Daybreak USA is a radio station based in Dallas, Texas. Hosted by Scott West, Pam appears on the show to share her own acronym for the word "READ". Listen in here:
Pam Allyn's New Article on HuffPost: A New Girls' and Women's Literacy Empowerment Movement
Pam Allyn has a new article up on the Huffington Post speaking about her passionate fight to create a new world for girls through the LitClubs work:
These LitClubs, they feel like life and death work to me now. Why? The LitClubs are showing the girls that there is something to live for, that they can come to school instead of trading their bodies for food and potentially contracting the same disease that has killed many of their family members. And the LitClubs are showing the world that education, in time, is like vaccinating a child against poverty. That we are racing time to make this happen because every day a child misses school and begins to fade out, we lose part of the next generation.
A story: One of our LitClub members is the child head of a household of many children, her siblings; both her parents died of AIDS. She frequently visits the lake near her school because the men down there will give her scraps of food in the morning; in exchange for the use of her body. She goes to school after this, and then home to collect water from a distance, cook, clean and care for her many younger siblings, and go to bed in the pitch black, sleeping on the floor in one room with all her siblings breathing quietly beside her. She has told me her life is hard, but she was the first to offer me her only biscuit at the snack time we provided (it was her only meal of the day). She said to me the other day: "The Girls Club is the first place I ever felt what it must be like to be happy. I love coming here and I wish I could be here with everyone singing and reading always."
I love the line "I am here for you" I found recently in a book of Buddhist meditations. I hope the LitClubs can be a way for us all to be here for her, for the girls to be here for each other, for us to be here for them, and through this, we all exist transactionally: We are here for each other.
Pam Allyn's Top 5 Reasons Writing is Important for Kids on NBC's Education Nation
1. Writing builds confidence in a child’s sense of herself and her voice.
2. Writing helps kids create and strengthen their identities.
3. Writing fosters a child’s emotional growth and gives him coping skills for dealing with life’s many highs and lows.
4. Writing helps kids develop critical thinking skills - it helps them understand and communicate complicated ideas.
5. Writing leads to guaranteed improvement in academic achievement.
As humans, we all want to belong and feel connected - it is in our very nature as social beings. We want to be able to share our stories meaningfully and to hear other people’s stories in a way that resonates with our own lives.
Language is the tool that brings us together. Giving our children the gift of expression at a young age sets them on a path of purpose, intention and engagement. Writing will give your child a sense of herself as a person in the world and will give her a voice that she will be proud to share with the world. A study done by the U.S. Department of Education shows that writing is one of the best ways to not only improve your child’s academic progress in school, but to also improve your child’s self-expression and self-reliance. Two other studies show that writing improves children’s academic progress by helping them learn and retain new material better and - when done frequently both at home and at school - by building their confidence in their writing and communication abilities.
Writing will also bring you closer to your child because it will give you access to his wonderfully complex inner life. The human desire to connect through language begins with a baby’s first smile. It is never too early to start your child down the path of a writer’s life. By engaging in the act of writing, we are engaging in the valuing of life, valuing one another, and valuing the precious moments we share.
Writing opens up an enormous world of possibilities for people of all ages and occupations. No matter the age, people are fascinated, consumed, enchanted and delighted by the power of the written word. Children are especially drawn to the incredible power of stories and words, and they are already so naturally living a writer’s life - one of observation, wonder, memory and imagination. A life where, by simply writing something down, you can make it happen.
This is a sentiment that we simply must encourage, nurture and allow to take root in our children so that it will become a lifelong conviction. By having access to the written word, your child grows up with a sense that he has and will always have something to say that could change people’s minds. There is great power in being able to say exactly what you mean and seeing that people understand and are engaged by your words and ideas.
LitWorld in the Field: Mothers University, Magic Birds & Live Orange
All over the world, people seek out stories and words to comfort, inspire, inform and protect. In New York, tomorrow July 13, 2011, LitWorld hosts our second Live Orange Webcast to celebrate the superpowers of literacy to bind us, honor our inner selves and find each other across time zones.
Our beloved friend and inspiration spiritchild and his amazing band of hip hop leaders extraordinaire will call us together to teach this time. Be with LitWorld for this special event.
RSVP, see more details, and tune in LIVE tomorrow at 2pm EST at facebook.com/litworld.
I am far away right now, in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya with our LitWorld Delegation working with the Children of Kibera Foundation to strengthen local teachers and community members as literacy leaders so that all children and all people can partake in the wildly miraculous world that is the world of words. I am thinking of you. I am thinking of how the world is in need of justice and fairness. I think this can only happen if we fortify the world for the world's children. Like vitamins in milk and fresh air itself, literacy pumps power into minds and bodies.
Read more from Pam and the team on the LitCorps Ambassador Blog...
Pam Allyn on LitWorld's Travels to Kenya on CBS Radio
Click here and listen to a segment with LitWorld's Executive Director Pam Allyn on LitWorld's work with our Hub site the Red Rose School in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya, and our partnership Children of Kibera Foundation.
Pam Allyn on BronxNet Television Show, "OPEN"
Last week, LitWorld Executive Director Pam Allyn appeared on BronxNet Television Show, "OPEN" to speak about LitWorld's mission. Watch the interview below:
Conversations with Executive Director Pam Allyn
Join LitWorld and Pam Allyn for the launch of the LitWorld Live Orange Webcast Series on Tuesday, June 28 at 12 PM EST! The Series will feature renowned authors and speakers presenting free online workshops on topics of literacy and education, accessible to anyone and everyone on Facebook and Ustream.
Our first episode features LitWorld's Executive Director Pam Allyn for a "Story Power Hour" where she will host a lively discussion with parents, teachers, storytellers, and literacy leaders:
Capture the magic and force of storytelling and writing stories for your students, your own children at home and for yourself. This Teach-In will provide innovative strategies you can use to get kids (of all ages!) engaged with narrative as a tool for empowerment and for improving reading and writing skills.
Please RSVP here and stay tuned for any updates.
In the meantime, join in the conversation over at EdWeek where Pam's piece from last week, Against the Whole-Class Novel, is generating a series of in-depth and impassioned comments: add your voice into the mix and express your thoughts on how we can most effectively engage children in reading in our classrooms today.