reading is good
Brad asked me to volunteer for one of his projects at the school and I said yes. He often asks me for these kinds of favors and I feel like I am always forgetting about them. Actually, I have been pretty forgetful a lot lately when it comes to my little hamlet. Chris asked me to come by and I forgot. She said it was important and I still forgot. The theater had a new play and I missed it. Rachel's wedding was in May, I missed it. Tara's was last week, I missed that too. I told Pam I would call, I haven't. Anne asked me to help her move her mom and I wasn't able to make it. I am pretty low on the social ladder right now. So I am helping Brad... by letting small children read to me for two hours every tuesday.
Yes, that's right, small children. Reading. In a school. Me. And I like it. I forgot what it was like to see a big word and be fearful of it. This whole experience has made me mindful of what a gift reading really is. From reading all things are possible and no matter what the status of your life, you can have more. Reading gives us a great deal to work with.
There are books that I recommend highly and there are writers that I think everyone should be familiar with. Included in that thinking is a hope that everyone will be able to read and be able to comprehend it. To read Atlas Shrugged, by Ann Rynd, is a task, to "get it" is even harder. For a seven year old, reading Ted's fishing trip is a huge task and it seems harder for him to comprehend that simple story than most people will find comprehending Rynd's works. Reading. What an adventure in and of itself.
Read Catch 22, Watership Down, In Our Time, Lamb, The Confederacy of Dunces, Siddartha, The Bell Jar, Atlas Shrugged, The River Why and In The Name of the Rose. See what you can take from those stories. From the writers. See if your comprehension is what it should be. In a way, reading some of those stories will take you back to a time when Ted's Fishing Trip was a huge challenge. How great it would be to have someone there to help you along and help you pronounce larger words and help you to make sense of what is being told.
My little town karma points are still low and I don't think four tuesdays of helping small children learn to read will put me back on the "in" list, but it's a start. A few more acts of kindness and perhaps I will be invited back to the Eagles club.
Yes, that's right, small children. Reading. In a school. Me. And I like it. I forgot what it was like to see a big word and be fearful of it. This whole experience has made me mindful of what a gift reading really is. From reading all things are possible and no matter what the status of your life, you can have more. Reading gives us a great deal to work with.
There are books that I recommend highly and there are writers that I think everyone should be familiar with. Included in that thinking is a hope that everyone will be able to read and be able to comprehend it. To read Atlas Shrugged, by Ann Rynd, is a task, to "get it" is even harder. For a seven year old, reading Ted's fishing trip is a huge task and it seems harder for him to comprehend that simple story than most people will find comprehending Rynd's works. Reading. What an adventure in and of itself.
Read Catch 22, Watership Down, In Our Time, Lamb, The Confederacy of Dunces, Siddartha, The Bell Jar, Atlas Shrugged, The River Why and In The Name of the Rose. See what you can take from those stories. From the writers. See if your comprehension is what it should be. In a way, reading some of those stories will take you back to a time when Ted's Fishing Trip was a huge challenge. How great it would be to have someone there to help you along and help you pronounce larger words and help you to make sense of what is being told.
My little town karma points are still low and I don't think four tuesdays of helping small children learn to read will put me back on the "in" list, but it's a start. A few more acts of kindness and perhaps I will be invited back to the Eagles club.
posted by Daniel Loomis | 9:32 PM
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