endless.

Many classes are offered in area schools, park districts, studios or shops. Some teaching jobs are part-time, but others can become full-time careers. Take yoga, for instance. The craze has swept across the country through a variety of forms offered to adults, and is now trickling down to children as well.

In 2001, Marlene Mikel and llene Sang opened Heart Center Yoga in Highland Park, a facility offering yoga for kids age three through their teens. Both women received certification in the YogaKids program and have backgrounds in teaching.

Each class is centered around a developmentally appropriate lesson about literature, science, music, math, art or nature.

The women also offer teaching workshops to show people how to incorporate yoga into their work with children. Parents, teachers and healthcare workers often attend. Some schools have even hosted in-service staff development seminars featuring the work of Mikel and Sang.

Originally, Mikel planned to teach yoga in her art program at a therapeutic day school in Chicago.

“As time went on, I realized the program was so important that I wanted to devote all my time to it,” she said. ”Today, there’s a lot of stress and pressure. Teaching children yoga gives them a gift of time and space to connect with themselves and others.”

Teaching yoga to children has taken Marsha Wenig all over the country and world. The founder and president of YogaKids International (www.yogakids.com) never thought her career would grow as much as it has since she founded her company in 1995. Her videos aimed at teaching kids yoga recently were picked up by Target and Wal-Mart.

”This is a growing field,” Wenig said. ”I don’t think it has peaked yet. People are looking to treat children in a more holistic way to deal with issues like stress and obesity. A lot of venues are opening up and you can make a career out of this.”

While dance is a mainstay in arts classes, different types of movement go in and out of popularity. Hip-hop is the latest craze in the Chicago area, said Keith Givens, a dance specialist and teacher with the Chicago Dance and Music Alliance. The alliance offers the public a place to find local dance teachers.

Instructors can find opportunities to teach a wide variety of dance styles including ballet, jazz, modern, ethnic, tap, ballroom and flamenco, Givens said.

Dance instructors either start out as professional dancers or go to school to teach dance. Many in the Chicago area teach between performance jobs to make ends meet.

”You teach to survive,” Givens said, ”it’s part of what you do as an artist.”

Instructors refer each other for jobs and typically make between $20 and $60 an hour for their work. Students range from serious to those just wanting to learn some moves, Givens said. For teachers, the reward comes through passing on the craft to others.

The electronic age has created another education trend. Computer technology classes have become the new ”shop class” in high schools across the country.

Classes aren’t just teaching kids how to use computer programs, some teach students how to fix computers and even how to set up networking systems.

Brett Thompson, a technology teacher at Naperville Central High School, teaches a computer repair certification program offered by CompTIA, as well as a class about how to design a computer network. This year, approximately 70 students are taking the CompTIA class at Naperville Central.

The CompTIA program is taught at many high schools and colleges across the country and worldwide. Its A+ certification is a must for those hoping to be hired to fix computers by companies like Best Buy.

The demand for skilled computer workers is high, said Neill Hopkins, vice president of workforce and development training at CompTIA (www.comptia.org). ”Technology has reached a phase where it is no longer an elitist occupation taught by experts,” he said. ”Computers have become so pervasive that the knowledge people need to have has gone down to the K-12 level. That means there is enormous opportunity for our educators of the future.”

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