IRVINE : His Goal Is to Put Fun in Education

James Banks, recently appointed director of youth programs for the UC Irvine Extension, says his goal for the newly created position is a simple one--to make learning fun.

Banks, 35, will oversee all facets of the year-round educational programs that offer extra learning time for first-graders to high school seniors. He will also serve as the program’s liaison with the community, schools and groups at UC Irvine.

“Basically, we’re going to be starting up academic and vocational programs for young people during the academic year and during the summer,” Banks said.

Before joining UCI, Banks was a California Youth Authority instructor at the Southern Regional Reception Center and Clinic in Norwalk, where he taught about the dangers of AIDS and drugs. He also was lead therapist for adolescents and instructor of parenting groups for the San Bernardino County Mental Health Department and has worked at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing.

Banks’ first program with UC Irvine Extension is a summer science camp with about 130 children enrolled that is now under way.

“It’s been great,” he said. “We’re exposing kids to science, and we’re trying to make it a fun experience for them. Hopefully we can remove some stereotypes about science, which many kids think of as a hard discipline.”

Each age group in the camp has been studying a different aspect of science, including such subjects as dinosaurs, natural adaptation, the changing Earth and the principles of matter. To keep the lessons from getting bogged down in textbooks, camp participants get some hands-on learning with such activities as building a thermometer or planting seeds.

Banks said the next scheduled program will be a wintertime offering centered on the criminal justice system designed to explain how the system works, while also steering students away from drugs and gangs. UC Irvine offers more than 1,300 extension courses for people of all ages, including youth programs geared toward family participation and academic enrichment.

For information on UC Irvine Extension youth programs, call (714) 725-3051.