Robot Coaches Children in Taking Care

As if by some miracle, the 175 elementary and kindergarten students gathered for Monday’s assembly were almost perfectly behaved.

There was no pinching or giggling, and curiously, there was barely a whisper from any of the children in the auditorium.

The kids were breathless with anticipation of the arrival of Caring Coach, the much-ballyhooed traveling robot who was coming to visit them at Canoga Park Elementary School.

They let out a hearty cheer when Caring Coach wheeled into the hall, bringing his own strobe-light show and music--an upbeat, blaring rendition of “La Bamba.”

“You guys are looking great,” Caring Coach greeted the cheering kids as he launched into a routine designed to teach them how to take better care of themselves.

Among other things, he advised them to stay away from drugs and cigarettes and to not be afraid to express their emotions.

“Everybody gets angry sometimes,” the robot said. “It’s OK to have all kinds of feelings.”

The robot is sponsored by the California School Nurses Organization, the CaliforniaKids Healthcare Foundation and Blue Cross of California. The foundation provides premium-free health care services to children ages 2 to 18 whose working parents can’t afford private health insurance but make too much money to qualify for state assistance programs.

The students and teachers get classroom material as part of the Caring Coach program, which can be integrated into school courses, said Cathy Woolfolk, a spokeswoman for CaliforniaKids. Teachers also get curriculum guides that help them weave the Caring Coach’s teachings into course work.

The robot’s appearance at the Canoga Park school is an experiment that district officials hope will be expanded to the entire school system, said Virginia Hayes, director of nursing services for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

“It’s a learning tool that is very stimulating to children,” she said. “This is a visual aid, something they can relate to. They know about robots.”

Many of the children said they learned something from Caring Coach’s visit.

“We have to take good care of the planet, and ourselves and our bodies,” third-grader Gloria Romero said.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Laura Chick, who attended the assembly, said the program might also fight crime.

“Look at the potential of the children in this room,” she said. “You have to put more police on the streets right now, but if we put more money into these kinds of things, we wouldn’t need as many police later on.”