Tiger Black Belt Center isn’t just a normal taekwondo center.
Situated on 2730 S. Western Ave, Tiger Black Belt Center is silently doing its part to improve education at Jefferson Park.
"This is not just an after school program but more of a way of life,” David Brown, one of the instructors said. “We try to get you prepared to keep a level head, have self control and have respect for elder people and people who are trying to teach you. This helps a child in everyday life. They come here, we have them behave a certain type of way so they understand that they can't just go crazy and do anything they want. We try to instill that here, so they can take it back to school where they learn more things like Math and English.”
Jefferson Park is not doing well in its education sector compared to the rest of Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles Times, only 11.8% of residents 25 or older have a four-year degree and the percentage of residents 25 and older with less than a high school diploma is high for the county. Onboard Informatics reflects that in 2014, 6116 residents in the neighborhood do not have a high school diploma.
“Our drop out rate is ridiculously high,” Matthew Swinton, a teacher at Crown Preparatory Academy said. “Our API (Academic Performance Index) scores, when we were doing it before we switched to the Common Core, were very low. It’s depressing.”
Swinton thinks that the problem does not lie within the lack of tutorial programs and after school help that are available to students.
“There are quite a few tutorial programs like Youth Policy Institute but I would say that it is a hit-or-miss,” Swinton said. “The kids like the fun stuff. If they offer a DJ class or something, kids will go for it.”
This is where centers like Tiger Black Belt Center come in.
“We’ve been in this neighborhood for at least ten years,” said Brown. “Even though we’re operating a taekwondo center, which has nothing to do with the usual stuff kids learn in school, we think it is our responsibility to make sure our students are well-balanced.”
Brown and other instructors in the center requires their students to bring their report cards or certificates to their taekwondo classes. Students who are not doing well in school gets conferenced.
“If their grades are bad, we get upset because that means we weren't doing what we were suppose to be doing,” Brown said. “But we don't crush down on the kid because then they will stop wanting to come here. We try to make them understand the importance of being well-balanced.”
Parents think this method works well on their kids.
“My kids are always looking forward to taekwondo classes,” Gillian Bayer, a parent said. “There was once my son didn’t do well for his math quiz and he felt bad because his instructor will not be happy. So he tried harder for the next quiz.”
Brown believes that the core values of taekwondo lie within self control and respect, both of which are important and can translate to everyday life.
“If they're not paying attention in school, that means they're having too much fun here,” Brown said. “If they're having too much fun here, then we have to get back to the basics of self control and respect. If we're asking them to do something, their teachers in school should be able to too.”
The center holds three classes daily Monday through Friday: 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., and 6 p.m. to 7p.m. Parents who are interested in enrolling their kids into the center can call them at (323) 733-7773.
