When I was in elementary and middle school, I read all the time. I had the time, and I loved to learn more about my interests. As I entered high school, I noticed the people around me weren’t reading, and I started to realize I wasn’t either. Even though I wasn’t reading anymore, I still enjoyed it and saw its value. I found myself missing reading and the simple joy it used to bring to my life. So, when I was given the opportunity to rally awareness and action for something through my senior ventures project, I chose to focus on the subject of reading.
The decline in reading as children get older is a growing problem that deprives them of the many benefits that come from reading. The more you read, the more words you gain exposure to, increasing your vocabulary instantly. In my project, I first learned more about this issue, and decided to help come up with tangible ways I could help bridge the gap.
First, I am working on an investigation research paper that explores how reading develops social understanding, what’s driving the decline in reading, and why it pays to read.
Second, I’ve been going down to the lower grades with different influential senior boys to read to fourth- and fifth-graders. According to a study by the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress), this is the age boys start to read less and are thinking about their identity. Having male figures read to them and the students just listening, encourages more reading because they don’t have to do it on their own and also see people they look up to encouraging something they didn’t think was cool anymore.
My last goal is to expand the Pre-K to 8 book drive to include the Upper School and facilitate the delivery of the books to a nonprofit organization. I plan to partner with Brittany Foster, president of “Little Children of the World,” and send books to children in the Philippines who don’t have access to as many resources.
Through my project, I hope children and high schoolers will be more exposed to books and resources that will benefit them emotionally and intellectually, and our community will gain a greater understanding of why the decline in reading as we get older occurs. Educating the community is the first step to prevent this decline. I am investigating this and actively working to make a change. I can’t wait to provide young people with the resources that give them answers and a spark to learn.
Senior Ventures is a year-long academic program built on a framework of leadership, innovation and community engagement. Through a proven self-guided exploratory process, seniors whose proposals are selected for this program work independently to develop a project that’s interdisciplinary in scope and is connective, performance-based, investigative, or entrepreneurial. Click here to learn more.
