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There is a magic window in a child's life. Up until 3rd grade, children learn to read; after 3rd grade, they read to learn. If a child misses the magical window and doesn’t learn to read to grade level by 3rd grade, statistically, they are sentenced to fall behind for the rest of their lives. Dropping out becomes expected, and the American promise of “opportunity” is all but lost.
Teach a child to read; give a child a chance.
To be a reading mentor, you only need a little compassion and the ability to read well enough to model reading to a nine-year-old child. You don’t even need to read like an Oxford professor; you only need to be able to put on a smile and read, “One fish. Two fish. Red Fish. Blue Fish.”
As a reading mentor, for one hour a week during one school year, there is a real chance you could change the life of a child. And that would be amazing! But the impact could be FAR MORE than you even imagine.
Consider:
- Do you want to help a child on the path to becoming a healthy adult? Help them read by 3rd grade.
- If you want to help overwhelmed parents who may be working multiple jobs and unable to support education outcomes, help their children read by 3rd grade.
- Do you want to bless grandparents and break the cycles of generational poverty? help their grandchildren read by 3rd grade.
- Do you want to assist an overtaxed teacher who is saddled with a large classroom and too many struggling kids? Give a little help to ease their burden.
- Do you want to help a school get the resources it needs to help all its children? Help one child meet the benchmarks that school budgets rely upon.
- Want to change a neighborhood for the next generation and thus change a nation? Help their children read by 3rd grade.
- Want to lessen the burden of public servants like social workers and law enforcement officers? Teach a child to read.
- Want to create a better country, no longer burdened by 20% of adults unable to read well enough to hold a living wage job? Teach the children to read.
- Want to lift the daily burdens of working citizens, make the streets safer, the prisons emptier, and the tax burden lighter? Give children the tools to contribute.
- Do you want to help future generations ensure their citizenry is full of reading parents who can pass along the gift of literacy you helped provide?
