In The News

January 30, 2003

Reading Group helps children enjoy learning

By Kara Swarbrick
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

There comes a time in every individual's life when they realize that they cannot continue forever. Every parent knows that the time will come when they must pass on their responsibility. The scary thought is that there will not be someone to pass it to.

Child and adult illiteracy is a reality today.

"Evidence indicates that the problem begins not in the schools but at home," says the Crossroads site (http://indian-river.fl.us/living/services/als/facts.html). "A study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education in 1985, found that preschool children whose parents read to them are much better prepared to start school and perform significantly better in school than those who have not been exposed to reading."

The opposite is also true. If parents do not read to their child, or the parents are illiterate, themselves, their child is more likely to follow in their path.

"A National Governors' Association Task Force on Adult Literacy reported in a 1987 publication, 'Making America Work,' that illiteracy is an inter-generational problem, following a parent-child pattern," says the Crossroads site. "Poor school achievement and dropping out before completing school are commonplace among children of illiterate parents."

Illiteracy is a problem locally as well as nationally. The Northfield/Roxbury area has a program called Success by Six, run by Carol Noyes and Maryellen Simmons. The program is designed to help parents help their children.

Success by Six was started around 1996 after Carnegie Institute came out with a study that "showed how important early childhood is and how working with kids from birth to six years old is a formative period when there is a lot of brain development," according to Noyes, the co-leader for Northfield/Roxbury Success by Six.

Illiteracy is sometimes called a disease, where the cure is available, just not distributed.

"The disease is functional illiteracy, and, according to the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), it has overtaken one-third of America's children by the fourth grade," says the Empower America website (http://www.empoweramerica.org/stories/storyReader$224). "Teaching children to read involves far more than just a proven method, and it depends largely on the efforts of the parents, who must introduce their children to great stories, inculcating a love for books."

Love of reading is not what keeps the program running, though. The program is funded from federal organizations like the Vermont Department of Education and the Agency of Human Services, says the State of Vermont's website (http://www.state.vt.us/educ/new/html/pgm_earlyed.html).

"Most of that money gets eaten up, and there are so many more things that we want to do in our community, so we end up needing a lot of volunteer help," said Noyes.

This is where people like Rochelle Cortes and Elysha Nelson step in.

Both Cortes and Nelson are Norwich University seniors who volunteered at the program's Family Fun Day last year. This part of the Success by Six program has been going on for about five years.

"I wanted to help out the program and find out what it was really about," said Cortes, 22, a criminal justice major from San Antonio, Texas.

"I heard about the program through my friend Anne Lambert, who is getting her teaching degree, and thought it would be fun to help out," said Nelson, 20, a communications major from Lunenburg, Vt.

Family Fun Day encourages parents and children to play together, while at the same time both are learning.

"It's very important, not only for the kids, but the parents," said Cortes. "They get to interact and maybe see how their children learn and play with other kids."

"It really is important that the kids learn that reading isn't a chore; it should be fun," said Nelson. "The Success by Six program helps to emphasize that."

"Children who read for fun every day score 10% higher on the NAEP tests than students who never or hardly ever read," says the Empower America site.

Family Fun day is open to all families with children ages birth to six and provides several activities, including, story time, face painting, Play Doe, Silly Putty, a sand table, a rice table and a table with a homemade, natural gooey substance that keeps kids as well as parents busy. And of course, every child receives a free book upon arrival.

"The most fun was being able to watch all of the children doing the different activities," said Nelson. "I was stationed right in front of the rice table, so that was amusing, seeing how excited the kids would get when they were told they were allowed to make a mess."

Back to Guidon index

Committee begins search for new commandant

Racial harassment persists on campus

New NU attendance policy poses problems for athletes

Men's basketball team enriches community's youth

Internet service upgrade doubles bandwidth on Norwich campus

Criminal justice group provides educational trip for NU students

Men's hockey team hits midway season unblemished

NU baseball team gears up for another season

Young NU wrestling team strives for excellence

NU women's basketball improves as season progresses

NU hosts Vermont College Alcohol Network seminar

Reading Group helps children enjoy learning

Youth Center offers place to do homework, enjoy entertainment