From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Tue Jun 09 2009 - 09:55:30 EDT
Mental karate journey ends with award
Comments
June 9, 2009
By CATHERINE ANN VELASCO cvelasco@scn1.com
ROMEOVILLE -- Nino Pipitone, 13, set some hefty goals for himself in seventh
grade.
He wanted to improve his math grade from a D to a B. He got an A.
Nino Pipitone, 13, a seventh-grader at A. Vito Martinez Middle School in
Romeoville, won the mental karate Jinga award.
(Catherine Ann Velasco/Herald News)
He faced his fear of heights by going to the Grand Canyon during spring
break.
Then, he learned to control his anger.
"When bullies picked on me, I learned to just not care what they say," he
wrote. "Sometimes I would get really mad, but now I know how to calm myself
down. When bullies would sometimes say stuff to me, I would ignore them.
When something bad would happen, I'd tell myself to get over it and it's not
a big deal."
After winning an award given to only five students nationwide, Nino said
Monday that he felt he couldn't be defeated. And, that's a good thing since
that's what his Jigna award means.
Never be defeated
Jigna is a word used in Ethiopia and Eritrea that describes a legendary,
heroic warrior who can never be defeated, according to the award's creator.
Nino was one of about 120 seventh-graders who learned mental karate in a
pilot program at A. Vito Martinez Middle School in Romeoville. They set
goals and made huge changes in their lives as they earned five belts through
a class taught by guidance counselor Erin Hatch.
Hatch worked with author Mawi Asgedom to develop worksheets to be used in
schools with his book, "The Code: The 5 Secrets of Teen Success."
Asgedom, who visited the school, picked the five Jigna winners nationwide
based on essays students wrote after completing their black belt, which
represents awareness. Jignas are selected on the basis of the actions they
took to earn each belt.
Mental karate
Nino won a plaque and $200. He plans to use half of it to buy a bike and to
put the other half into his savings account.
Nino's parents, James Pipitone and Michelle Miceli, and sister, Anneliese,
attended the ceremony in which Nino received his black belt -- a black
wristband with the word "awareness" on it.
"The most important action I did during my mental karate journey was getting
an A in math," Nino wrote in his essay. "I was so excited because that was
my first A in math my whole life. I always got C's before. My family was so
proud of me. ... Mental karate has changed my life in lots of good ways."
The goal of the program was to see if mental karate made a difference in
students' grades, test scores, attendance and discipline referrals, as
compared to those of seventh-graders not taking the class.
"I love this program because it made the kids take actions to improve their
lives," Hatch said. "It held their interest, and they were fully engaged in
lessons, etc. They bought into the program without any sort of extrinsic
rewards. It was all internal.
"I especially like the journaling aspect of it in the language arts classes
because it made them think deeper about how to improve their own lives
instead of counting on others to do so."
Nino, who plans to be a chef, learned an important lesson he won't forget.
"Don't let things get in your way," Nino said. "Just keep doing what you are
doing."
For more information, visit www.mentalkarate.com .
----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----