This is brilliant! I just found a note on a rink's website offering a quiet study hall to skaters who have homework to complete. It includes computers! I wonder how effective it is for the skaters, or if the kids just update their MySpace pages and fool around?

http://www.thegardensicehouse.com/pr...ckey-youth.asp

That's a great idea for after-school skating programs.

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Interesting concept. Hopefully it'll work and you won't have kids messing around on myspace and whatnot, as you suggested. With the inclusion of teachers (I wonder how much that's going to cost the rink or if these teachers volunteer for free...), there's a chance that this could actually be beneficial to school-age skaters. I know that at the rink I skate at, the tables in the snack bar area are always bustling with kids trying to get their work done, which is not always productive considering that there's TVs, other skating friends, parents, and just distracting background noise going on while kids are trying to get work done. I'm curious to see how productive this is, how much it is costing the rink, and if any other facilities may try and pick up on this...

We don't have a special study room, but the rink does have wireless internet. During the day, I sometimes see the homeschooled kids doing homework in the lobby or working on their laptops between sessions. Mostly, though, it's parents working on laptops while their kids are skating.

The Gardens Ice House is a WONDERFUL facility!! They have an amazing upstairs "lounge" area where parents can watch their kids skate, but not be out in the cod rink. I really like this rink!

As for studying & skating, I see it *all* the time at the two facilities I coach at. What is more impressive, is that the parents support the studying, and put more emphasis on the academics than the skating at times (these are national/international competitors). I think that's really refreshing, considering so many kids would rather blow off homework to skate.

As a coach, I emphasize the need for school to my skaters. I dont want them ditching school just to skate, they need an education too. I instill that in my students, bc anything could happen and they need a solid education to fall back on!