05/27/05 Cowboys and Kids II

Cowboys and Kids II The American cowboy image is used to teach students a little more than the normal school curriculum. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be back in one minute to tell you how and why. Yesterday I told you about Penny Conway's program to help students to learn honesty, respect for others, responsibility, and having a good attitude while educating them about Western culture. That's the why of the program she calls Cowboys and Kids, now here is a little bit on how Penny and her representatives go about presenting the lessons. Janet Lemmons, a West Coast representative, uses cowboys and rodeoing as an attention-getter then works into the lesson of good personal values. Janet usually talks about bull riders and then actually dresses one student in bull rider gear and teaches how to hold a bull rope. Next is an explanation of how a bull ride is judged and then a bull riding video is shown while she talks about sportsmanship and proper behavior shown by the professional riders. After the video a number of students participate in a mock game show. The game poses problems a student might face such as bullying or cheating on a test. The contestants are given three choices to correct the problem while thinking about honesty, respect for others, responsibility for your own actions, and having a good attitude. As Penny Conway says "The American cowboy image is rooted in the hearts of a lot of teachers and children, in urban as well as rural areas. That symbol helps people teach many other things." I think Penny has picked some of the finest role models America has to offer, and I hope her program plays in a school near you. I'm Jeff Keane. Capital Press 5/13/05