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Beyond the tables in a far corner of the library, a group of students huddled around a table, pouring over books and going over questions with Librarian Pamela Perry. This year, Perry is doing double duty as the coach for the school’s Battle of the Books team, which will be competing against other Halifax County middle schools on Tuesday, May 5, at the Halifax County Library.
Seventh-grader Breanna Campbell explained that students chosen for the team were required to read 27 books, ranging from history to classic literature, which they will be questioned on during the Battle of the Books. The teams are also required to come up with their own questions, which will be submitted to the judges for inclusion in the competition.
Campbell, who said her favorite books are “mysteries and funny books that make me laugh,” listed several titles, including “Deeper” and “Black is the New Color” as among books the group recently read for the contest, while teammate Ihsaana Brown said she especially enjoyed “Romeo and Juliet. A lot of the books we read are kind of sad; a lot of them involve death,” she stated.
Tara Everett said she’s confident her team will represent the school with honor this year. “We’re going to come in first,” she said to her teammates. When the prospect of a post-battle dinner was mentioned, Everett laughed, adding, “If we don’t bring home the trophy, at least we’ll bring home some pizza.”
“This is a lot of fun,” stated Cambell. “We were all chosen for this. We have a good time in the meetings and we get to compete against one another.”
“Plus,” said Brown, “this will look good on my college resume.”
Librarian Perry beamed as she listened to the students discussing their preparation. With illiteracy rates in Halifax County hovering around the 27 percent mark, Perry understands the key to her student’s future success lies in education, with reading skills playing an increasingly crucial role. “This is very important. It really helps them to get involved with reading. It also prepares them for later in life; this is a competitive world.”
As she gathered the students for another round of study, Perry summed up the spirit of the school’s drive toward literacy. “We offered the buy one, get one free deal because of the state of the economy. You can’t put a price on reading.”
Comments
Beth wrote on May 23, 2009 5:12 AM:
I was listening to the radio today and heard a new Mastercard "priceless" commercial in which they quote the line from 'Romeo and Juliet', "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?".
The commercial then goes on to make it seem as if Juliet is searching for Romeo as if he is lost (flashlight: $10, etc.). If Mastercard is really trying to support literacy (or at least not dumb-down a new generation of children), maybe they should actually understand what the word "wherefore" meant in Shakespeare's time. "Wherefore" = Why are? Juliet was saying, "Why are you Romeo?" (She met and fell in love with him without knowing that he was her sworn enemy). Therefore, by saying "wherefore", she meant, "Why? why is it that my one true love just so happens to be a Montague?"
Anyway, mastercard should really stop spreading this already horrid twisting of that line. All they are doing is dumbing down a new generation of our youth. And, really?, do they NOT know what "wherefore" meant (means?)? WOW...
Sincerely,
One of the many educated peeps they would probably be hearing from if they had an accessible e-mail address.
But, seriously, you're a journalist. You should REAM them! You'd probably get some national attention. Plus, you would be doing a service towards the education in this country. (to say the least..) "