A Tradition of Learning
I am proud to come from a family of educators. My father, who earned his master’s degree at 21, was one of the first three Black educators in Georgia to write statewide high school curriculums. My uncle was such a powerful voice for the education of people of color during the late 60s onward, that Atlanta Metropolitan State College named its science building in his honor.
When I first heard about the Reading Captain program I jumped at the opportunity to volunteer because I saw an avenue for me to work directly with families in my Fishtown community.
Like so many of my fellow Reading Captains, I was brought in by a friend, Dorian Harris. What sold me immediately was the idea of working directly with families in my own neighborhood, offering them the kind of support, encouragement and supplies they need to bridge the educational gap imposed through educational red-lining.
My favorite part of being a Reading Captain is being a zealous advocate for learning. Reading has always been a very important part of my life, and I love the idea of being able to spread the word about how important it is for Blacks and other people of color about the importance of reading and how reading opens up the mind and opens doors to the future. How there are small everyday things parents or caring adults can do with their child or children that can jumpstart learning and make a difference in the development of young minds.
Since joining, the training and materials have been great. What’s been the best part is the connection I have made with a local elected official, Senator Nikil Saval, to help push the Read by 4th agenda in his district and throughout Pennsylvania.
One particular day sticks out for me in my time as a Reading Captain volunteer. Back in October, during the Reading Promise week, I went down to my local grocery (Cousin’s Market at 6th and Berks) and asked if I could set up a table outside to hand out educational materials and talk directly to families.
The people at Cousin’s could not have been more helpful, and the interactions with families were way past my expectations. I must have spoken with 50 families within a few hours on a cool rainy day giving out information and directing them to more resources.
I witnessed how hungry parents were for this kind of information and interaction, especially in these pandemic times. They were happy to see an actual person, especially a man of color, personally engaging with people instead of on some computer screen or phone call eager to help their children. It was a great relief to them and I was more than thrilled to help them. As a matter of fact, they were so happy to have face-to-face contact that they asked me if I would do this more often.
This was the kind of direct community involvement and interactions that the Reading Captain program was designed to deliver. We are off to a good start but there are more things we can do.
First off there should be more of us, in more communities, who are willing to interact with families in their native language. We always need more things to hand out and more places to direct families who need more support. I would love to be able to help families create their own home libraries, with books at appropriate reading levels for their children.
A new personal project I am interested in pursuing, based on the success I have found with meeting people in parking lots and on street corners in Fishtown: I would love to see pop-up satellite schools in public places, where families could come with their children for schooling.
This is the kind of thing my family of educators would be proud of.
Sayid McMillan is a Reading Captain, as well as a member of Read by 4th’s Parent Council Committee (Home Library Sub-Committee) and Community Mobilization Committee.
