Dictionary Program
Since 2003, nearly 1200 pocket dictionaries have been given to the youngsters to help them hone their communications skills and start them on their way to becoming the brightest and best educated young men and women in the state of Illinois!
In this age of fast moving technology and change it has become more important than ever that our young people be prepared to overcome the obstacles and meet the challenges of living and working in a modern society.
And the key to success is the ability to read, speak and write well as well as mastering simple math. Literacy and numeracy are not only critical to progress and prosperity, but are necessary for the very survival of individuals in the near future. Several years ago as President of the Galena Rotary Club, I was discussing the importance of improving literacy on several levels with Carter Newton, publisher of the Galena Gazette. He said he felt the most important time to improve the development of literacy is in the primary grades, more specifically, in the third grade. This is the prime time to provide material assistance to our teachers in their efforts to help children begin the development of the critical skill of learning how to look things up, and at the same time improve their vocabulary.
Two months later an article appeared in the Wall Street Journal that brought our thoughts into focus and provided an action plan for the Galena Rotary Club.
Mrs. Mary French, a 44 year old South Carolina citizen, set out six years ago to give a dictionary to every third grader in every school in South Carolina, every year.
Education “starts with learning how to look things up,” Mrs. French says. It means a certain rigor, uniform expectations and “doing things properly,” she adds. It means a dictionary, she decided.
As far as we were concerned, this was it, the prime Literacy project for our club.
Our first step was to research the type, size, quality and price of dictionaries. We ended up choosing the Merriam-Webster Pocket dictionary.
