Cowboys and Kids; Rodeo Program to be Presented to Area Red Bluff Students this Week
Rodeo program educates students about anti-bullying, the western heritage and its characteristics
Presenter Janet Lemmons talks to a group of students about the Cowboys and Kids program at a California school. The program will be presented to about 2100 kids in the Red Bluff area this week. Photo by Penny Conway.
Red Bluff, Calif. (April 10, 2017) – The kids in Red Bluff will get a taste of the cowboy life this week.
Cowboys and Kids, a program designed to teach elementary students about the western heritage and its qualities: freedom, honesty, patriotism and pride of achievement, will be presented at six schools in the Red Bluff area, courtesy of the Red Bluff Round-Up.
Cowboys and Kids also gives students an anti-bullying message, and to stay away from drugs and gangs. The cowboys and rodeo message is a “different twist” on conveying the message, said Penny Conway, the teacher who designed the program. “We use that word ‘cowboy up,’ being tough and strong inside, and making your own path. It’s a different way of saying it, yet an effective way.”
The second grade students in Marjie Starkey’s Bidwell Elementary classroom in Red Bluff enjoy the Cowboys and Kids program, she said, noting that the Round-Up is a big event in the area. “I think it’s important for the kids to understand this is a big part of Tehama County’s culture and history. It’s good for them to see that this is not just some pastime, it’s cowboys and cowgirls making a living.” Starkey, a Red Bluff native, was born as the Round-Up parade passed by her mother’s hospital window when St. Elizabeth Hospital was located on Main Street.
Starkey also likes that the program shows how much cowboys and cowgirls enjoy rodeo. “It’s a great thing, too, for our students to see people making a living doing what they love, and so passionate about it. It sparks a fire in them, too.”
Cowboys and Kids also teaches about the history of rodeo, its events and animals. It has been presented to area schools for the last decade, during the week of or the week prior to the Round-Up.
Cowboys and Kids will be presented to about 2100 students throughout the week at Antelope, Bidwell, Jackson Heights, Metteer and Sacred Heart Elementary Schools, and Lassen Elementary in Los Molinos.
The Red Bluff Round-Up takes place April 21-23 at the Tehama District Fairgrounds in Red Bluff. Tickets are available online (RedBluffRoundup.com), at the gate, or at the Round-Up office (530.527.1000). For more information, visit the website.