Roommate Dave has pointed me towards this perfect story about Berkeley.

Best quote: 'By the time the camp is finished, "the spirit of expression has filled their brains and hearts," said Jamison, artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. "This energy is often transferred to their families, motivating them to make improvements in their lives as well.'

The camp involves 'ballet, modern, jazz and West African dance.' not to mention 'writing, photography and studio art classes and receive counseling in nutrition, conflict resolution, drug abuse prevention, decision-making and goal setting,' and 'Science, math skills, basic engineering, computer science' (I made that one up.)

Speaking as an Economist, I give three cheers to camps like this. Go for it. You seem excited, motivated, and well-trained. But what does bother me is the priorities established. The 'private and corporate donors' who funded this camp could also've helped the Berkeley school district dig itself out of a 4 million dollar budget shortfall. Or funded another program with a wide applicability to young middle school students. Instead, they've funded one with a very narrow appeal: dance and ballet are speciality pursuits. Even a typical camp with a wider range or some sort of scholarship program would've had wider appeal.

Oh well. I hate to complain about charity when there's so much worse out there.Email This Post!