美国的志愿者教师

Literacy is something many people in first world countries take for granted. But one in four children in the United States grow up without being able to read, and this is even worse in the immigrant community. But now a program in Florida, called Reading Pals, is trying to change these statistics.

Maria Mas Blet is a busy banker who sets aside thirty minutes of her busy schedule every week to read to children. She is a volunteer for an initiative program called Reading Pals, a partnership between two non-profit groups: The Children’s Movement campaign and the United Way of Florida.

Around 400 volunteers take part in the effort, reaching more than a thousand children in the community.

Their goal is to reduce the amount of students who drop out of school in Miami-Dade.

Maria Mas Blet, Managing Director of KR Financial, said, "I think it’s a difficult situation, Florida of course is a melting pot of different immigrants and we got a lot of people that do not have the time because either they’re working hard and need to support their families so sitting down and reading with your child, it isn’t a priority for some people, it’s really tough."

In order to learn, children must be able to read and comprehend what they are reading.

Nitza Scoledad Perez, Miami, said, "In Miami-Dade county, 47 percent of seven to eight-year-old students -- or third graders -- cannot read at grade level."

And educators say many students face even bigger literacy challenges when English is their second language.

"we always think that full immersion is going to help a child learn faster when, in reality, research tells us that that is not true, that what we need to do is to expose them to their language plus the new language in front." Said Gladys Montes, Vice President of United Way Center for Excellence in Early ED.

Illiteracy has a high social cost for all of us. Statistics show two-thirds of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of fourth grade will end up in jail or on welfare. These volunteers are trying to address this sad reality by working with children as early as possible and, in turn, the volunteers themselves become inspired.

"it’s awesome, but what you feel in there it’s even more awesome." Maria Mas Blet said.

As Maria puts it, someone has to defend the little guys.