Hello and welcome back to my blog! 🙂
Today I will be answering a couple questions and telling you a little more about my Action project for this semester.
For my action, I am choosing to volunteer as a ‘Reading Buddy’ at the Coquitlam Public Library. Reading Buddies is a program that the public library runs where little buddies (grade 1-4) are paired up with big buddies (grade 9-12) for a 7 week program. The idea of it is that the little buddy practices their reading skills and other communication skills with the help of their older buddy. When I first heard about this program, I was completely in love with the idea of it. I have always loved helping kids the community and finding a way to do it together was an opportunity I could not give up. The program has started and I have paired up with my buddy. We will be continuing to read, as the weeks progress and I can’t wait to share how it goes with you.
As mentioned in the TED Talk, one of the lessons talks about how “Everything is complicated”. A complexity I may face during my action would be my little buddy not wanting to read but wanting to be read to instead. At the first meeting, my little buddy, who is in grade 1 wanted me to read him 2 pages and only wanted to read one himself. I then realized that that was only because he was trying to read a book way over his reading level. A solution we found to the problem was finding him a book he would enjoy but that was also at his level so that he could continue reading to me. This taught me that, it is easy to find solutions to small problems here and there if you communicate well with the other person involved. He was extremely pleased when we changed books and I am happy to say he read very well!
I believe the Reading Buddies program and volunteering as a Reading Buddy is a sustainable action because of how well organized and planned out the program is. Because of it being held at a public library, it is easily accessible for anyone in the community. The Big Buddies, like myself, gain experiences such as leadership experience and get to work on their communication skills through tough situations. Examples of this include how, if the Big Buddy wanted to work with kids in the future, this could give them good experience getting used to the environment. The Little Buddies get to practice their reading while trying to get to know new people who they may not see every day. This program is designed in such a way that the buddies are paired for 7 weeks, which gives the little buddy a sense of comfort for the coming week. I believe this action is sustainable, makes a positive impact in our community, and is something almost any high schooler can participate in!
I would 100% agree that this action is providing opportunities to many people around. As mentioned above, it provides an opportunity for those volunteering as they get to strengthen their leadership and communication skills. And it helps the little buddies learn to read independently and, hopefully, start to develop a joy for reading. A particular example of this would be how although I have grown up around kids younger to me and have helped them with things around me, just one session as a reading buddy taught me the importance of communication with kids younger than us. It taught me how to talk to kids and get them engaged without them necessarily telling you they are bored. I will ensure I am making the positive impact I intend on making by keeping an eye on if my buddy is improving and feeling more confident with his reading abilities and talking to his parent or guardian to make sure I am doing a good job as a big buddy. I will ensure I am helping him with new words and concepts so that it is easier for him to grasp what the text is about independently.
Thank you for reading my blog post. For the next one, I will be talking to you about my progress with my action so far. I will also be asking my program coordinator a couple questions about the program and documenting the answers in my next post.
I look forward to seeing you there! – Anannya B
Hi Anannya,
Wonderful blog post! I love the detail you included when talking about your experience with your reading buddy and how you found some solutions to your conflict. I liked your reference to the TEDTalk and how you also integrated that to the rest of your writing. I would love to hear some of your hopes and goals as a reading buddy and what specific progress you might want to see in the future with your little buddy.
To add, I really enjoy how you are making a positive impact in our close community in the library, which is a place many of us have spent lots of time in throughout our childhood and you can help share and create those great memories with the future generation!
All the best with your little buddy and I look forward to reading your future blog posts!
-Perla
Hi Anannya,
I loved reading your blog post! I think that your action topic is very interesting and something that I would be interested in doing in the future. Nowadays, I feel like there is less motivation for young kids to read, which I think is very sad because I have always loved reading and I think it’s something that almost everyone can enjoy if they just find the right book. So, I think that it’s great that you are going out into the community and helping kids in this way. I think that it is a great way to build connections and help children in the community. It sounds like you handled things with your buddy very well and that you are a great Big Buddy to have! A question that I have for you is what is your long term goal with participating in this program? I am really looking forward to keeping up with your project and hearing how your action goes. Good luck and keep up the great work!
Penelope