Inspirational Quote

The thing that inspires and excites me about my advocacy plan and being an advocate is the fact that I feel like I am making a difference in the lives of students and families in literacy and language development. If I can only hope for a chance to see that children are taking an interest in books, magazines, environmental print or just using or opportunity to know that literacy and language is used at home during daily activities is a plus. When I know that parents are including reading in their daily activities with children and taking walks, talking about things in the environment, this is good. I see children in the classroom looking at their favorite books. They talk about the pictures and some begin to dictate the story to their classmates. Familarity of books is the key in getting children interested in books and reading. My advocacy plan is having classes for parents in how to read to their children at home and ways to use inferences to ask questions. These classes or workshops can be made accessible to parents so they can participate in literacy activities with their children that are learning experiences and fun for the family.

The challenge that I see is parents making a commitment to give up 10 – 15 minutes for reading activities. I know that many parents have very busy schedules, and are tired when they get home. After working all day, most parents come home prepare dinner, clean and check homework. As a parent myself, I know that it can be a little overwhelming to spend that extra time, but that 10 minutes will make a difference.

"It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed." Quote by Napoleon Hill

I think what will be most effective in helping me to overcome challenging emotions that I may be feeling in regard to presenting and implementing my Advocacy Action Plan is constantly reminding my parents that everyday of reading makes a difference. I know that I will have to stay committed and be prepared to offer suggestions if needed. They need to find 10 -15 minutes in their schedule to spend quality time reading to their child at home. Introducing picture books and easy readers are good beginning for children and parents can read the same book repeatedly. Children become familiar with the story and they begin to read the books to the parents. I would ask a group of parents to try reading for a two week period. Pick a time and read for 10 minutes every other day for the first week. The second week, the parents should read for 10 minutes everyday. After the second week, parents can give me their feedback on improvements.