Philadelphia Youth Basketball (PYB) is steadfast in its belief that all of its programming MUST include an educational component that promotes critical thinking and academic skill building. While our basketball drilling, teaching, and game play surely offers such opportunities for imparting many life lessons, we are committed to ensuring that our young people grow intellectually and academically.
Presently, we are in week two of our Collegiate Summer Camp Series. In the same way that our school-year Middle School Partnership Program has one hour of classroom-based learning for literacy or math lessons, so does our summer camp program on college campuses. We must actively work with young people and their families to ensure that kids do not lose ground in the non-school months and fall prey to the well-documented “summer slide” in which children’s academic prowess is weakened.
The “pedagogy” of our academic program is built upon three pillars:
#1 – We use basketball and sports as context and relevant content for building academic learning opportunities;
#2 – We provide ample opportunities for young people to “find their voices” through debating, public speaking, and writing in various genres; and
#3 – We guarantee that our approach to learning never “feels like school”.
Please feel free to visit our summer camps, including our classroom-based “academic power hour”, to see our curricular modules in action. While the environment may be a bit noisy during a social justice debate or a game of NBA Math Hoops, do not be fooled ! These noisy classrooms are filled with engaged and high energy learners.
More information about camp dates and locations can be found on our camp homepage HERE.
Contact dvenezia@phillyyouthbasketball.org to schedule a camp visit.