I remember three big things about first grade:
The great sympathy I garnered when showing up with a cast and a banged-up face after falling off my bike
Mrs. Dornacker screaming and jumping onto a student’s desk when a mouse ran across the floor
The parent-teacher conference
I sat next to my mother (a purse on her lap) as Mrs. Dornacker smiled and first complimented me on my coloring skills (I had worked super hard on coloring Abraham Lincoln’s suit with a black crayon even though I was so sad he couldn’t wear a more colorful ensemble).
My teacher then said I was one of the best readers in the class! This was followed by telling me that at the beginning of the year I was behind, and one of the slowest-to-read-readers. I remember my mother and I both startled in surprise.
Apparently, I caught the reading bug and I caught on fast. Because once I discovered I could actually read books (thank you, Beverly Clearly), I never looked back. After Gym, Reading was always my most favorite subject (yes, I truly loved gym class).
This learning style has played out many many times. When something feels hard, I can actually feel my brain resisting. It feels slow to process and remember (esp anything of the math variety), but with enough practice and interest, suddenly, it can do the thing - and well (enough).
This may sound completely duh, but I’m still having to remind myself of this when something feels hard to learn (like ANY instructional manual).
Learning to read is HARD. Teaching someone to read is hard. Because of the great emphasis of reading, I find first grade to be absolutely magical (hats off to our schools, parents, and teachers who do this hard labor on the daily!)
Isn’t it remarkable that the brain can take shapes and turn them into letters and words and sentences and full paragraphs and stories that we all understand? I’m getting more passionate by the minute.
Tomorrow, February 7th, 2024 is WORLD READ ALOUD DAY. It was founded in 2010 by the nonprofit organization LitWorld to “position literacy as a foundational human right.”
I will be reading portions of my books out loud via zoom to seven different schools in Texas, New York, Georgia, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. I am excited to see these kids! They are always so thrilled to see your face pop up on the screen and read to them, recommend books, and answer questions. Then I get to tell them that THEY, TOO, can read and write their own stories. It is such a delight.
"The future starts with the alphabet."
— Irina Bokova, former UNESCO Director-General
Literacy is one of the best tools to break the cycles of poverty all over the world. 1 For instance:
Literacy improves health (we are far more likely to seek medical help, vaccinate, and understand misinformation when we can read).
Literacy promotes “lifelong learning” and builds skills
Literacy improves the economy and creates jobs “If all students in low-income countries had basic reading skills, 171 million people could escape extreme poverty.” On the other hand, illiteracy costs the global economy $1.5 trillion annually.
Literacy promotes gender equality “Women are the most powerful agents of change in their communities, and that power is even greater when they can read. For every 10% increase of female students in a country, the gross domestic product increases by an average of 3%.”
Literacy promotes democracy and peace (people participate and are less marginalized in their communities).
Literacy builds self-esteem and overall quality of life
"A word after a word after a word is power." – Margaret Atwood
I hope on this year’s marvelous World Read Aloud Day, you will celebrate the good fortune we have TO READ and learn; it’s a gift we should marvel more about.
So today, I am truly marveling. I am typing words because I can read - and you are reading these words because someone taught you to read, too.
Tell me - will you be reading out loud? Or quietly to yourself? Either way, all good (and tell me what books!)
Amy ❤️
p.s. I remember one more thing about first grade: the day a man from the zoo came in with a giant boa constrictor hanging around his neck. We all had to touch the snake. I did not want to, but I felt GREAT PRESSURE to do as I was told. I’ve never poked something so lightly and quickly in my life. So that’s four things :)
Good News and Behind the Scenes:
Kidscreen: This week in San Diego!
Your Letters: make my days. This one was written in purple marker and so sweet (and also a little sad…kids carry heavy loads)…
Eating: Avocado toast (avocado, tomato, scallions, salt & pepper) on Trader Joe’s sourdough for big energy
Reading: What Happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski a middle grade mystery
Saving Jimmy:
has a new book out and it looks fabulous!Drawing: I painted this week and it was a reminder of how much I LOVE IT…so calming
https://concernusa.org/news/benefits-of-literacy-against-poverty/#:~:text=Literacy%20improves%20the%20economy%20and,people%20could%20escape%20extreme%20poverty.
I share your enthusiasm both for reading and avocado toast - except no scallions for me but yes to tomatoes, salt and pepper, and the occasional egg. And fresh grated Parmesan. Also, I spent World Read Aloud Day reading Knuffle Bunny, The Duckling Gets a Cookie, and Mr. Poppers Penguins to elementary school students. It was magical!
Forgive me for being the Scrooge of the Soiree - my memories of Junior High School (now called Middle School) are not universally rosy; and forgive again since my examples are not alphabet-specific. Anyway:
Mr. Hicks, Social Studies teacher - His favorite punishment meted out for misbehavior: To write 20 times (by longhand) the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States. One has to wonder how many budding historians emerged from his enlightened tutelage.
Miss Major, my sixth grade homeroom teacher - Her favorite corrective, for some reason inflicted almost exclusively upon boys, was to have the scarlet-faced youth stand at the front of the room and sing a solo, in the key of Humiliation major.
That being said, since I love history and sing in A Capella groups, perhaps they were on to something ... NOT!