News

Martha Weiss is collecting books. Not an usual habit for this self-styled book-aholic, however this time the collection will benefit the community. There will be a sale of "gently used" books and a flea market May 12 to 14 at Dorseyville Middle School to benefit the PTA and ALL of Us Care.

The book sale requires a bit of organization, but Weiss willingly booked herself into the job.

"When I was called, it wasn't even a question," Weiss said.

She is a busy volunteer who also works as a substitute teacher. Picking and choosing where to put her time has become a priority for the mother of two adolescents.

Books are one reason for Weiss to undertake a big job such as this.

"There's something special about a kid having his or her own book. All kids need to have some ownership," she said. The reading specialist sees the book sale as an opportunity for youngsters to chose something for their bookshelves during the upcoming summer. Each volume should be a bargain because the school and community organizations are requesting donation of books which would be good reading for adolescents.

One of Weiss' jobs is organizing the donations. She's looking forward to mountains of donations as spring cleaning offers an opportunity to recycle books. The reading professional isn't worried about classifying the books. She has the Internet to check for quick synopses of stories.

Weiss has two other pathways to books for young people. One is her history and the other is her children.

The teacher said she wasn't a great reader. Her own school career was marked with average grades.

"I didn't really get into reading in high school or college," Weiss said.

It was only when she was first working in Ohio as a teacher that she recognized a connection between the ability of students to read and the grades in science, socials studies, and even math. Her thoughts directed her path to postgraduate work as a reading specialist.

It caused changes in her classroom, too. "I consumed adolescent literature just because I wanted to have a library I could put out and I wanted to know what was in it."

The former teacher isn't tied just to books. She encourages children to read everything -- "books, magazines, political jokes, comics." Her only concern is when youngsters become stuck in one type of reading to the exclusion of all else. She knows from her own children there are lots of good books out there. She points out the titles on the Battle of the Books list.

The reading specialist recommends adolescent literature as a great way of starting conversations with youngsters, too. Weiss tries to keep up a dialog with her children.

Her husband returned to Pittsburgh to become the chaplain at St. Edmund's Academy and they moved their children back from New Jersey.

As a family, the parents try to encourage reading by discussing books and even by turning off the television. For the Weiss family taking the time to read is worthwhile, and for the mother helping youngsters get their hands on books is worth the time spent volunteering.

• Most Read
• Most E-mailed
• Latest News