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MONDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2016 FASHIONF | 7 HEALTH | 10 HOLLYWOOD | 12 Made with Childhood bullying Five decades & 2000 threads of may lead to films later, Jackie Chanhan romance obesity ‘finally’ wins Oscar Email: [email protected] Aftercare, which began as an extension of day care, has evolved over the past few decades into a $20bn industry. P | 2-3 AFTERCARE FOR KIDS 02 COVER STORY MONDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2016 Experts emphasise that there is no one-size-fits-all model for after-school programmes. It’s not an issue of play vs. learn. But evidence suggests kids learn best when they’re allowed to play. Why aftercare doesn’t feel like a break from school Lia Kvatum never wanted to leave. of physical activity per day. Con- It’s hard to argue with those The Washington Post A couple of weeks later, I was sidering that many schools have 20 priorities for the sake of a few sitting at a PTA meeting, hearing a minutes of recess, if they have it at more minutes of jumping rope or eeey,” my daughter’s presentation about the new pro- all, for kids who attend an after- another round of four square. after-school teacher gramme, run by AlphaBest school programme, play there takes Unless we’re not seeing the whole said. She had a sad Education, a subsidiary of Kaplan on added importance, child devel- picture. smile. “I have a letter Early Learning. At the meeting, a opment experts say. In the weeks after the PTA for you. There are representative spoke about home- Aftercare, which began as an meeting, I went to AlphaBest offi- Hsome changes happening.” work time. For those who don’t extension of day care, has evolved cials with more questions and got The letter informed me a new have homework, AlphaBest would over the past few decades into a answers that made me wonder if company would be providing provide worksheets. He also talked $20bn industry, according to the I had signed up my kid to be in a before- and aftercare beginning at about enrichment activities such as market research firm IbisWorld. corporate training video. I was told the start of the school year. Details calligraphy, cartooning and Lego Most are run by nonprofits. In addi- about InZone time, which includes would be forthcoming. robotics. I asked if there would be tion to licensing and accreditation something called TechZone, and This was our first experience any unstructured time. “Don’t requirements, these programmes is more student-directed but “facil- with an aftercare programme. We’d worry,” the representative told me. must please many masters. itated” by a “zone leader.” The chosen it because it was there, in “Not much.” “I want unstructured School officials who see them AlphaBest website promised “game our 5-year-old’s Maryland public time,” I said. as an extension of the school day play tactics and web-based sup- school and the price was within our “Me too,” said a mom behind me. may use them to try to raise test port to keep students moving.” budget. I hadn’t paid much atten- What is happening here? I won- scores. In underserved communi- Swinging on the monkey bars tion to what was going on beyond dered. What about all the ties, good after-school seemed low-rent by comparison. that. By the time I picked up our hand-wringing over the demise of programmes correlate with higher I admittedly grew up when daughter, she was usually doing recess and the importance of play? test scores and lower juvenile “keep them safe and let them just some kind of craft or running What about playtime outside of crime. Parents, most of whom pay go out and play” was a perfectly around. Occasionally, she was play- school hours? an average of $114 per week, have acceptable after-school plan for ing on an iPad, which didn’t thrill The US Department of Health their own demands, such as mak- kids. Starting when I was my me, but she always seemed happy. and Human Services recommends ing sure homework gets done and daughter’s age, I went home by She loved her teachers and almost that children have at least an hour participating in organised sports. myself. MONDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2016 COVER STORY 03 Sometimes I’d play in a nearby cess is inextricably linked to play. technology, which means the pro- especially not for anyone looking park with other kids. I explored a “Play can look like chaos to an gramme is not right for every school, for “all the horns and whistles.” creek that housed long black cray- adult,” Beresin said. “But there’s fish. And I built a bike ramp with a actually a lot of structure.” Kids run- kid named Kevin; we caught air ning around on the playground are until the sun dipped below the hori- exploring their boundaries and fig- zon. It certainly wasn’t the most uring out rules. “Ultimately, this “enriched” use of