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Sex therapist champions education of at-risk children
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Contact:
Carol Slater, 604.718.5817, carolgslater@hotmail.com
Carol Thorbes, Media & PR 604.291.3035, cthorbes@sfu.ca
Carol Slater, 604.718.5817, carolgslater@hotmail.com
Carol Thorbes, Media & PR 604.291.3035, cthorbes@sfu.ca
May 13, 2004
Ruth Westheimer may be best known for her advice about sexual relationships, but the famous psychosexual therapist is equally passionate about helping at-risk children get a solid footing on the ladder of education. Westheimer, a former kindergarten teacher and a founding board member of the Home Instruction for Parents and Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program in the United States, will be at HIPPY Britannia’s site, Vancouver, Wednesday, May 19.
Westheimer will join SFU President Michael Stevenson in discussing the benefits of the HIPPY program with its participants and the media, 9:00-10:30 am, at Britannia Community Centre, 1655 Williams Street Vancouver. Westheimer is a long time supporter of the notion that the parent is the child’s first and best educator. The doctoral graduate in education helped HIPPY USA grow into a program that supports 167 sites, working with 16,021 children.
Stevenson, who has taught at universities in the U.S., Canada and Nigeria, is keenly aware of the link between education and improved quality of life. He is an advocate of HIPPY as a program that maximizes the educational potential of at-risk children.
Ingrid Gomez, a two-year participant in HIPPY Britannia, and Jennifer Point, a one-year participant in the HIPPY aboriginal consortium, will give personal accounts of how HIPPY has benefited them and their families. Gomez, originally from Columbia, has a son, who is doing well in kindergarten. Point has a five-year-old daughter in the HIPPY program, and is trained to teach the children of the program’s other parents.
HIPPY is an international, early-intervention education program, developed in Israel in 1969. It trains the parents of at-risk children to play a key role in preparing their children for kindergarten; it also trains parents to become home visitors who coach other parents in teaching their children. HIPPY Britannia became Canada’s first launch of the international program five years ago. Research shows the program is highly successful, despite a severe lack of funding. It continues to benefit the lives of hundreds of parents and children, locally.
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Westheimer will join SFU President Michael Stevenson in discussing the benefits of the HIPPY program with its participants and the media, 9:00-10:30 am, at Britannia Community Centre, 1655 Williams Street Vancouver. Westheimer is a long time supporter of the notion that the parent is the child’s first and best educator. The doctoral graduate in education helped HIPPY USA grow into a program that supports 167 sites, working with 16,021 children.
Stevenson, who has taught at universities in the U.S., Canada and Nigeria, is keenly aware of the link between education and improved quality of life. He is an advocate of HIPPY as a program that maximizes the educational potential of at-risk children.
Ingrid Gomez, a two-year participant in HIPPY Britannia, and Jennifer Point, a one-year participant in the HIPPY aboriginal consortium, will give personal accounts of how HIPPY has benefited them and their families. Gomez, originally from Columbia, has a son, who is doing well in kindergarten. Point has a five-year-old daughter in the HIPPY program, and is trained to teach the children of the program’s other parents.
HIPPY is an international, early-intervention education program, developed in Israel in 1969. It trains the parents of at-risk children to play a key role in preparing their children for kindergarten; it also trains parents to become home visitors who coach other parents in teaching their children. HIPPY Britannia became Canada’s first launch of the international program five years ago. Research shows the program is highly successful, despite a severe lack of funding. It continues to benefit the lives of hundreds of parents and children, locally.
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