By JULIA ROBERTS GOAD
Staff Writer
Local schools are participating this week in the National Education Association’s Read Across America, an annual reading motivation and awareness program that celebrates reading on March 2, the birthday of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss.
Yesterday, Lenore K-8 hosted the Cat in the Hat and his accomplices, Thing 1 and Thing 2. The characters read aloud to several classes throughout the day in the school library.
The Cat in the Hat was played by a parent volunteer, but the roles of Thing 1 and Thing 2 were given to eighth-grade students from Mrs. Nancy Kline’s class.
But rather than simply choose the best readers or most eager volunteers to play the mischievous imps who save the day in the famous story, Mrs. Kline took the opportunity to create a learning experience.
The class applied for the positions.
“I downloaded a generic job application from the internet,” Mrs. Kline said. “Then I just changed a couple of things. The students applied for one of three positions, a reader, Thing 1 or Thing 2.”
The teacher explained the students took the applications home to fill them out, and had a deadline for applying, just like a real world job application process. They had to include salary and benefits expectations as well as why they would make the best employee in the position.
The students had to take the process seriously, Mrs. Kline said. “Some of them wrote quirky things, and they didn’t get the job. I told them, that isn’t how you apply for a job.”
Under ‘desired benefit’ job applicants’ answers ranged from “$150 per half-hour” to “reading to kids per day.”
At the end of the application, students were given the opportunity to speak as to what would make them a good employee. Most answers to the question included a reference to the applicant’s reading abilities and love of children. Some answers were included “Because I love to teach new things;” “I am good at expressions to entertain;” “I try very hard in your class 99 percent of the time;” and “I love dressing up.”
One of the students who played the part of Thing 1 was Corbin Oliver, whose application simply read, “I would be the best because I am the best of everything.”
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