Success Stories:
Belmont Youth Council
Douglas liked to fight. He fought with boys and girls, even those older
and bigger than him. His fighting ways got him in trouble in school, at
home and in the community. His grades were low and the school labeled him
ADHD and wanted to put him on Ritalin. He did not like school. At 7 years
of age, his goal in life was to be a football player but he had no plan
to get there.
Through the Belmont Youth Council, Douglas attended Capoeira classes. Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art, appealing to African American boys for it’s rhythms and dance-like form. Capoeira served to instill in all youth discipline, self control, and non-violent conflict resolution as well as balance, agility and overall fitness. Classes began with meditation to calm the youth, and each “game” began and ended with a show of respect for one another.
Within a few months we began to see changes in the youth. They fought less and listened more. By the end of 6 months, Douglas and others stopped fighting and their school behavior began to improve. Eventually his grades improved too. The youth were then ready to participate in many other positive youth development activities that kept them on track with school and out of trouble.
One day while bringing the youth a new box of books to read, Douglas, now 9, ran to the box and excitedly pulled out the thick and lengthy Harry Potter books to read. He showed his report card with all A’s and B’s. When discussing their career goals, Douglas still wanted to be a football player, but he said if he got injured, he wanted to be a scientist. The fact that he understood the need to have an academic “Plan B” was a cognitive shift in his thinking about himself and the possibilities for his future.
It is this type of cognitive shift that we strive for youth to achieve at Mind, Body & Soul.