Rusty Saber: Writing, reading give hope for future

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Wow! It was a double-whammy, a feel-good double dose. Amid all the feel-bad talk about youth, be it gangs, school shootings and other acts of youth violence, and those chronic reports of failures of American education, came two happenings that hit an old retired educator like me where he lives. Feel-good times are great.|ret||ret||tab|

First, there was the induction on April 27, of the 2000 class of writers into the Writers Hall of Fame and awards to outstanding young Ozarks writers. This feel-good experience was followed on May 1, by the celebration of Sky High on Reading, a youth literacy campaign. |ret||ret||tab|

Both events reaffirmed my faith in the much-maligned youth of America, or at least the youth of the Ozarks.|ret||ret||tab|

I wrote earlier about the Writers Hall of Fame induction and awards ceremony; I confessed at the time that I have a vested interest I'm on the board of directors. |ret||ret||tab|

But even were I a stranger who wandered in off the street, I would have been in awe of the collective talents of the young student writers honored in the ceremony at the Springfield Art Museum Auditorium.|ret||ret||tab|

Don't get me wrong, it was a thrill watching outstanding professional writers Don Goldsmith, C.W. Gusewelle and Lori Copeland inducted into the Hall of Fame, along with Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel, who was inducted posthumously.|ret||ret||tab|

But the high-voltage dose of feel-good came from the youth writing contest and scholarship winners.|ret||ret||tab|

Twenty-five Ozarks area students, grades 5 through 12, winners of the LAD writing contest, received gift certificates and had excerpts of their entries read to an appreciative packed house. Another 16 talented seniors from area high schools received $500 Writers Hall of Fame college scholarships. Samples of their writings also were read. |ret||ret||tab|

I tell you this: I have reached the point where I'm not easily impressed, but I was impressed by these young people, who exhibited near-professional writing skills. I was privileged in March to be one of 40 judges who gathered at Nixa High School to judge the LAD contest, consisting of thousands of entries from area kids. |ret||ret||tab|

I can tell you that many fine pieces of writing didn't make the cut. The winners truly were the best of the best. |ret||ret||tab|

While still all aglow from the encounter with young literary lions, I went to what has become one of my favorite Springfield spots, Super Library, for the Sky High on Reading extravaganza in honor of local students whose reading exceeded the expectations of the reading virtuoso who organized the project.|ret||ret||tab|

David Harrison, local businessman, children's author and poet, devised the project which is intended to encourage literacy. |ret||ret||tab|

Area students were challenged to read 380,000 books, which, if stacked on top of each other, would make a stack two miles high, a worthy goal, indeed. |ret||ret||tab|

But by April 1, 1.3 million books had been read, making a stack of books seven miles high. Other school districts joined in, adding an additional 600,000 books, or three more miles up in the air. Can you imagine how high next year's readers might reach? |ret||ret||tab|

It was a real kick watching the students and proud parents and grandparents enthralled with sky divers and other sky high activities in celebration of being Sky High on Reading, which translates into being sky high on education. We can all be sky high on that.|ret||ret||tab|

Two factors contributed to the feel-good ambiance surrounding both of these events: The monumental amount of work it took to make them a success, and the number of parents who accompanied their kids to both. |ret||ret||tab|

We all know that if parents or grandparents don't encourage young people to excel in learning, the schools may have three strikes against them at the outset of developing the learning curve. It's good to see for oneself what happens when concerned teachers and citizens join with parents to help kids get on board the Learning Express.|ret||ret||tab|

In the space of less than a week, student writing and reading cavorted in the spotlight. So, in spite of what you may have heard, all kids aren't troublemakers. Some are out there making us oldsters proud of them.|ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|(Joe McAdoo is former chairman of the communication department at Drury University and a Springfield public relations consultant.)[[In-content Ad]]