Reading at New World Island Academy gets a boost

SUMMERFORD - "Reading is to the mind, what exercise is to the body" - a statement attributed to Joseph Addison, an English essayist and poet who died in 1719.

Instilling a love of reading has always been recognized as a primary focus of a good education. And if the love of reading is not present, then the importance of being able to read is still equally as important even if so doing is not enjoyable. In fact, the emphasis on reading is today just as strong as it was back in the days of Addison who obviously believed reading to be a necessity in developing the intellect.

The administration and staff at New World Island Academy were working on that premise on Feb. 13 when they instituted a special reading project. They invited volunteers from the community (including The Pilot correspondent) to come to the school and for a brief period during an hour set aside for the project read to the primary and elementary grades. In addition to reading, each volunteer was encouraged to tell the students why reading was important to his or her life so as to underscore its importance - and answer any questions the children might have.

A total of some 30 volunteers were contacted and were given the option of supplying their own reading material or choosing from a list of books supplied. Then teams of three volunteers were introduced to the students of a class who were divided into three smaller groups. At the end of 15 minutes, the groups switched until all students had been exposed to three separate books. And, as usual, the students loved to have someone read to them.

Following the exercise, the volunteers were treated to a brief social get-together at the library where individual experiences were shared.