Vol. 17, No. 12, September 20, 2004

IN THIS ISSUE:

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The Friday Program: Salome Thomas-El, Champion for America’s Future

Foundation Report

Hopelink Volunteers

Ethiopia Water Project

Reclassification Talk: Tom Helbling

Friday Potpourri

Raffle Season

Rotary Global History Fellowship

Web Fun

The Friday Program:

Salome Thomas-El, Champion for
America’s Future

One of the hallmarks of the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club is to feature informative programs. Among the many that have had a BBRC audience, there is a list of truly outstanding programs in each Rotarian’s mind. Such may be the case of Friday’s program with the speaker Salome Thomas-El.

Combining humor with reality, this award-winning principal from a Philadelphia elementary school, brought a fascinating story of how chess changed the lives of school children in his community while providing the foundation for a nationwide movement. For, you see, Thomas-El reasoned that the game of chess was the key to bring out the best of his kids. And, his hunch proved right.

Joining the BBRC’s Rourke O’Brien who arranged for his visit, Salome explained that he grew up in Philadelphia, one of eight children of a single mother. “Our mother helped me get motivated to do more and break out of the chains that hold so many people down in the inner city. I was able to go to college, where my graduation held the promise of a better job.”

Salome tells how his diploma still had not produced work, until he told an acquaintance, “They promised I’d get a job if I got an education. So, where’s the job?”

From a meager beginning as an intern at a Philadelphia TV cable station which broadcast the 76’ers NBA ballgames, he played the internship into a paid job. He was the production assistant for a weekly interview program with well-known NBA stars.

“The big problem is getting young people to see that having an education will truly pay off. When I went off to college, my friends would say, why go to Penn State when you can go to the State Pen? It was a confusing message. So, I was trying to prove that my education would get me somewhere. All the pro players I worked with understand the value of education. Unfortunately, the kids don’t get to see this part of an athlete.”

Salome talks about his visits back to his old school. “I chatted with a lot of the kids and some of them said, ‘Why aren’t you a teacher?’ I thought a lot about that and decided that if I could be successful teaching, I could influence a great number of people.”

He decided to turn down the offer for a better TV job, resigned and enrolled in graduate school. “There, I got my teacher’s certificate and returned to my old school. After a few weeks trying to get up to speed, the kids all told me I’d made a mistake quitting my TV job!”

But, he finally got teaching down and found out that these kids were really smart. Because of the problems of the inner city however, we were losing too many kids in the class to senseless murders. “I decided they needed something more than I could teach them, so we embarked on this program of learning chess.” Between 1987 and 1997, Salome built up the confidence of the kids, learning that they had an “innate ability to solve problems. Chess was natural for these kids. These were middle-school 7th and 8th graders when we had a chance to compete outside the school.”

“We registered for the largest team-versus-team event ever held in the world in New Jersey. We went on to win our division and one of our students, Demetrius, a novice player defeated an expert chess player. These kids won seven consecutive championships and even beat the best of the Russians.”

Along the way, notoriety of the chess program grew, and one day, Arnold Schwarzenegger came to the class and was matched with Denise ... the only girl on the team. “She terminated the Terminator! She was ready, it was her time. Chess sharpens and focuses kids' skills and abilities. Arnold could see this and before he left, wrote a check for $20,000 to support the program. We get no money from the school district. We’ve been supported by all kinds of groups all over the world, particularly Rotary.”

So, the end result is these kids begin having influence. Salome has been able to take them on field trips where they’ve learned things like Pennsylvania being the first state to abolish slavery. That we are more alike than we are different.

Salome is the author of a book “I Choose to Stay,” his story of his life and his determination to continue to work with inner city school kids. When asked about teaching chess to the kids, Salome responded that “we don’t have chessmasters. If you want to learn, you’ve got to learn to read. There are volumes written about chess. Every parent is a teacherÉ.love is a form of discipline. I’m lucky enough to get kids who have captured the vision. Chess teaches people to think critically. They record their moves in algebraic forms. What chess teaches is things about consequences, and sacrifices.”

As he said in closing, “Our kids will never go to prison with what they’ve learned. We want our kids to go to Yale, not jail.”

Next in Salome Thomas-El’s life is another book and perhaps a Disney movie about his life. He continues to be a principal in elementary school. He’s on sabbatical now, getting his PhD. He’s a husband and a father, “my most important job.”

He left his audience with this thought: Because you fail, doesn’t make you a failure. And, vision without a plan is a hallucination.

Our thanks to Rourke O’Brien for his vision in inviting Salome to the BBRC. Rourke will have more news about the events of the past weekend where his Chess In Schools program held a fundraiser, with Salome as a featured guest.

For his fine program, which was acknowledged by a standing ovation, Thomas-El received a certificate for a donation of 1100 pounds of fresh produce from Rotary First Harvest to food banks in Washington.

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