This month marked the end of an exciting journey I began this year into the world of volunteer reading and 1st grade learning.As a volunteer for the Rolling Readers program, I began each Wednesday morning at Ocean Beach Elementary School, a community-oriented school that values education and learning through traditional and creative means. CHI allowed me the opportunity to bring my love of reading to the school each week, where I spent time on the colored floor mat of Ms. Tanner’s classroom – a lively bunch of students eager to read and quick with questions.
Rolling Readers connects volunteers to underprivileged classrooms, where we delve into classic tales (Curious George and Shel Silverstein books) and modern fantasies (John Lithgow’s I’m a Manatee).
The organization’s mission is a simple one: to inspire children to love reading. Children who love reading are more likely to become lifelong learners, so the saying goes.
I found inspiration through these staggering Rolling Readers statistics:
• In low income neighborhoods, the ratio of books to children is 1:300—which means that, on average, there is one book for every 300 children.
• By age four, children who live in poor families will have heard 32 million fewer words than children living in professional families.
Since every child deserves a book of their own, I was especially excited to participate in the annual Rolling Readers book drive. Each student in the classroom received a special edition of the popular Dr. Seuss book The Cat in the Hat (appropriately written in La Jolla).
The students erupted with joy when they saw the book. It is satisfying to know that they will be taking the book home to share, which may encourage reading among their friends and family.
Theodor Seuss Geisel, himself an advocate for elementary literacy, once said: "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
CHI-Advancing California biomedical research and innovation
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