Robin
Burkhardt looks through a stack of books as she prepares for Right to Read Week
at Sherman Elementary School. Robin Burkhardt’s passion is getting kids hooked on reading, a goal that is increasingly challenged by cell phones and video games.
“Reading is so important. It is something that will serve these students for their entire lives,” said Burkhardt, the library media paraprofessional at Sherman Elementary School.
While reading is a daily pursuit in the colorful and inviting Sherman library, children in kindergarten through third grade will be involved in special activities during Right to Read Week Feb. 25-March 1. The theme again this year will center around the legendary children’s author Dr. Seuss.
Burkhardt
has planned the week in detail, just as she has done in previous years. She
credits third-grade teacher Jordan Monica with providing major help.
“We will have special events each day and contests, such as finding the most sentences with the same word. On Friday we will have guests read to our students,” said Burkhardt, who has worked in Mansfield City Schools for 29 years.
“Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, I want each student to find a book they like and get as much out of it that they can. That’s my daily goal. Even when they are on the computers, I have them read and stay away from games.
“So many children, even very young ones, spend a lot of time on cell phones, talking to their friends or playing games. I’m afraid that it is taking away a lot of time when they should be reading.”
Beyond reading, Burkhardt hopes to stage more student plays in the library, such as each third-grade class’s rendition of the Aesop Fable “The City Mouse and The Country Mouse,” a couple of years ago.
“It’s something we would like to do, but the teachers here have so much on their plates. And it doesn’t help when the weather causes so many missed days,” she said.
For now,
Burkhardt is focused on making Right to Read Week something special, a fun time
for students in all grades. And her hope, as always, is that it will help to foster
a joy of reading that will last a lifetime.
Dr. Seuss would be proud.