Pupils take part in offbeat lessons

AIKEN --- Desks are empty, but for the next four weeks pupils at Kennedy Middle School will be getting hands-on learning experiences in some unusual subjects.

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Logan Prentice and Kearston Abner teach Scout to sit during one of the alternative courses. Dog training, yoga and crime scene investigation have been class subjects.

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Rainier Ehrhardt/Staff

Aiken Public Safety Cpl. Jeremy Hembree's car gets inspected by Kennedy Middle School pupils learning outside the classroom.

On Wednesday, pupils started classes ranging from dog training to skateboarding. For the past 20 years, volunteers from the community have exposed pupils to learning not usually found in the classroom.

As the program's first teacher two decades ago, Thai karate instructor Andy Watford wanted to give struggling pupils something to look forward to, he said.

"If we don't reach out to them now, when are we ever going to reach them?" he asked.

Now all three grades at the school participate in courses that push them into new hobbies and experiences and give them a primer on possible careers.

The 45-minute sessions only take away about five minutes from each class period, so pupils don't lose too much instruction time. But it's enough to give pupils a taste of a new or unusual hobby or career, organizer Nance Dukes said.

Each year, Mrs. Dukes looks for community members with something different to offer. This year's classes include yoga, scuba diving basics and geocaching.

Detective Keith Glover, a crime scene investigator with Aiken Public Safety, has been teaching in the program for five years, and he said it never gets dull.

"We teach them how to really work a crime scene, from lifting fingerprints to DNA testing," Detective Glover said. "It's just a great way to interact with the kids and create a personal relationship."

Skateboarding instructors Will Sexton and J.W. Fussat attended minicourses when they were in school.

"We teach them how to ride and keep their weight centered, and we move on to more difficult tricks with some of the kids we've seen at the skate park," Mr. Fussat said.

Classes often force pupils out of their comfort zones. They are encouraged to try something they've never experienced.

"I thought this would be a good chance to learn how to actually ride a skateboard," sixth-grader Natalie Hornsby said. "Before I wasn't really sure how to get it started and keep going; now I think I could do tricks."

Reach Julia Sellers at (803) 648-1395, ext. 106, or julia.sellers@augustachronicle.com.