Reading Program Brings Students 'Behind The Book'
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In an age of video games and digital networking sites, educators are working hard to come up with new ways of connecting students with the printed word. NY1's Lindsey Christ filed the following report.Children's book author Tony Medina was recently greeted like a rock star by second graders at Bedford-Stuyvesant's Community School 21. But Medina isn't just making a celebrity appearance. He was there to teach, and not just one but several lessons over the next few weeks, culminating in a class project related to his book. It's all put together by Behind the Book, a literacy non-profit that connects authors with public schools.
"Each student gets a copy of the book, then they read the book and study it before the author gets there. And we do between three and seven visits with each classroom, depending on the kind of project we create with the teacher," said Behind the Book Executive Director/Founder Jo Umans. "So it could be anything from a super hero project that we do with a bunch of second grade classes, a poetry project, we've done school newspapers before."
Each project is different, created to meet the needs of the class and match the talents of the author, and they're structured so authors don't just provide inspiration but work with students on real skills.
"The most challenging thing we do is to match the right author with the classroom. We want to be working with authors who reflect some kind of experiences that the kids have had," Umans said.
Teachers say all the thought and effort makes a great impact. But like many non profit organizations that work to connect the city's resources with the public schools, Behind the Book has not been immune to the economic downturn.
Foundations have cut back, and the schools, which are charged a small percentage of the program's cost, have also had budgets slashed. On Wednesday, the Department of Education announced that principals spent 11 percent less on bringing outside arts organizations into the schools this year.
Students at CS 21 say working with an author makes for a very memorable English lesson.
"It's so exciting to see an author because you get to see how they make the books and how they get the ideas," said one CS 21 student.
"When I grow up I want to be a football player and an author," said another CS 21 student.
There seems to be more demand than Behind the Book can meet, as 19 schools are currently on a waiting list for the program.