AUGUSTA — Jared Mills conceded that he struggled to read when he was a young student. But with extra time, effort and help from teachers, he was able to master reading, and it’s now a crucial aspect of his job as the city’s deputy police chief.
“I learned how to read. It was hard at first, but I worked through it and was able to become a very good reader,” Mills said. “I read every day. It’s a very important part of our job.”
Mills joined other city officials and about a dozen business owners who told students Tuesday at Hussey Elementary School that reading can take you anywhere from a rewarding career to just about anyplace else you can imagine. The talk kicked off the Augusta elementary school’s first read-a-thon, which consisted of reading to students and talking about how important it is to be able to read well.
Lisa Beede, a sixth-grade teacher at Hussey and the event’s primary organizer, said the activities were meant to engage students in reading, including a “dress as your favorite character” day.
“Reading is important, but don’t just read for (school) assignments; read to enjoy yourself,” said Jon James, a recently retired radio show host from 92 Moose. “By reading, you can learn how to cook at a restaurant, or fight a fire, or how to arrest someone. You can learn so much by reading books. Reading can take you anywhere you want to go, anyplace you can imagine.”
James encouraged students to ask parents and teachers for help if they struggle with reading.
Some students, too, talked about having a love of reading.
“Every time I read a chapter, I feel like the smartest person in the world,” first-grader Colin McDowell said of his experiences reading.
Echoing Mills, At-Large City Councilor Marci Alexander urged students to learn how to read well even if learning to do so, for some, can be a struggle.
Alexander, an attorney and wife of Hussey Principal Troy Alexander, said her husband attended Hussey Elementary as a student himself, and he also had a difficult time learning to read there. He not only learned to read, he did so well he became principal, and now he helps children learn to read at the school he attended.
The adult volunteer readers, after a schoolwide assembly, went into classrooms to read to students.
Alexander brought her own book to read to students, “Olivia Saves the Circus,” a favorite of her daughter.
John Lajoie, an owner and vice president of Augusta-based Lajoie Brothers Construction, read “Bear Wants More,” a story about a bear that, following a winter of hibernation, eats, and eats, and eats some more, to teacher Arielle Roy’s first-grade class.
Lajoie said he builds things for a living, something he wouldn’t be able to do if he were not able to read plans and documents.
“If you can’t read, you can’t build things,” first-grader Talya LaChance said, summarizing Lajoie’s description of the importance of reading to his career.
Lajoie urged students to read regularly. “Turn off the TV at least for a half-hour every day and read,” he said.
First-grader Kelsie Huard said she reads every night before she goes to sleep.
Mark O’Brien, an attorney and former city councilor and chairman of the school board, brought some books with him, from home, including the rhyming “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.” He read to kindergarten students in the classroom where his daughter, Brittany O’Brien, is the classroom teacher, as they sat on a classroom carpet and listened attentively.
He then left the classroom to head to work, where, he told students, he would need to read things all day.
“Then, when I get home, I read for pleasure,” O’Brien told the class of young students. “You’ll all find things you like to read about.”
Keith Edwards — 621-5647
Twitter: @kedwardskj
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