Speech: Why Reading Matters

Remarks to the student body, Crooked River Elementary
in conjunction with the the occasion of Dr. Seuss' birthday
delivered by Crook County Judge Scott R. Cooper, March 3, 2003

Good morning. I’m here this morning to talk about the importance of reading.

Reading is important. If you can’t read, you can’t tell when there’s no school. You don’t know when its time for your parents to come to school for conference. You can’t find out what’s for lunch in the cafeteria. You might not know what bus to get on to go home. You can’t read a list of who’s in your classroom. When you grow up, you won’t be able to get a drivers license. You may not even be able to get a job! Reading is important, because it helps you be a better grown up.

Reading is fun, and reading is interesting. Here are a few things I read just this weekend:

· Elephant’s can’t jump.
· Yaks have pink milk.
· A Persian King once defeated an Egyptian army by throwing dead cats at them!
· Giraffes and mice have the same number of bones in their necks.
· Hippomatami have lips two feet wide.
· Porcupines have orange teeth.
· The first chickens in America were brought by Christopher Columbus.
· Cows sweat through their noses.
· Rats can go longer without water than camels
· The man who brought the potato chip to America was President Thomas Jefferson.
· The oldest letter in the alphabet is “O”
· All polar bears are left-handed.
· The White House (where the President lives) used to be called The Grey House.
· Elephants aren’t really afraid of mice, but they are scared of little dogs, especially dachsunds.

My little girl who is two likes me to read Dr. Seuss to her. Dr. Suess thinks reading is very important, and he thinks you should read. In fact, Dr. Suess wrote something called the reader’s oath.

An oath is a very serious thing. People must take oaths when they come to Court. When you take an oath, you are promising to tell the truth, and only the truth. It is a very serious thing to take an oath and then not do it.

Are you willing to take an oath to be a good reader? If you are, please stand up and put your right hand in the air. Let’s say the Dr. Seuss oath together. Let’s practice. I’ll say the first sentence, and then you repeat it. Are you ready to try?

“I, Scott Cooper”

Now you repeat and say your name: “I, xxx.”

Good, now let’s try and again and say the rest of the oath. I’ll start, and then you repeat, and then we’ll say the whole oath. Is everybody ready? OK, here we go…I, (say your name):
Promise to read*
Each day and each night*
I know it’s key*
To growing up right*
I’ll read to myself*
I’ll read to a crowd*
It makes no difference*
If silent or loud.*
I’ll read at my desk*
At home and at school*
On my bean bag or bed*
By the fire or pool*
Each book that I read*
Puts smarts in the my head,*
Cause brains grow more thoughts*
The more they are fed.*
So I take this oath*
To make reading my way*
Of feeding my brain*
What it needs every day.*

You may be seated. You’ve taken the oath to be serious readers. Good luck in your task. Thank you for letting me be here today.