Retired sales exec, recruiter and trainer Mickey Finnegan has always devoured books the way some folks scarf holiday cookies. His reading list is so long that he keeps a journal to remember authors’ names, book titles and plot lines. A few years ago, a line from a Tom Brokaw book popped off the page and got the Lawrenceville resident thinking about literacy.
“Brokaw made a reference to the number of people in the U.S. who are illiterate,” said Finnegan, 75. “It’s a severe problem in one of the best educated countries in the world. It got me thinking about how people don’t get just illiterate when they’re 30; it starts when they’re children. We don’t evaluate reading skills until second or third grade, and that’s when we should be working with kids who are falling by the wayside.”
Being surrounded by educators – his wife is principal at Lilburn’s Berkmar High and his daughter is a fifth grade teacher at Bethesda Elementary in Lawrenceville – Finnegan decided to take his love of literature to his daughter’s school. He proposed a reading club to encourage youngsters to read beyond classroom assignments. But getting it organized was a challenge.
“The only time we could do it was Saturday morning, and there’s no transportation to get the kids there,” said Finnegan. “Parents would have to get the kids to school, and the kids would have to want to come back for a sixth day. But the principal jumped on it, and we got four teachers to give up their time and volunteer to help out.”
The first time the “Reading is Fun Again with Finnegan” program was offered three years ago, 40 kids signed up, and there was a waiting list. “And we’ve easily gotten that number every time since,” he said.
Fourth and fifth graders now vie to be part of the much-anticipated extracurricular that runs from 9:30 a.m. until noon once a month. The highlight of the morning is always a reading performance by the ebullient Finnegan.
“I am very funny, and I’m 75 but I don’t act like it,” he said with a laugh. “So I read for them, then they pick out a book, read a chapter and write about the theme. Then I get them to stand up and communicate what they’ve read.”
Occasionally, the take-away goes beyond reading comprehension and speaking skills. At a recent session, a story had a character writing a letter to her grandmother. “So we invited the kids to write letters to someone they hadn’t been in touch with for some time,” said Finnegan. “And we taught them how to address the envelopes.”
Bethesda Principal Pam Williams said a big part of the program’s success is Finnegan himself.
“He’s very conversational, engaging and animated when he reads aloud,” she said. “He’s so good, he gets the students excited about reading and school in general. He’s built a positive rapport with them. It’s neat to have someone from the outside be a role model.”
Finnegan also works with the students on speaking articulately and clearly, and improving their writing, said Williams. “When they get to the real world, that’s what they’ll have to do.”
For Finnegan, sharing his love of books is just part of his reward.
“It’s so gratifying to work with these kids and see the support they’re getting from parents, teachers and librarians,” he said. “And I also get to talk to them about what they’re missing out on if they don’t read.”
Information about Bethesda Elementary school: bethesdaelem.org.
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