February, 2000 - Vol. XXIX No. 1
Jubilee: Hope in New Beginnings

"The Learning Perch at St. Martin's"
by The Rev. Deacon Helen Richard

    Reading to and with small children has been replaced, in most homes, with television, video games, and computers. The pleasure of close contact with an adult and an exciting tale is being not something most children have the opportunity to experience. The joy of hearing a book well read and being able to imagine the characters and the outcomes is unknown to many, if not most, children in today’s world.

    Believing that the current glut of "poor readers" in schools has more to do with this lack of adult modeling than almost any other factor has given rise to The Learning Perch, an after-school, one-on-one reading tutor program at St. Martin’s, Lebanon. Here, for one hour each Tuesday and Thursday, first and second graders interact with older adults and high school students in the pure pleasure of reading together. It is hard to say who reaps the most benefits.

Helen Richard is Deacon of the parish at St. Martin, Lebanon. Contact her at hrichard@proaxis.com      

© 2001, Diocese of Oregon
updated 05/03/2003 16:09
contact: kylew@diocese-oregon.org