Student-athletes delved into their favorite childhood stories with more than 40 first-graders from Children’s Charter School on Tuesday.
The student-athletes were picked to read to the children because they are dedicated to promoting literacy and being community role models, said instructor Gerlinde Grandstaff-Beckers. A small group of the athletes went to the library and chose their favorite picture books from childhood or ones they thought the Children’s Charter students would enjoy.
“They get to show that, ‘Yes, we are big, we are athletes, but reading is very important to us,'” Grandstaff-Beckers said.
Basketball player Jalen Courtney and football players Lavar Edwards, Tahj Jones, Kenny Hilliard, Rockey Duplessis, Tharold Simon, Corey White and Craig Loston each read a story to a group of first graders.
Sophomore forward Jalen Courtney read “Rumpelstiltskin” and told the first graders the moral of the story was to avoid cheating and breaking promises. He said his favorite part of reading to the students was being able to interact with the children and getting to know them.
Courtney said he and his 6-year-old brother were raised in a single-parent household, and many area students face similar situations. He said reading can change a person’s outlook on the world.
“I stress to my brother that a lot of information, a lot of knowledge is in books,” Courtney said. “Over time, it’ll stick in his head that information really is in books.”
Junior safety Craig Loston asked questions to students while he was reading “Ten Mice,” and he said he was surprised to hear they were paying attention and could answer correctly.
“I do a lot of community service around here, and I always go to see and visit kids in the hospital, but I never got the chance to actually sit down and read with them,” Loston said.
Loston said young children need to be read to because it’s important for children to have time spent with them. He said reading to a child can change the way he or she grows up.
“Reading can take you a long way,” Loston said. “No matter what you do, you’re going to have to read.”
The first graders were divided into smaller groups with LSU elementary education majors and an athlete to read to them.
Children’s Charter has partnered as a service-learning site focusing on reading comprehension with assistant education professor Margaret-Mary Dowell since 2009. This event is an opportunity to expose the students to secondary education and a chance to meet athletes they look up to, Dowell said.
Dowell said the activity of being read to provides the students with a connection between reading and writing, along with communicating with others.
“It’s probably the single most important developmental activity they can engage in,” Dowell said. “It’s a great chance to speak, read and listen to each other.”
 
 
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Contact Shannon Roberts at [email protected]