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Who They Are Take 5 Read is part of a program sponsored by literacy of our young people. Over the next few months, the Beaver wi minutes. We urge all parents to sit down with their children and read these articles when they appear. e were sitting at the breakfast table, W a normal weekday where my famiâ€" ly engaged in the morning routine. My tenâ€"yearâ€"old son, Michello, was packing his knapsack, eating his breakfast, and telling me about a project he was working on for school. It seems his class was involved in a special reading assignment where the students were to read a book and then make a daily report. Not that much different from the conventionâ€" al "book report" except that parents were to read with their children and help them comâ€" ment on the experience. Now, Michello, likes to talk â€" especially about what he knows. Within seconds, he had dropped everything and went into a detailed account of his favorite book, Jacob Twoâ€" Two. He found it hilarious. His older brother (by one year), Munyonzwe, soon joined in. He had read Jacob Twoâ€"Two as well, which was news to me, and the two of them started going on about the funniest parts. The one I remember best is that there is a lawyer charâ€" acter in the book named Mr. Loser. What I remember even better is that the conversation was entirely between them. Sure, they brought their notâ€"soâ€"withâ€"it father into the loop every so often; but the bottom line was that they were becoming selfâ€"sufficient through the written word. The two boys had ventured into the world of learning and of individuality and personal freedom where they were not dependent on teachers and parâ€" ents. And they were bonding as siblings, which is always a good thing. Ironic that a parent/child project was responsible for me figuring this all out. I was moved by how Michello in particular was enjoying reading. The project allowed B y _ Câ€"E E. L Oâ€"S l Eâ€"R me to witness him crack open the secrets of things and see firstâ€"hand that beauty of disâ€" covery children make every so often. And he was doing it through books. Looking back, I realized that consciously or not, I had often exposed him to the written word. His earliest memories were probably of me sitting in an About the author Cecil Foster emigrated to Canada from Barbados in 1979. He has written and edited The Toronto Star, The Globe Mail and Contrast Magazine. Presently, he is the Senior Editor of The Financial Post and a weekly cultural correspondent for CBC‘s Metro Morning. Frontier College in Toronto, the Oakville Beaver and corporate citizens concerned about the 11 publish stories by well known Canadian authors that can be read in 5 easychair, reading a newspaper (I‘m a jourâ€" nalist) or typing at my computer. As a child, he would stretch out on the floor at my feet while I banged away on the day‘s story. Later, he would reach out toward my screen as if to grab the words. My wife Glenys and I have now helped both boys with their atâ€"home reading projects. We see firsthand their creativity and individualiâ€" ty; the two of them matching up words and visuals, letting their minds go, and getting in touch with worlds they thought never existed. They would bring their books home in plastic wrapping, and we would do the reading and make notes for the teacher about the experiâ€" ence. Then, off the next morning they would go, with their little bundles of plastic. It was fun, really, one of those great parental chores. All of us learned something. When it came around to Christmas that year, Michello‘s present list included books. And not of the Jacob Twoâ€"Two variety; rather, books on people like Nelson Mandela and Jesse Jackson. My boys are growing up and I thank God that reading is part of that process. The world has sped up a lot since the days I learned to read and the temptations are many for a young boy in a big city. The thousands of images that run past their vision daily have a way of distorting their reality and limiting real knowledge. What reading does is sit them down, make them concentrate, and, hopefully put them in touch with who they are. Cecil Foster, author of the criticallyâ€"acclaimed novel, No Man in the House, appears courtesy of Random House of Canada. His next novel, Dance, Suzanne, is due out that next year, also from Random House. CHISHOLM EDUCATIONAL CENTRES + ASSESSMENTS + TUTORING + REMEDIATION + ENRICHMENT FOR CHILDREN, ADOLESCENTS ADULTS 440 INGLEHART STREET, OAKVILLE, 844â€"3240 £€661 ‘¢ 1dag Kepuqg xaAVI8 4HL â€" Lb