| Posted by Frank Wooldridge on Oct 26, 2022 |
The Beacon  The official weekly publication of The Rotary Club of Bakersfield BreakfastWe should all be getting excited as Breakfast Rotarians as our chief fundraiser, Wine Place and Show, is coming soon! November 12th at Luigi’s Warehouse, to be specific. The District Conference is also coming up in Santa Barbara from November 18th through the 20th. You may ask, isn’t this customarily mentioned later in The Beacon? Well, yes, but why not change things up a bit? You don’t want to read the same stories in the news every day, do you? Well, of course not. So, let’s mix The Beacon up a bit, read about good things to come, and Get Excited about being Rotarian, as there are many reasons to be a member. And with all good things, there is change. Past President Cheryl Scott brought a change of season to us in the form of her daily invocation. A poem about Autumn, with all of its promise of harvest and goodwill to others with blessings, was read to the membership by Cheryl. Charter member Dennis Scott led us in America’s Pledge of Allegiance. Carol Smith, our songstress, chose “Is it the Truth” for our morning inspirational song. I like the content of that message in the piece following all the political ads I have been exposed to in the last month… Cool Pete Leveroni introduced us to our morning’s featured program, Kern Literacy Council’s Executive Director Ian Anderson. A Cal State Bakersfield, or “Bakersfield State,” referencing a recent Bakersfield Californian school naming debate article, Ian is no relation to flutist Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull rock fame. Still, he is assuming the role of director with enthusiasm while making a significant impact in making a large dent in the reading illiteracy rates for Kern County. Bakersfield Breakfast Rotary participates with our local schools, namely Freemont Elementary, annually, supplying children with dictionaries; according to Ian, it is a big difference; and there is much more good to come. Ian, who is currently pursuing his doctorate, reports that if a child is not reading at grade level by 3rd grade, the child not only is destined for academic failure but faces the potential of coming under the jurisdiction of the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems. Locally, in Kern, Ian tells us the percentages of resident s in Kern County who meet or exceed competency standards in reading and math have worsened from 2019 to 2022. He told us that whatever the cause, this record was unacceptable. Tragically, he said 27% of Kern County residents are without a high school diploma or GED. Thus, there is ample data and justification for a plan of action. Ian intends to address this emergency with a common-sense approach. Emphasized early intervention of children and incorporating their parents, many of whom are Spanish speaking only, is a viable approach that reinforces the concept of learning to read competently and more. The experience of reading becomes a family affair in which children are allowed to develop their academic skills. At the same time, their parents can build upon a foundation of learning to read and speak English and even become engaged in job preparedness courses. Ian is a true believer in looking at a generational problem such as illiteracy and combining that with community outreach to maximize the content and application of what children and their parents learn in the literacy program. Perhaps Ian’s resourcefulness comes from his involvement in many local non-profits where he sits on boards of directors, or maybe he was good at playing family scrabble games in his youth. Ian is about helping Kern Literacy Council clients learn to “Build their Paths.” |
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