time, but was it the allows kids to think creatively and worst? In an era when people are critically,” she said. “And that’s what overscheduled, often harried and we all need to deal with the prob- overloaded with information, it can lems that life tosses our way.” be hard to know what’s right. Aftercare programmes can vary Today, spending time doing tremendously by school, so I spoke nothing in particular feels indulgent, with a couple dozen people - even antiquated. That thinking took administrators, aftercare teachers, on a new life in the 1980s as women children and parentsabout how entered the workforce en masse. their programmes work. Contemporary news accounts doc- The message to preserve play ument the rise of the latchkey kid is getting out, although unstruc- as a kind of cautionary tale: Juve- tured time can seem like an nile crime spiked, and extravagance. At Wonders, an after- mental-health experts warned school programme, kids were against the long-term effects of grabbing a snack (lettuce salad and children left to fend for themselves veggies on this day) and gearing up for long periods. Social attitudes for their hour of free time. Kids aside, there was a severe shortage headed outside to play, worked on of programs for children to attend. Legos, read books or socialised. (There still is a huge unmet need.) “We focus on the social-emo- Experts emphasise that there is tional development, and we no one-size-fits-all model for after- emphasise choice,” said Joanne school programmes, but a growing Hurt, executive director of body of research raises questions Wonders. about the emphasis on more-struc- “Choice” time options vary: tured activities. child-directed and teacher-directed It’s not an issue of play vs. learn, activities, including homework, experts said. But evidence suggests reading, Legos, STEM projects, art kids learn best when they’re projects and group games. This allowed to play. model has been fairly consistent for Too much intervention, said decades, Hurt said. Anna Beresin, a psychologist and They focus more on relation- folklorist who has been studying ships with the kids and eschew children and play for three decades, can convey to children that they are not trusted to decide how an activity should go. Adults need to let go of their own agendas and, within reason, let kids express themselves. “There’s this belief that play is a nicety,” Beresin said. “But it’s crit- ical. For young children in particular, it’s how they make sense of the world around them.” The American Academy of Pedi- atrics agrees and has outlined the importance of play for healthy brain development and physical health. But play often takes a back seat to homework help and enrichment activities, particularly at schools facing increased pressure to improve academic performance. And yet, children’s academic suc- 04 CAMPUS MONDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2016 DeBakey students honoured DeBakey High School Honor Roll students were recognised in an assembly ceremony. This awards assembly occurs at the end of each grading cycle throughout the year to recognise those that achieved ‘All A’s’ and ‘All A’s & 1 B.’ School counselors visit Education City amad Bin Khalifa University admissions professionals to meet programmes that go beyond assist- requirements each year, which cer- (HBKU) hosted Doha Coun- and share best practices. ance with university applications. tainly helps us guide our students.” Hselors Day at the HBKU Represented at this year’s event Those in attendance discussed ways Patrick Desbarats, Head of Student Center. Held in partnership were Virginia Commonwealth Uni- counselors can prepare students for Counseling and College Placement with the Qatar campuses of univer- versity in Qatar, Weill Cornell a successful future through personal at the American School of Doha, sities across Education City, Doha Medicine-Qatar, Texas A&M Univer- and social competences assessment, added: “When I first came to Doha Conselors Day provides school coun- sity at Qatar, Carnegie Mellon as well as by providing support in six years ago, I didn’t know about selors and administrators in Qatar University in Qatar, Georgetown academic achievement and career the admissions processes of the uni- with in-depth information about the University in Qatar, Northwestern consideration. versities located in Education City, academic offerings and admissions University in Qatar, and Hamad Bin Thouraya Bouz, Assessment so I found Doha Counselors Day processes for universities located in Khalifa University, all of which offer Coordinator and Career Advisor at really helpful. It’s a great way to Education City. The event is an undergraduate degree programs at Al Maha Academy for Girls, said: share knowledge about how to help important networking opportunity Education City.

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