Literacy

In his recent commentary article ("Kids need environmental literacy," July 28) our governor praised the students at Kennard Elementary School in Queen Anne's County for building "a marsh in their own schoolyard." Did the EPA's required environmental impact study actually approve this project? It is my understanding that marshlands or wetlands or whatever he wants to call them are breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes. Right next to the children's school! And what in the world does he mean by "environmental literacy"?

With books in hand, hundreds of prominent black male city leaders and community members will descend on classrooms around the city Monday to read to students, part of an initiative to promote literacy and positive male influences in the lives of city youth. The effort called the "Michael Penny Carter Men Reading in Baltimore City Schools Initiative," was introduced in the city by Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, president of the local the National Action Network, last fall. The program was inspired by a similar one in Chicago, and has drawn the support of local political, education, and religious leaders across the city.

With books in hand, hundreds of prominent black male city leaders and community members will descend on classrooms around the city Monday to read to students, part of an initiative to promote literacy and positive male influences in the lives of city youth. The effort called the "Michael Penny Carter Men Reading in Baltimore City Schools Initiative," was introduced in the city by Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, president of the local the National Action Network, last fall. The program was inspired by a similar one in Chicago, and has drawn the support of local political, education, and religious leaders across the city.

Gardening held little appeal to Stacey Watkins, a Baltimore special-education teacher, until an organization that helps keep her classroom in books put out a call for help with an urban planting project. She soon found her manicured hands could do wonders with dirt. Within a few hours last week, Watkins, who dug unencumbered by garden gloves, had planted straight rows of broccoli, kale, cauliflower and all manner of herbs in a vacant, long-neglected lot along Park Heights Avenue.

DURHAM, N.C. - James Earl Jones' commanding bass is so recognizable, even a hermit could place it immediately. It's Mufasa, the papa lion in Disney's hit The Lion King, it's Darth Vader in Star Wars. It has an air of compassion, of wisdom and omnipotence. And yet this Hollywood star spent the better part of his childhood with his mouth closed, plagued by a severe stutter. "It was so bad that I didn't speak at all," Jones, 74, told 200 students at a literacy celebration this week in Durham.

The way South Baltimore businessman Jules Edward "Sonny" Morstein Jr., sees it, he owes something to the community in which his family has prospered. "This city has given me a good life," said Morstein, 65. "How can I not give back?" Nearly 25 years ago, several business owners along South Baltimore's Light Street asked one of their own to help renew their shopping district. Morstein, who runs the city's oldest family-owned jewelry store, stepped into the role of president of the Federal Hill Business Association.

Baltimore Reads Executive Director Marlene C. McLaurin took over last month as head of the area's premier literacy organization. McLaurin, 56, most recently was senior executive vice president of United Way of Central Maryland and interim chief operating officer of the Baltimore Urban League. A former second-grade teacher, she earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education from Hampton University in Virginia and her master's degree in early childhood education from Southern Connecticut State College.

You wouldn't be reading this story right now if Mark McGwire weren't practically addicted to Starbucks coffee.The guy's been drinking it for 10 years. The home-run world record holder even convinced his team, the St. Louis Cardinals, to serve the coffee in the clubhouse, allowing him to down it in the dugout all season long.McGwire's spokesman can't explain exactly what the attraction is here. But it's the reason why this baseball season, every time McGwire hits a home run, Seattle-based Starbucks will donate $5,000 to a literacy organization in the city where the home run is hit.Last year, McGwire homered 70 times, setting a major league record.

CHILDREN'S BOOKS line the North Avenue office of Tom Bowmann, and they're not there for decoration. "I try to read one every day," says Baltimore's first director of reading. "It's amazing how reading a child's book with adult eyes puts a different light on things. It's very helpful in my new job." Bowmann, 50, will need all the help he can get. All he has to do, as prescribed by a school system "Reading by 9" task force in a report issued in May, is get a handle on the city's many reading programs, evaluate them, eliminate the ineffective ones and beef up those that work.

READING AROUND the world is a feminist and civil rights issue. Here's why:Of the estimated 125 million children not attending primary school in developing countries, two-thirds are girls.Of the world's nearly 1 billion illiterate adults, two-thirds are women.Enormous gaps exist between the educational attainment of the rich and of the poor within countries. In many, the majority of children from the poorest households get no schooling at all.These startling figures are from a report of the World Bank, which is spending some $14 billion to help educate poor people in 87 countries.

