Court Volunteers Defend Kids’ Right to Read

As a Santa Ana judge who wades each day through a docket’s worth of human drama, David T. McEachen is used to tough audiences.

But standing before 18 expectant third-graders with his black robe fluttering around him recently, he worried that reading aloud a rather complex tale about Paul Revere wouldn’t hold their attention.

So instead of reciting verbatim Jean Fritz’s “What Happened Now, Paul Revere?” he turned his hour with the children into a conversation, interspersing chat about historical figures with the narrative of Revere’s midnight ride to warn New England villagers that the British were coming.

The visit by the Superior Court judge, to Loma Vista Elementary in Tustin, was arranged through Lawyers for Literacy, a program the Orange County Bar Assn. launched in January with help from the county Department of Education to promote literacy and provide role models.

Teachers can call the bar to request that a reader come to their class, or volunteers can sign up with a given school or city.

A Well-Chosen Book

Either way, readers commit to an hour and leave behind whichever book they bring. They must select books from a list approved by the county Department of Education.

Bar association President Robert Gerard said many in the legal community have been reading aloud in classrooms for years, but he formalized it so that matching lawyers, books and classrooms would be better planned.

Dozens of lawyers, judges and law students have since signed up for the program, including many who’d been doing it on their own anyway.

“On an ad hoc basis, this has been going on for a really long time,” he said. “I really don’t want to take credit for anything other than trying to get it a little more organized.”

Back in the classroom with McEachen, his resonant voice stilled the squirming children sprawled on the floor before him.

Sitting in the front row was wide-eyed Esther Ledesma, 9, who cocked her head and listened to the judge without moving for nearly the whole hour. He recited a few sentences at a time, stopping to emphasize a point -- “the boat had 64 guns! Sixty-four!” -- or ask questions related to the story.

“Have any of you ever seen a squirrel wearing a silver collar?” he asked, smiling when he heard a giggling chorus of no’s. “I haven’t, either.”

When other historical names came up, McEachen filled the children in on them.

“Who was Christopher Columbus?” he asked the children.

“A guy who hopped on a boat,” said Noah Stillman, 8, triumphantly.

“And then he ... “ prompted the judge.

“Discovered America,” said Carson Schroeder, 9.

“What did John Hancock do?” the judge queried.

“He signed things,” said 8-year-old Edgardo Solideo.

“He signed things really big,” McEachen agreed.

Reading aloud to children, especially those learning English as a second language, improves their reading skills, said Orange County Supt. of Schools William M. Habermehl.

“That’s how you learn the language,” he said.

The value of reading, Gerard said, can’t be overemphasized.

“It’s really important that people in America have the ability to voice their opinions and protest and use the legal system to fight for what’s right,” he said. “To do that, I reckon you’ve got to be able to read -- and read well.”

For several years, Gerard visited a second-grade class at a Santa Ana school. He was “the doughnut man” because he was always laden with boxes of the treats, along with milk and a book, whenever he came.

After consulting with education experts, though, Gerard decided to limit the bar’s program to third-graders, at least for now.

“I want to get my arms around this program in a way that’s manageable,” he said. “From an effectiveness perspective, third grade is the key year.”

When switching grade levels, Gerard had to pick a more advanced book than his favorite for second-graders, “Rhinos Who Surf.” An avid surfer, he donned a Hawaiian-print tie for his own visit to a different Loma Vista classroom the same day. He often brings to classes a copy of “The New Kid on the Block,” a throwback to his military upbringing, when he changed schools 12 times.

Two Birds, One Stone

For the professional visitors to tell stories about themselves and discuss their careers is a key component of the program, Gerard said, adding that bringing role models into the classroom to read to kids illustrates the importance of literacy.

“It hopefully lets children know that there are grown-ups out there other than their own parents who care about them and want to see them succeed,” he said.

At Loma Vista, the children in Janet Larsen’s class clamored for McEachen to return and read again sometime, then scampered out to recess. The judge took a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly.

“I could tell right away this book was going to be a little heavy for this age, so I skipped over a lot of it and just told the story,” he said. “But they’re like sponges. They just soaked it all up.”

McEachen pulled off his robe, then squeezed into one of the students’ little chairs so he could stretch his legs. He stands while reading, he said, because the position allows him to move around and keep every child engaged.

“I don’t like to be sedentary,” he said. “I love to see the looks in their eyes.”