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The second major category of We Are The Future Inc., Int’l
TM is
our T.A.P.S. Program TM.
T.A.P.S. stands for Think and
Play Scrabble®. This program is designed to instruct youths, 8-18
years of age in the fundamentals of playing Scrabble®. The primary
goal of T.A.P.S is to encourage our youths to think, which in turn,
will foster and enhance active learning in their studies and in
their
daily living. This is a nine-week curriculum, which coincides with
the nine-week grading periods of the school system.
After instruction in these areas, youths will play several
games of
Scrabble® to ensure they understand what they are learning. As they
play the game of Scrabble®, the manners and character traits they
learned from their T.R.A.Y. classes will be applied. During these
nine weeks, youths will learn to put into practice the “40
Goals and Objectives to Enhance Education through the Game of
Scrabble®” (Click link to see these goals).
Students participating in the T.A.P.S. Program TM
will develop intrinsic as well as extrinsic values. The first
intrinsic value that our youths will realize from playing the game
of Scrabble® is understanding. This understanding is a by-product of
youths' development of their thinking skills. Our conviction
regarding the importance of youths obtaining understanding is rooted
in Proverbs 16:22a, which states, "Understanding is a wellspring of
life to him who has it" (New King James Version). As our young
people begin to think more, they will ask more profound
questions that will strengthen their understanding of life and
purpose. In other words, they will strive to seek not only
knowledge, but understanding. The second intrinsic value our
youths will realize from playing the game of Scrabble® is a
form of conflict resolution.
They will be playing the game of
Scrabble® in groups of
four’s, whereby they will dialogue and share space, and at times,
experience conflict. Consequently, students will be challenged to
apply the anger management training they
learned from the T.R.A.Y. Program TM. We must
teach our youths the value of controlling and managing with their
anger in accordance with Ephesians 4:26-27, which says, "Be angry,
and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give
place to the devil" (New King James Version). We must help our
youths to realize the importance of resolving conflict before it
escalates into violence or death. We believe that if we can instill
into our youths' minds that "a soft answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger" (Proverbs 15:1, New King James
Version), we will help them learn how to resolve conflicts in their
early stages.
Likewise, there are two extrinsic values our T.A.P.S. Program
TM fosters in youths. The first is learning skills, such as
concentration, and motor skills, which will help youths improve
their vocabulary and math skills. By concentration we mean the
following:
Concentration is directing the mind to a
common center. It is holding the mind on any subject to the
exclusion of all others. Concentration is a positive and creative
condition of the mind. Man depends on sound signals. Ears are the
means to recording sound signals, and to developing the ability to
listen. God gave man his two ears and one mouth. That means he
is to listen twice as much as he talks.
Knowledge is power.
Consider the postage stamp, its unselfishness consist in the
ability to stick to one thing till it gets there.
The second extrinsic value that our T.A.P.S.Program
TM
fosters in youths is an appreciation for diversity among people.
As youths play the game of Scrabble®, they will be assigned
to their positions with youths from different schools, and
ethnic backgrounds. Since the success of the Scrabble®
player is not based upon competition, but upon strategy, youths
will be more inclined to learn from each other while in these
group settings.
As youths develop friendships with the other
players over the course of the nine-weeks, they will
develop a comfort level with diverse people, which will carry
over into their other daily interactions with all people.
To Contact We Are The
Future
Email:
daisywalden44@yahoo.com
Phone: 1-843-616-0864
Daisy Walden,
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