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Fairview ‘rocks and reads’ its way to world peace
By Emily Elders
Some people, when reminded of the visions and dreams they had when they were younger, sigh in regret and push the thought away.
Others take advantage of the idea and use those old ideals to make new visions.
Fairview Elementary School guidance counselor and teacher Linda Minor is one of those who decided to make a change.
Minor’s pet project, the Rockin’ Reader program at Fairview, is a simple, low-maintenance program that allows volunteers to read to students in comfortable double rockers for 15 to 20 minutes each day.
“The basic idea of Rockin’ Readers is to combine lessons in literacy and caring, and to provide our future leaders with a safe, supportive environment,” said Minor.
Volunteer April Fourman reads to second-grader Andrew Larcher on her first day as a Rockin’ Reader volunteer. Fourman, who has volunteered three hours each week to the program, will be reading to 12 students per day. The Rockin’ Reader area in Fairview’s colorful lobby features pillows, double rockers, lamps, and a selection of books and scrapbooks. For more information, or to become a volunteer, call Linda Minor at 586-2819.
Minor’s life changed when she attended a 2004 Leadership Training in Raleigh. One of the presenters asked her these three questions:
What is your vision for yourself, your family and your world?
What are you doing to make a difference in the world around you?
What are you doing to help create world peace?
“Those questions – they just take your breath!” said Minor. “When I was young and just starting out, I actually knew the answers to those questions. I realized that all the dreams I had for the world when I was younger had somehow gotten lost. Life just keeps rolling on, and we get sidetracked from those early goals of making the world a better place.”
At the training, she began thinking of what she could do to renew her passion for those ideals. One of the first things she noticed was the difference in the structure of our society in today’s technologically advanced, fast-paced world.
“Most students yearn for the security of a safe, structured environment in which they are encouraged to learn and to better themselves. If that’s not provided, and it often isn’t in our society, both social and academic performance is adversely affected,” said Minor.
Minor, a 32-year veteran of the Jackson County School system, made a commitment after the conference to find something she could do right where she was, with what she had. She wanted the emphasis to be simple, keeping the focus on what counted, she said.
The program she came up with almost seems like it ought to be more complicated than it is. Volunteers offer up anywhere from 15 minutes to a full hour each week, and after a short orientation and background check, receive their weekly schedule.
Teachers from each class select students for the program and schedule them with a volunteer. Teachers can choose material they feel the student needs to read, or volunteers can choose books from the library or from Rockin’ Readers’ growing collection of donated books.
The chairs, located in Fairview’s bright, colorful lobby, were donated by Cracker Barrel. Minor said she hopes Cracker Barrel representatives will enjoy their planned October visit enough to become the program’s official sponsor.
Volunteers for the program have increased dramatically since its inception – more than 800 in the two years the program has operated. They come from all walks of life, with one common purpose, Minor said.
“We’ve had parents, grandparents, siblings, church volunteers, retirees, professors, nurses – just every one,” she said. “We’ve also had tremendous support from the WCU track and field teams, who come back each year, and other student organizations.”
Flipping through meticulously maintained scrapbooks, Minor points out the different students and volunteers she has photographed over the years. In each photo, the children are completely absorbed – something about the rhythm of the words and the rocker is a natural relaxant, said Minor.
The children seem to feel the caring and kindness keenly.
“All the students want to be Rockin’ Readers,” said Minor. “They like the extra attention.”
The school itself has also been a wonderful support system, she said.
“Dennis Proffitt, our principal, was the first person I approached with this idea. Without his support, it would never have even gotten off the ground.”
The teachers, too, have enjoyed the program, contributing in their own way through the selection of students and reading material.
“This is a team effort,” Minor said. “Fairview is making a difference in the world, one student, one volunteer, one book at a time.”
And it is certainly a team success as well: the numbers for the first two years of the program speak for themselves, she said. During two nine-month school years, 1,246 books were read to 843 Fairview students. That comes down to about 211 hours of extra reading time for the children – a full six extra weeks of reading tacked onto the typical school year.
Minor smiles affectionately at the rockers as she closes the scrapbooks.
“I’d love to see those double rockers going all day long, every day,” Minor said.
“These kids are our future; they deserve the best we can get them. Literacy, caring, world peace – it all starts here,” she said.
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