Crunch time is here. High school teachers are furiously preparing for state-mandated standardized testing--HSAP, EOC, etc. The list goes on and the teachers are sweating.
Lester Laminack recently shared with a group of teachers the following epiphany: "In our tenacious and arduous efforts to prepare our students for spring testing of their reading, writing, math, and science skills, let's not forget that it is our students who love to read who are most likely to be most successful on any test."
What a thought--if they are readers, then they will be prepared for whatever is thrown at them in whatever format. The tests don't seem to be going away. So if we are going to thrive in this world, what can we do for our children? There's an easy answer, believe it or not. But its not a program and you won't necessarily see results within the month so its a hard sell. Books cost money and SSR takes time and a little bit of effort. But if we make kids readers, then they will be prepared for college, for the workplace, for the world. We will create citizens that can actually contribute to our society.
Check the prison statistics. They are illiterate. They are high school drop outs. They are not contributing members of our society. They are the repeat offenders. Teaching kids to read and to love reading will not only prepare them for tests and college, but it will prepare them for the world. The results will be cyclical--they will only pass on a love for reading.
Imagine that--a world with a passion for the written word. What a world that would be.
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