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WVU, Marshall sports figures inspire boy to pick up books, again and again

By Patricia Morgan

MORGANTOWN, October 27, 2010 -- While serving on the Monongalia County Read Aloud Board of Directors, I was presented with a collaboration in the making -- between two college rivals, Marshall University and West Virginia University. These universities uphold certain traditions and standards of respect. The collaboration was one of the simplest essentials known to a family -- reading a book.

These college rivals and their collaboration had a direct link to my own family.
These schools have both gained the interest and respect of my youngest son Wyatt (age 8). Whether it is football or basketball or just the fact that he is a boy filled with athletic dreams, the fact remains that he is interested in what they are doing.

Surprisingly enough, instead of their usual known activities; they were reading a book! They were reading Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss.

You and I, being the mature readers that we are, may say, “Whoopty-doo,” but for me, inspiring a boy to read has been a real challenge. I have three boys to be exact, and one girl. All of them are different at reading. They differ in what they read and how much they like to read. They all sometimes struggle to find a reason to even pick up a book nowadays, especially the boys. So needless to say, I couldn’t care less about the rivalry factor because the inspiration factor was much stronger.

I am speaking, of course, about Read Aloud West Virginia’s collaborative effort Seuss-a-Palooza. This filmed reading of a Dr. Seuss classic is remarkable. The idea of bringing together people who would normally not want to share much of anything but pounding the other into the ground, is, by my definition, inspiration.

Within seconds of seeing this video (available at readaloudwestvirginia.org), my son Wyatt was taken by surprise by the coaches reading to him.

“Hey,” he said. “Was that Coach Stewart?”

He then proceeded to let out a chuckle, followed by a laugh, followed by Coach Huggins, and we were hooked. This is where the inspiration began. We brought out the books! We found the one they were reading and followed that with other books to read after those were finished.

We cannot place a value on those who inspire our children to become something more than they are. These mentors are demonstrating that we sometimes compete to win, but we can all be something more than just the winner. We can share a common, valuable ground, reading.

As a parent of three boys, I know firsthand who they are looking up to, dreaming to play for and to be inspired by. This is one reason why I serve on the Read Aloud West Virginia board in Monongalia County, to maybe, just maybe, redefine the word inspiration for my Wyatt.

Wyatt and I have watched the Seuss-a-Palooza video several times, and we always get inspired! Therefore, my personal rivalry challenge to anyone wanting one is to answer this simple question: “What are you inspiring your child to read, West Virginia?”

Morgan is chairwoman of the Monongalia County chapter of Read Aloud West Virginia.