Guest blog from our newest team member : Haley Jackson

Literacy is a word full of strength and importance

When I think of literacy, I think about the nights I spent under the covers with my flashlight reading Little House on the Prairie or The Big Friendly Giant, or sitting on the couch learning to read with my Dad, or the countless hours I've spent lost in a great book. I think about how great I felt when I read my very first book. I remember the frustration of learning to read the hard words; especially the word penguin. I think about how excited I was when I woke up earlier than my Dad and could just sit in my room and read on my own.

More recently I think about the excitement of the children I have helped learn how to read. The pride in their faces when they figure out the tough word they had been struggling with, or when they get through a whole book on their own. I think about how great I feel when I am able to pass on the excitement and the honor of literacy.

Literacy is about so much more than strength and importance. Literacy is about tradition, pride, and honor. It is about the excitement of learning and the love of sharing.