Students Take Leaf From Past: Reading for Fun

If you are among those who despair over high school students’ lack of interest in the reading of books, then let your spirits rise. A dedicated English teacher at Pacifica High School in Garden Grove has devised a program of book reading incentives that borders on the miraculous.

Can you imagine a child of yours reading an average of 25 books a year, not assigned in the classroom? Can you imagine a reading program that has earned the plaudits of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Bill Moyer, Robert Goulet, former President Gerald Ford, Ted Williams and other celebrated personages?

Well, as I say, it’s happening in Garden Grove, with, at last count, 200 Pacifica High School students. And that dedicated teacher, bless her, is Sara Hess.

Hess is supported enthusiastically by her principal, Tom Holler, members of the English department, the school’s PTA and Boosters group.

Before I reveal how this wonder is wrought, let me tell you how I heard about it. It came in a form letter from Hess, one of about 2,000 she had mailed. It read:

“High school students are dazzled by celebrities. Well-known names connote fame, achievement and sometimes even godlike status. The correlation with hard work and setting of goals is sometimes fuzzy. WORTH (Working on Reading: Tomorrow’s Habit) would like to shift their focus . . . .

“WORTH wants to graft a new educational goal to an old one. We want to encourage kids who used to read for fun to try it again. After school sports and part-time jobs, harder classes and the discovery of the opposite sex frequently work to stunt leisure reading. We want these reluctant readers to remember that reading is fun. We’ve assigned an important role to you . . . . Please take a moment to send some memento or piece of yourself . . . .”

Now, whose ego can resist an appeal like that? Mine couldn’t, and I’m sending Hess a book I wrote. The book, along with various donations from others, will be awarded to the highest bidders at an auction to be held June 6 in the high school’s Lyceum. It is expected that Principal Holler will serve as auctioneer. This will be the first schoolwide auction. A small experimental one was held last year in Hess’ classroom, and, according to her, Holler did a bang-up job as auctioneer.

To be eligible to bid at the auction, students first must qualify by reading and reporting orally on a minimum of four books. For each book read, a student is given two points. The average number of points earned by students is 50. Astonishingly, four female students will enter the bidding with at least 200 points. They are Beth Habring, Tina Dils, Heather Westlund and Clarisa Long. Earned points are used to bid with. Hess expects more than 200 students to be active bidders this year. Debits in point books are recorded by PTA and Boosters members.

A few of the celebrities who already have responded to Hess’ appeal are Famous Amos with sweat shirts resplendent with chocolate chip cookies; Julia Childs with personal bookplates; Herblock and Conrad with cartoons; Helen Gurley Brown with a leather card case and her personal stationery; autographed photos from Margaret Thatcher, Paul Newman and Edward Kennedy (150 others have sent photos); Robert Goulet with a bulletin board with his last grocery list pinned to it; pens from George Bush and former President Ford; a golf ball signed by Tom Watson; a packet of old baseball cards from Ted Williams; an inaugural license plate from Mervyn Dymally; a football signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers team; a book inscribed by Sir John Gielgud.

Hess’ hope is that “some of the students will be stimulated to become continuing readers, enriching their lives. Then no matter how much work the project was--and it’s lots of hard work--it’ll be worth it!”

In that simple statement, dear readers, is the essence of what teaching should be all about.