September Message from the Tony Sheard, District Governor.
September is Basic Education and Literacy Month so what does literacy mean to mean to me….?
Did you know that 4 in ten Ontarians age 15 and over, do not have the literacy skills they need to meet the demands of modern life as per “Community Literacy Ontario”. There is concern in Michigan where according to M-STEP data nearly 50% of third-graders are considered only partially proficient or not proficient readers.
I have a wide ranging view of what literacy means….to me it encompasses what we knew in the UK as the 3 R’s…..Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic or maths or should I say math to you.
So, you can see spelling is still not my strong suit and that is the beginning of the story.
When I was in Primary School well over 60 years ago I struggled to read….not sure why?…words like “late developer” were banded about but who knows….and I certainly don’t.
To help me overcome my slowness in reading I had to attend remedial reading lessons. I was taken from my normal class for half an hour a day. I had to sit in the corridor near the Headmistresses office and had to wait until the Special Needs Teacher was available. I had to read out aloud passages from various books…..The “Janet and John” series and “Old Lob” Books are two I can recall.
Probably with this extra help I struggled less than many in my position. I was one of the fortunate ones but I only caught up with my peers in my early teenage years. But imagine what you feel like being singled out for special help. It certainly has downsides as you suffer the stigma of being different and you miss out other subjects and other activities while you play catch up.
From my personal experience I believe that reading, writing and numeracy are fundamental building blocks in a child’s early education. The foundation you might say. Without attaining and mastering those skills at an early age, a child is likely to be destined to a life of catch up and some will regrettably fall by the wayside.
Research shows that adults who have inadequate literacy skills are more likely to have worse health outcomes, decreased earnings potential, lower levels of civic participation and fewer life opportunities.
Not being able to read and interpret makes it difficult to learn other subjects like the sciences, the arts or develop and understanding of life skills. You could say “You Learn to Read but You Read to Learn”.
Ted Linbenberg a Rotarian from Lakewood Ranch Rotary Club in Florida who is one of the founders of the Rotary Books for Kids program said “Children who read become adults who think”. I am delighted to say that Ted has been invited to be guest speaker at the Vision 2020 District Conference.
From my personal experience I believe our literacy thrust in Rotary should focus on key 2 areas:
Firstly: supporting early years, reading, writing and numeracy projects
Secondly: to support programs to help those who were unable to master the basic skills at an early age
August 21st marked a major milestone in our campaign to end polio, when Nigeria went 3 years without a reported case of the wild polio virus. I hope you are all planning events for World Polio Day on October 24th when we may celebrate this achievement and look to the future when we rid Pakistan and Afghanistan of this terrible debilitating disease as we
fulfil our pledge to the children of the world.
Sylvia and I are currently taking a short break from our visit schedule as we await the arrival of our second grandson.
I trust you all are finding opportunities to take some exciting People of Action Photographs with the Vision 2020 Sunglasses and Sylvia and I look forward to resuming the club visit schedule in early September.
If you have a story to tell, pictures to show off, or an event to publicize, please send it to the editor and we will publish it and/or make sure it gets on the District 6330 website.
To have your event listed, send links to published details for your upcoming events to the Editor. Your feedback, suggestions, and submissions are welcomed.
I’m pleased to share the important news that as of today, 21 August 2019, it has been three years since a child in Nigeria was paralyzed by the wild poliovirus. This means that the entire World Health Organization (WHO) African region could be certified as wild poliovirus-free as soon as mid-2020.
It is important that every Rotary club has the tools and tactics needed to fulfill our goal of eradicating polio worldwide. I am pleased to share with you two new videos that have been developed to help ensure that your club is in-the-know about the global fight to eradicate polio and Rotary’s decades-long role in that effort.
It is with great sadness that the members of the St Thomas Railway City Rotary Club share with you the passing of Ken Wilmott on August 26th, 2019. Ken enjoyed 66 years of marriage to his wife Hazel and he enjoyed being a father, grandfather and great grandfather.
Did you know that Amazon will donate a portion of everything you buy from Amazon to a USA Charity of your choice? I'm not suggesting that you buy from Amazon, just that if you already do, why not have a portion of what you buy go to the Rotary Foundation at no additional cost to you! It's that simple! The "Choosing the Rotary Foundation as Your Charity on AmazonSmile" document was put together for us by our District Public Relations/Public Image Chair Kirk Langford of the London Rotary Club.
"Every month, girls living in poverty in Northern Ghana miss a week of school due to lack of feminine hygiene products during their period. Help us change that and “Give a week” of school back to these girls by attending Ma Week: My Education Matters. Period. This will be the Rotaract Club of Sarnia-Lambton’s first international effort in partnership with the Rotary Club of Tamale.
Join us October 3, at Degroot’s Nurseries in Sarnia to enjoy a delicious dinner of Ghanaian flavour infusion [Spices such as thyme, garlic, onions, ginger, peppers, curry, basil, nutmeg, sumbala, Tetrapleura tetraptera (prekese) and bay leaf are delicately used to achieve the exotic and spicy flavours that characterizes Ghanaian cuisine.] while helping to remove a barrier to girl’s education in Northern Ghana.
Cocktail hour 6-7pm, Dinner and silent auction 7-9pm
Discover the true spirit of aloha and Rotary with your family, friends, and fellow Rotarians in Honolulu. It’s the perfect setting for the entire family of Rotary to celebrate, collaborate, and connect while experiencing the warmth and welcome of Honolulu.
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