A friend encouraged Shelly Abrams to volunteer at the South Baltimore Learning Center. Now, more than 21 years later, she still donates many hours a week to the nonprofit, which offers literacy and life-skills training to more than 1,000 adults each year. "I lived in the neighborhood then and thought, 'Why not?'" she said. "I took the training course, started tutoring and quickly became involved. I never really left. " A lifelong Baltimore resident, she grew up in a family of educators.

Children's book author Jerdine Nolen remembers the first time she saw her name in print. As a second-grader, she wrote a Thanksgiving poem that was published in the school newspaper, and she kept her eyes glued to the pink publication while walking home. "It was really a moment to behold to see my name in print," said the special-education teacher at Mount Hebron High School, who has published about a dozen books and picture books. Her latest work, a novel titled "Eliza's Freedom Road: An Underground Railroad Diary," is one of five books nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Literary Work — Youth/Teens.

The conventional wisdom is that allowances make children responsible money managers as they learn to budget so they don't run out of cash. But Lewis Mandell, professor emeritus of finance and former dean of business at the State University of New York in Buffalo, says that's not always the case. In fact, says Mandell, who has studied financial literacy, certain allowances may even be hurting kids. According to Mandell, high school students who didn't get an allowance performed better on a financial literacy test than those who did, especially teens who received stipends with no strings attached.

Lime Kiln eighth-grader Clare Napoli set out to be a big spender, envisioning herself with an expensive house and a sporty Ford Mustang. Then the Junior Achievement online economics education program, called JA Finance Park, gave her a virtual identity, and Napoli discovered that she was a parent of two children. "It told me that I should plan better because I have to pay for their education," said Clare, who with other Howard County eighth-graders is using JA Finance Park as part of their consumer science curriculum.

An avid reader who considered the library a second home has left a $950,000 bequest to be shared by the Baltimore County Public Library and the Enoch Pratt Free Library . The city and county systems will share equally in the gift from Margaret S. "Peggy" Peterson, a retired county librarian and former Towson resident who died in 2006. "The library meant so much to Peggy from her childhood to her death," said Lynn Wheeler, a close friend and director of the Carroll County Public Library System.

Joshua Paul Parker readily admits he makes his language arts students at Windsor Mill Middle School work hard. "Proficiency is not enough," he said. "They have to shoot for perfection. There is strength in striving. " That attitude embodies Baltimore County's aspirations for its more than 100,000 students and led to Parker's choice as the teacher of the year Monday during the county's 24th annual celebration of its teaching talent. "He lives and breathes the philosophy of our blueprint for progress," said Joe A. Hairston, superintendent of county schools.

Area schools and literacy programs seek volunteers to help children and adults improve reading skills and to assist with related projects. Among them: Greater Homewood Adult Literacy and ESOL Program, 3501 N. Charles St., Baltimore, needs volunteers to work with parents and other adults to improve reading and math skills to help improve family literacy and prepare adults to work with children. Information: Leslie Adler, 410-261-3524. If your school or organization is seeking volunteer reading tutors and would like to be included in this listing, call Sundial at 410- 783-1800 and enter code 6130.

Schools, libraries and literacy programs seek volunteers to help children and adults improve reading skills and assist in related projects.Among them are:Huntingdon Baptist Church, 400 E. 31st St., which needs tutors from high school age to adult to help elementary pupils with reading from 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays in its Save A Youth program. Tutoring can help fulfill community service requirements for high school graduation. Contact: Rebecca Bruce, 410-366-3072.Anne Arundel County Literacy Council, 7310 Ritchie Highway, Suite 603, Glen Burnie, which seeks adults to tutor other adults in reading throughout the county, with hours by arrangement any day of the week.

Hey everybody, National Financial Literacy Month has arrived! It's scheduled to overlap with the tail end of tax season, which is always a good time to take a moment to review your finances and set up a plan for the coming year. Think of it as spring cleaning for both your file cabinets and your wallet. Get started with information from two government resources: MyMoney.gov and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau . Celebrate this weekend at these events: --- See the Rev. Billy preach against the evils of consumerism at 7 p.m. tonight (Friday)

With a heap of recession-era tales of woe stoking people's financial fears, a free workshop for parents and teens seems like a good way to prevent costly mistakes by a generation coming of age in wildly uncertain economic times. That's just what Making Change Center has in mind as it prepares to host the second annual Howard County Passport to Financial Literacy on Feb. 5 at Howard Community College. Sponsored by the nonprofit organization founded in 1991 by former HCC President Dwight Burrill and now run by his daughter, Michelle Glassburn, the self-guided tour takes teens in middle and high school to 20 stations.