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2006 |
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Teens Thrive with Build & Ride PROFILE: Who's Behind Build & Ride? Ride Benefits Youth Program and More |
Teens Thrive as Public Speakers, Bicycling Teachers Learning about bikes and professionalism
Enrique Rosales, 17, stood in front of a mesmerized group of 11-year-old boys at Gage Park Day Camp Chicago’s South Side. “Helmets are important,” he instructed, “because if you fall off your bike and hurt your head, you might not be able to do things that you like to do anymore, like play basketball or eat ice cream.” Rosales is one of 11 teens employed as Mayor Daley’s Junior Bicycling Ambassadors to teach bicycle safety in 159 Chicago Park District day camps this summer. A prerequisite for these jobs, which are funded by the Chicago
Park District, is the completion of the after-school Build &
Ride training program made possible by After
School Matters, a non-profit organization that expands out-of-school
opportunities for Chicago teens. Together, a variety of institutions
(see related story, page 3) offer Chicago teenagers an opportunity
to learn job skills and to apply those skills at different summer
jobs. Students like Enrique spend 16 weeks learning about safe bicycling in Chicago and how to teach this information to others. The curriculum also includes bicycle mechanics and urban riding skills, which students learn when they build and ride their own bikes. At the completion of the After School Matters course, the students are presented an opportunity to apply for a summer job as one of Mayor Daley’s Junior Bicycling Ambassadors, an outreach program that is in its second summer of operation enhancing the work of the adult Mayor Daley’s Bicycling Ambassadors. The Junior Bicycling Ambassadors work with the regular Bicycling Ambassadors to teach bicycle safety to thousands of children and adults throughout Chicago for six weeks in the summer. In 2005, 25 students completed the training. This year the courses were offered at two sites, doubling the number of spaces available to students. Thus, 50 teens were accepted and attended the after-school training course. Classes were given three days per week at Phillips Academy High School in Bronzeville and at Ames Middle School in Logan Square.
“(I learned) how to build a bike from scratch, (the) proper way to fit your helmet and to check your bike … it taught me everything because I really did not know the safety rules,” said Angel Lawrence, 17, who was later hired as a Junior Ambassador. Rosales and Lawrence say they enjoy the opportunity to educate children to be safe bike riders, while improving their own communication skills and getting to ride bikes all around the city. “I’m shy,” said Lawrence, “This helps me to communicate better with others.” Because of Build & Ride, Rosales and Lawrence learned a lot about bicycling, but they have also learned other skills that will help them with future career goals. “(The program) prepared me for riding on the streets and taught me how to work in a group,” Rosales said. “(Now) I get to educate little kids. I can be saving lives possibly.” “It taught me about responsibility, being on time, and being professional,” said Lawrence. In the future, Rosales hopes to attend UIC and work as a computer hardware engineer. Lawrence aspires to be a veterinarian.
“Now I find it easier to talk to people because I’m kind of shy. Also, I’m now an expert at using the Chicago Bike Map,” Lawrence said. Build & Ride also gives teens an opportunity to be role models for children younger than themselves. At Gage Park, the 11-year-old boys in the crowd agreed that wearing a helmet is a good idea and left day camp that day thinking bicycle safety is a little bit cooler.
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