Lois' note makes an important point relating to sources of funding and what
counts as relevant evaluation and relevant activities.
She is also correct concerning data on effectiveness of afterschool activities
for promoting kids academic achievement and reducing behavior not approved
of by adults. There is a recent NRC report that reviews all the literature
a select committee could put its hands on, and I have perhaps 50 reprots
and studies, which are pretty univocal in their conclusions. I view the
press on randomized assignment of kids to "experimental condtions" ALWAYS
and FOREVER as a systems-maintaining mechanism that amounts to welfare for
middle class researchers.
However, for those of us who work through exisiting community organizations
like the Boys and Girls Clubs, or in poor neighborhoods where the parents
cannot afford facilities for their kids outside of such large orgs, the
pressure by schools for homework help is intense. I have been surveying
programs I know of, and so far there is only one, in North Carolina, where
our style program is not being hassled to some degree.
The different exceptions are important to analyze in order to understand
the social ecological conditions under which alternatives can survive.
This is a very live issue in California where there is a ballot initiative,
which has a good chance of passing (Arnold Schwarzenneger, a very conservative
Republican may well be running for gov here in four years, with this as one
of his showcases) that will put 400 million dollars into creating afterschool
activities for kids that are designed to be one half homework, one half play.
No mixing of the halves.
mike
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