05/26/05 Cowboys and kids

Cowboys and Kids I The Code of the West goes to school to teach young people time-tested values. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back with some details. Penny Conway was raised in the rodeo-Western culture world before she became a teacher. One of her teaching jobs was working with a class of troubled second-graders. With this class she saw a need for some solid core values to be taught and a lot of misinformation about cowboys and their way of life. Out of this experience Penny combined the need for values teaching and educating youth about Western culture into a program called Cowboys and Kids. The non-profit organization is sponsored by Ford Motor Company and is a community service program for Ford, the Professional Bull Riders, and Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Cowboys and Kids stated mission is "To reach youth with a message of character-branding truths for today and tomorrow." Penny quit teaching in 1991 to form this organization and within three years she had to hire five regional representatives. Conway says the hardest part of presenting the program is getting into the schools, but once it is in an area there is a lot of interest and invitations to return. The program, which concentrates on kindergarten to eighth grade, reaches about 150,000 students each year. The lesson teaches honesty, respect for others, responsibility, and having a good attitude. Tomorrow I'll tell you just how Penny and her representatives present these messages to the students. I'm Jeff Keane. Capital Press 5/13/05