Dear editor,
For years, I have volunteered for things to make Iola better, but it wasn’t until last year that I responded to the request from Iola Elementary School librarians to read to first-grade students for about 30 minutes before school begins each day.
The new library there is a fascinating place with more books than we have ever had in one place for young children.
As a former English teacher, I was fascinated to see all the assortments of books and other materials that broaden our young children’s worlds.
Only one thing supersedes the collection, and that’s the experience as a volunteer of reading one-on-one with these delightful first-graders.
Reading is such an enjoyable activity.
Some parents also come in to read with their children during this special time, but I think most are too busy to make it a priority. That’s where we volunteers come in.
These children welcome us with smiles and hugs. It’s the bright spot of my day, Monday through Friday. I cannot express how happy this activity makes me.
And it appears the experience is positive for many of the children as well as they express their excitement to read with us. They’re always so eager to get their test scores to see how well they’ve comprehended the material.
We’re all readers of one kind or another.
When I was young, I had always wanted to be an English teacher, but my dad said he wouldn’t pay my way through school because women weren’t treated equally to men. So I said, “If I can get into the No. 1 dental school, I’ll go there.” Well, I went and I loved my career as a dental hygienist.
But I still wanted to teach so I went back to school and got my English and drama degree.
My first teaching job was at the Juco, where I had one man who wanted to learn to read so he could read to his third-grader. Since this was a college course, I reached out to Dottie Noyce, a reading specialist, who taught him to read.
It wasn’t until I began to teach English at the middle school that I discovered several students did not know how to read. So I began to report back to the school at 6 p.m. to help these students learn how. Also, I had several students assist their peers with reading.
This is why I’m so glad to get to help the first-graders learn how to read. I’m blessed to be a part of it.
