Student-Athletes and Coaches “Read” by Example at Local Elementary School

PHOTO GALLERY:
Eagle student-athletes and coaches at Real Men Read Day -- Langston Chapel Elementary March 1, 2013

STATESBORO, Ga. – One Eagle, two Eagles, three and four – Eagles read books to schoolchildren Friday and then read some more! A number of male Georgia Southern student-athletes and coaches spent part of their Friday at Langston Chapel Elementary School as part of “Real Men Read Day” at the local Statesboro and Bulloch County schools. Student ambassadors helped pick favorites like, “Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes,” “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” “Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type,” and several Dr. Seuss books for the Eagles to read aloud to classes. This marked the 15th year of the “Real Men Read” program at Langston Chapel.

“The ‘Real Men Read Day’ started when our school first opened as a way to get male mentors involved in our school and help show our children that reading is a cool thing to do,” said Karen Doty, Ph.D., principal of Langston Chapel Elementary School. “We started it that long ago and have always had a great turnout, but this year has been exceptional. Georgia Southern, the Athletic Department, brought loads of students and coaches over. Statesboro High School brought a busload over, community members come, our parents come, it’s just a great way to see male role models read and encourage our students to do the same.”

Tying into the celebration of the birthday of Theodore Geisel, perhaps better known as children’s author Dr. Seuss, Langston Chapel Elementary joined other schools nationwide in decorating the interior of the school with themes and characters from his books. Classes made striped “Cat in the Hat” hats and posters with Seuss characters, all projects geared toward learning and the love of reading. A cardboard figure of Dr. Seuss greeted even students and the “Real Men Readers” near the entrance.

“In life there is not a lot you can do if you can’t read well,” Doty commented on the importance of reading. “It’s a basic skill and by the time our children leave us in elementary, they have to be good readers and the more you practice, the better you get. We practice all the time and today helps us show our children that these adults still like to read.”

Coaches and student-athletes from Men’s Basketball, Football and Men’s Soccer participated in today’s event, rotating through classrooms and grades, reading as many books as possible.  After the reading sessions, the Eagles took time to answer questions about going to school at Georgia Southern, their sports and their families.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its "Eagles GATA" mobile app for Android and iOS.

Category: Football

Published on Friday, 01 March 2013 17:42