Read Across America

This week on The Gateway we are focusing on two very important basic 21st century skills: reading and ‘rithmetic (Read Across America and fractals, if you want to get specific) We spend a lot of time planning, discussing, and implementing ways to improve our classrooms with technology. As important as this is, I feel sometimes we need to step back and be sure we are covering the basics as thoroughly as we can. Math and reading are essential skills, and teaching these subjects in a way that will encourage children to really enjoy them is very important.

March 2 is Read Across America Day, the annual tribute to the pleasures and importance of reading founded in 1998 by the National Education Association. Across the U.S., schools, libraries, community organizations, and other entities will celebrate the joys of reading and observe the birthday of Dr. Seuss, whose endless creativity inspired the event. You can find resources to help celebrate the day here, and additional classroom ideas here. Happy reading!

In thinking about the importance of NEA’s Read Across America Day, I am reminded of The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Theador Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss). As teachers, we all wear many hats, and sometimes we don’t realize how many hats we are wearing and the sheer scope of what we are trying to teach to our students. No matter what “hat” we are wearing or what subject we are teaching at the time, reading is the fundamental skill for our students’ success in that subject. Reading is the most basic of the 21st century skills our students need today to excel in “The School of Life” after graduation. This March, let’s allow Dr. Seuss to inspire us all to bring the kind of fun and imagination into our classrooms that he brings into his stories.

March 2, 2010 marks the 12th year of Read Across America, the innovative reading awareness program created by the National Education Association. Schools, libraries, community centers, and other organizations celebrate the day by hosting events that promote children’s reading. March 2 was chosen as the annual date as a way to honor beloved children’s author Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. At our local schools, students (and many teachers) dress up, don striped Cat in the Hat head gear, listen to visiting authors, hold readers’ theaters, and otherwise fete the sheer joy of reading.