Schools honor legendary author

In schools across the county wide, people gathered side by side.

It wasn’t any other day. It was a day of fun and play.

There was a sheriff reading words that really sounded quite absurd.

And a clerk telling tales about cats and fish and maybe whales.

Attorneys, teachers and principals, too. It started to look like a book-reading zoo.

They came one, they came all. They came big, they came small.

Some were old, some were young. But they all had lots of fun.

Reading books in celebration of a man who touched a nation.

This past week, several county schools celebrated the birthday of a man who has made people laugh, made people smile, and made people say, “What in the world is he talking about?”

The infamous Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, was celebrated by East Franklin Junior High School on Wednesday and by Phil Campbell Elementary School on Friday.

According to East Franklin first grade teacher Kathy Wilson, the nation-wide celebration is something EFJH has participated in for many years.

“It’s something the kids always love and something they really get into,” Wilson said. “We try to plan activities and incorporate the Dr. Seuss theme into things we’re already learning about in class.”

This year students cooked “green eggs and ham” and wrote what they thought the recipe for the strange dish should be; they graphed their favorite Dr. Seuss book; and the third grade classes used a funny green substance found in one Dr. Seuss story to illustrate a lesson about liquids and solids.

“Everyone at the school has had a great time preparing for the day and joining in the activities,” Wilson said.

Several guest readers came to EFJH to participate in the event including the Cat in the Hat himself (who bore a striking resemblance to new principal Scott Wiginton), Franklin County Sheriff Shannon Oliver and Circuit Clerk Anita Scott.

Scott, whose first-grade granddaughter, Chloe Scott, attends EFJH, said events like Dr. Seuss Day are important for young children.

“I was always a reader and I remember my mother telling me that when I was younger, I would prop a book up so I could read while I washed the dishes,” Scott said.

“I told those kids before I started reading to them that no matter what job you have, being able to read will always be important. It doesn’t matter if they want to be policemen, mechanics, teachers or ball players. Everyone should learn to read, and I’ll do whatever I can to encourage these kids in that area.”

Oliver, who had fun with a group of third graders reading “There’s a Wocket in my Pocket,” said it’s good to make reading a fun activity kids can enjoy.

“Most Dr. Seuss books have funny words and pictures that really encourage kids to use their imaginations,” Oliver said. “When kids look at reading as a fun activity instead of something that is boring, they’ll be more likely to read in their spare time, which will strengthen their reading skills.”

Dr. Seuss books are definitely fun for kids to enjoy, but EFJH librarian Nicole Busler said there are also important lessons that can be learned from reading these books.

“Kids check out these books all the time, so you know there’s something there that they’re interested in, but Dr. Seuss books, and even he himself, can be an inspiration,” Busler said.

“It took Dr. Seuss 27 times before he actually published his first book and he was dared to write ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ because someone said he couldn’t write a book with just 50 words. These instances really show how important it is to never give up on your dreams.”

Students at Phil Campbell Elementary kicked off their celebration of Dr. Seuss at an assembly in the gym on Friday morning.

Regional AMSTI specialist Lori McGuire donned a large red-and-white striped hat and a tail, read “The Lorax” to all the elementary students.

However, this particular book wasn’t chosen at random. “The Lorax” is a book Dr. Seuss wrote in 1971 to bring awareness to industrialization and the negative impact it has on the environment.

Of course, Dr. Seuss made his point with funny, made-up words and colorful illustrations, so even though the underlying message is serious, the book is definitely kid-friendly.

PCES Principal Jackie Ergle said they chose to read this book because the school’s gifted students as well as a group of sixth grade girls have been actively participating in recycling projects around the school and the community.

In the book, the character called the Lorax keeps reminding the reader that he “speaks for the trees,” so PCES students and faculty donned green shirts with a picture of planet Earth and the phrase “We speak for the trees.”

“Our gifted students have been working on their recycling project for two years now and we recently had a group of girls who wanted to start their own recycling program at the school,” Ergle said. “Since ‘The Lorax’ is about the environment, we thought that would be a good way to tie in the recycling with Dr. Seuss Day.”

The sixth-grade girls behind the independent recycling project are Ashley Todd, Shea Newell and Scarlett Ozbirn, and they said they got the idea from their reading teacher, Tracy Swinney.

“Mrs. Swinney was reading a story called ‘Saving the Rainforest,’ that was about recycling and we decided it would be a good idea to start something here,” Todd said.

“We went around to all the classes one Friday and talked about recycling,” Newell added, “and every Friday we pick up all the recycling boxes we have at the school and take them to the recycling bin.”

“We’ve made posters that are in every classroom reminding everyone to recycle because it’s important,” Ozbirn said.

Along with the recycling theme, PCES offered a “challenge” to the pre-k through second grade classes as an extra incentive for reading more books. Students who met the challenge received an award at the Dr. Seuss Day assembly.

According to Ergle, having activities and incentives the students can identify with gets them more involved, and in this case, it encourages reading.

“When fun things are built around reading, it allows the kids to enjoy it and want to do it more often,” Ergle said. “I have a student who is in college now who tells me when she sees me that the activities and challenges I offered as a teacher fostered her love for reading that she still has to this day, and events like Dr. Seuss Day are a good way to continue to do that.”