THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 8, 1996 TAG: 9607080045
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 81 lines
This may sound unbelievable, but Archie Boone, 13, who just finished eighth grade at Rosemont Middle School, thinks William Shakespeare wrote some pretty cool stuff. And to top that off, Archie's giving up six weeks of summer vacation to actually study the English bard's work - not to mention taking classes in math, computers and science.
Chalk up his enthusiasm to teachers like Elizabeth Feakins, a Norfolk Academy graduate and a sophomore English major at Harvard University.
In her summer Shakespeare class at Norfolk Academy, Feakins has students act out scenes from such plays as ``MacBeth.'' To teach them Shakespeare's poetic rhythm, she has them ``stomp'' the syllables of verse with their feet. Students who flub their lines might get bombarded with balled-up paper, a substitute for food (English audiences could be unforgiving).
``I come at Shakespeare from the point of view that it's supposed to be entertainment,'' said Feakins, who at 18 is not much older than her charges. ``So many people I know think Shakespeare is this really dry stuff. I want to help these kids find it more fun.''
Making learning fun is the premise behind this summer enrichment program called Learning Bridge, a public-private partnership between Norfolk city schools and Norfolk Academy.
High school and college students from such prestigious universities as Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Brown serve as role models and teachers for this group of bright middle-school students who are college material but could drop through the cracks without nurturing and encouragement.
``I think it motivates them seeing people who go to good colleges who aren't nerds,'' Feakins said. ``It becomes less unreachable for them.''
The students, who attend daylong classes and workshops, come from a range of racial and ethnic backgrounds. Consideration is given to students from low-income families.
``These kids are bright, many of them are in need, and they're starting to see that their hard work is paying off,'' said Learning Bridge director Patti Wainger.
The program, now in its fourth summer, has a two-fold mission: to groom middle-school students for success in college prep courses and to train high school and college students like Feakins for possible teaching careers. The program is funded by private donations and grants and is the only one of its kind in Virginia, Wainger said.
``When I first came here, I was very shy and timid and I was used to going to schools where smart kids are shunned,'' said Heide Bojalad, 14, who attended Lake Taylor Middle. ``When you're in an environment with other students who want to learn it boosts your self-confidence.''
The program also has expanded the horizons of the young teachers, such as Candace Jackson, 16, a Maury High honor graduate who will attend Princeton in the fall. She teaches a class - no class has more than seven students - about the history of the United Nations.
``It's definitely made me realize how much potential I have,'' Jackson said. ``I never thought I could teach somebody or serve as a role model.''
Besides a core of academic classes built around math and writing, students choose from a variety of electives, limited only by the teachers' imagination and interests: video production, for instance, or dance, public speaking, chorus, tennis, swimming and circus skills.
That's right, circus skills. Brown University sophomore John Snyder, 19, teaches Learning Bridge students how to juggle, tumble and build human pyramids.
For the young teachers, the schedule can be grueling and the rewards are more personal than financial; they receive about $750.
``I haven't watched TV since I've been here,'' said Lawrence Ferguson, 18, a Norfolk State University Dozoretz scholar, a program for minority science and engineering students. He sometimes works until 2 a.m. on lesson plans for his chemistry class. He teaches a swimming class as well, and, in two days, had one nonswimmer diving and swimming to the side of the pool.
``I didn't do this for the money,'' Ferguson said. ``I did it to give back what I've learned.'' ILLUSTRATION: CHRISTOPHER REDDICK
The Virginian-Pilot
Harvard sophomore Elizabeth Feakins, center, works with 13-year-olds
Shawnte Cooper, left, Tiffany Hood, Lauren Leaptrot and Archie
Boone.
Lawrence Ferguson, 18, a Norfolk State University Dozoretz scholar,
left, supervises Patrick Lee, 12, center, and Jason Stokes, 12. by CNB