Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Jonesboro students spent Saturday morning learning various skills, exploring new trades and being encouraged to “dream bigger.”
The Nu Tau Sigma chapter of Phi Beta Sigma, in collaboration with Word Baptist Church, hosted its second Men of MAC camp event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 8 at the Douglas MacArthur Junior High School.
Students, ranging from sixth to ninth grade, formed in several groups and went to different stations, with each group rotating to another station every 25 minutes. Each station focused a variety of essential skills including electrical, plumbing, CPR, and trucking. The students were also given a free breakfast and lunch, each beginning with a prayer.
Aaron Flake, associate pastor for Word Baptist Church, said it has been doing “Men of” programs in schools for five years. The school’s assistant principal, Franklin Teague, reached out to the church about bringing a Men of MAC program to the school. Flake said during the church’s time at the school, they decided there were a lot of skills the young men didn’t have.
“We wanted to expose them to some unique things, some things that they wouldn’t get exposed to in a classroom Monday through Friday,” Flake said. “Teague and I, we talked about it, and thought, ‘Let’s try to put something together where we can bring in some community partners to engage with these young men here and teach them some new unique skills.”
Teague said there is a “grave” need for these essential skills, saying that while he wants students to chase their dreams, they need more tangible skills that can bring in income nonstop.
“When I was in school, trades were the thing, but then they kind of faded away. Now, we’re starting to see for us to get back to strengthening our economy, trades are coming back even at an early age, so what we are doing together is we’re trying to push those skills so they can transition right into a trade,” Teague said.
The one challenge when teaching these types of skills to the students has been engagement. Teague said that with the camp, students can explore things that they may not normally see in a traditional classroom setting.
“So, I just think from that particular standpoint, it gives a child [the ability] to kind of explore and figure out what it is that they actually are and what it is they want to do,” Teague said.
Having Phi Beta Sigma and Word Baptist Church working together to invest the time and energy to teach the students, according to Teague, means the world to them, saying it takes a village to do this type of work.
“I mean, for the kids, [they] can kind of see that investment from people like Mr. Flake and other guys from the community come in. It just sinks it. The kids absorb it. They can see that there is more investment than inside our small community as a school, but there’s also investment pouring out within other communities,” Teague said.
Flake said not being able to graduate or getting a job can impact the students on a spiritual level, thus it is important to take a holistic approach and challenge the students to think bigger and dream.
“We believe we can positively impact our community, to help uplift these young men to help them dream bigger, dream differently, have different options to consider as they are transitioning to high school,” Flake said.
The skills taught go beyond the academic aspect. Teague said the school’s new mission and vision is “Learn, lead and leave a legacy,” an aspect he emphasized was important at Saturday’s event, as well as ensuring they had as many perspectives as possible to help students face challenges later in life.
As for the future of the camp, Teague said they are looking to have another one in the spring, with the goal of holding two per year. He added that they are hoping to get the Annie Camp Junior High School involved, as he was told by principal Kevin Ryan that he will have a group up and running over there.
“We envision this thing becoming bigger, becoming a grand staple to both junior highs in the future,” Teague said. “We see it’s growing. It’s going to be a good day.”
