A Personalized Development of Self-Concept for Beginning Readers

Abstract

EDUCATION We have heard a little bit about the LIKE ME! program from the previous individuals. Could you give us a more detailed description? Dr. DeMoulin: LIKE ME! is a special program that utilizes a personalized reader to deliver powerful I statements as positive inducements for learning and achievement to kindergartners. The goals of this program are to: * Create functional school/business alliances whereby a strong, unified partnership between a school and a corporate sponsor is nourished over time; * Foster parent/child interaction; * Focus on improving the child's self-concept through the use of positive I statements; * Deliver anti-drug and anti-gang messages; * Instill a love for reading through a personalized approach; * Improve reading comprehension and recall (memory); * Demonstrate to the child that s/he can be an important, successful young citizen by the development of a healthy self-concept through literacy. Although the main emphasis of the LIKE ME! program is to strengthen a child's self-concept through literacy and his/her attitude toward learning, a secondary emphasis is to improve reading comprehension and recall, writing skills, and enhance reading enjoyment. Moreover, the program builds positive interactions with the parent and child, the teacher and child, and parents and teachers while simultaneously increasing school/community partnership and involvement--a much needed, yet many times neglected, part of a community's responsibility in education. One of my favorite quotes is, the twig is bent, so the tree in inclined. When a young tree is planted, it needs stakes to ensure that it's growth is straight and true and that is will withstand all the positive and negative elements that Mother Nature offers. It is the same with children. They need stakes to ensure proper growth and development. These stakes include the home, school, and community -- all working together so the child can withstand the positive and negative elements that society offers. The program is also supported by an increasing number of national educational/civic organizations that include: * The National Association of School Psychologists; * The National Head Start Association; * Kappa Delta Pi; * American Association of School Administrators; * National Association of Elementary School Principals. * NASA EDUCATION You mentioned that the program is personalized. Why is this so special? Dr. DeMoulin: There have been a significant number of research studies conducted since the late 1970s using personalized materials to motivate children to learn and to enhance achievement. The reasoning behind the use of a personalized approach is that it would make reading more enjoyable and inviting to children because it reflects things that are familiar in a child's personal life and hence, more interesting and meaningful. Having stories that are meaningful enhances a child's motivation to read. When this occurs, children become more receptive to reading stories that they can identify with, and the more they read, the more they have an opportunity to improve their reading and interpretation skills. As children become actively engaged in the story, they display a heightened interest and an increased desire to improve their literacy skills. In other words, children become focused which is a key ingredient for learning. Moreover, through the use of personalization, children tend to play the part of the character making them heroes in their own lives. With the LIKE ME! approach, the child is the main character throughout the story and finds himself/herself combining new information and knowledge which s/he has learned to gain an active awareness of their development. These positive experiences also enhance creativity in children as they journey, with two of their friends and their teacher, through the different dimensions of their imagination as related to individual story units. …