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Meet Alex Reed

Student Success Coach

Aki Kurose Middle School

The Importance of Literacy

Reading is very important to me.  Growing up, I was practically a resident of my local library, coming back every week to deposit whatever adventure or sci-fi story I had checked out that week.  I believe that the joy that comes from reading is its own reward, but also believe that literacy is a foundation for all true power.  Humanity has produced an inexhaustible wealth of knowledge on every subject in the form of books and articles, but it can only be accessed by people who can read.  Readers can improve their understanding of math, history, science, art, and pretty much any other subject by tapping into the knowledge that has been transcribed by experts in the field.  Beyond self improvement, reading is vital for building a better world.  Accomplishing social change is no small feat, and can require communicating with dozens of individuals, reading through dense policy drafts, and crafting convincing public messaging.  To do these things effectively requires literacy, and the efforts of forces fighting for peace and love are aided by a population who reads frequently.  Words grease the wheels of progress, fuel the engines of hope.

I serve in City Year because I care about literacy.  One of the challenges of teaching reading and writing is that ����ӰԺ will be entering the classroom with a wide variance in reading ability.  In a single 8th grade classroom, there might be some ����ӰԺ who read at a 1st grade level, while others are ready for high school and college texts.  While the curriculum is designed to accommodate the wide spread of student abilities, as a City Year working in an 8th grade classroom I’m able to help where it counts.  Having one extra adult in a classroom who can help ����ӰԺ work through the complex challenge of reading comprehension can accomplish a lot.  I care about serving in my classroom because these ����ӰԺ will be our next generation of artists, politicians, scientists, and engineers, and I want them to have all of the tools they need to do those jobs well.  Our literacy journeys are never truly over because there are always new things to be learned about reading and writing.  It’s my honor to play my part in the literacy journey of my ����ӰԺ, a road which I hope is long and exciting, extending far beyond my initial influence.  Reading is very important to me, and I hope it’s important for my ����ӰԺ too.