Written by Denise Gary
Photos © Katherine Roddy
When Kids Need to Read received a letter from Special Education Teacher Katherine Roddy explaining that her students were not provided with material appropriate for their reading levels, I was incredulous. In her letter, Katherine reported that not only was the library uninterested in purchasing books below middle school reading levels, but her students were not afforded classroom sets like the general education students. I immediately called Katherine on the telephone to discuss her dilemma. Sadly, the situation was worse than expressed in her letter.
There was much we talked about, but the most distressing subject was the fact that the children had expressed their feelings that the school does not care about them. No child should ever feel as though they are not valued by their school. Administrators, staff, and teachers should provide a wellspring of positive influences to ALL of their students. If they do not, destructive attitudes will be the result.
After talking to Katherine, I knew we had the kids for which I wanted to use the funds raised at the auction of Co-founder Nathan Fillion’s famous bean dip. If you missed the story of this quirky fundraiser for Kids Need to Read, you can read about it here. I wanted to illustrate that a humble gift can bring forth amazingly positive productivity. Katherine had included a very important statement in her letter: “The kids get VERY EXCITED about new books!” That was all we needed to build upon!
Together with Katherine, we put together class sets that were chosen specifically for these fabulous kids. We also included some graphic novels, which may just as well have been magic dust! The kids went crazy for the books! Nothing explains the impact better than Katherine’s own description of the event:
We have received the books! I let them open them in the last half hour of school yesterday. They were SO EXCITED. Even I was surprised. We made a big ceremony out of cutting the tape on the boxes. There was something of a feeding frenzy which I had to step into. I allowed each student to take one book home. [Kids Need to Read], you should have seen their eyes SHINING! I wish you could have heard them talking about the books, deciding which to read first. This is the biggest thing ever. Even the kids who tell me they don’t like to read were excited, because these are books they actually can read.
Katherine went on to explain that the girls had gone crazy for the Babymouse Series. She related that the biggest Babymouse fan was Amanda, who had told her one hundred times this year that she does not like reading because it is so boring. The girls wound up forming a Babymouse reading group, with Amanda acting as the “Distribution Officer” and leading Babymouse art projects. The book series had not only stirred reading interest, but brought forth leadership instincts in a formerly apathetic young lady.
The boys were drawn to the Bone Series – happy to finally have “cool” books to read. Katherine told me a story about one particular boy who had harbored considerable indifference to books. The energy around the book donation was so high, he tried to sneak a Raven Mystery Series book out of the box while Katherine was not looking. Soon he was saying he liked those books and was going to read the rest! All of these successes perfectly illustrate why Kids Need to Read believes it is so important to give full series sets in its donations, as they encourage continuous reading and create a desire for more.
In a follow-up letter from Katherine, came the words I most wanted to hear – that the children understood they were valued by Kids Need to Read:
As you can imagine, my students are used to being at the end of the line when it comes to resources or consideration. They get photocopies instead of new workbooks, and they use whatever science tools or math manipulatives their teachers can scrape up. Several of them have told me, point blank, that the school doesn’t care about them. They love your books because they can actually read them, but also because the books are proof that an official organization believes they are worthy of a set of brand new materials. They are so proud.
One of the most important factors to successful integration of children into our society is instilling in them a sense of self-respect and self-worth. Ambition, independence, and the ability to turn away from negative influences are born of these values. My hope is that Katherine Roddy’s class will carry their new-found interest in reading with them forever, along with the knowledge that they are a vital part of the world we all share.
Illustrating the incredible strength of kindness, Nathan Fillion spread the spirit of self-respect to the kids of Katherine Roddy’s class, just by taking some time to make a batch of his well-known recipe and offering it up to fans with the help of his friend, Alan Tudyk. This was a very personal gift that grew into an eye-opening interest in reading amongst a group of kids who were overlooked by their school, but not by their devoted teacher.
Katherine Roddy, you are a hero! When one caring person understands that they can be the special link to change a child’s life forever, they become more than a mere educator. This is the kind of teacher you are – an inspiration. Please do not ever stop seeking to end the indifference and discrimination that destroys the educational opportunities your students deserve.
For more on the subject of instilling respect in children, please watch Dialogues, Part 2, with Denise Gary.
You can read more Kids Need to Read donation stories here.
KNTR Library with Student Art
