"MENTOR - Die Leselernhelfer" is to be further expanded

In the coming school year, the volunteer project "MENTOR - Die Leselernhelfer" (MENTOR - The Reading Helpers) is to be further expanded in order to provide even more children with individual reading support. The initiative is currently receiving generous funding from Adalbert-Raps-Stiftung, which makes it possible to equip all participating schools with bright red "MENTOREN-Koffern". They are filled to the brim with educationally valuable games and books and enrich the local reading sessions.

New reading mentors wanted for the individual reading promotion of children

During a press conference at the Friedrich Baur Primary and Secondary School in Stadtsteinach, District Administrator Klaus Peter Söllner emphasised that the voluntary project, which came about as a result of the education region process, is a very valuable building block with great potential for development. He thanked the 24 reading mentors who have already been involved in nine schools in the district in the past school year and have achieved a great deal. Both the reading mentors and the schools gave very positive feedback.

The Corona crisis has further increased the need for support for children with reading difficulties, as the project organisers, school counsellor Kerstin Zapf, education coordinator Nicole Neuber and Heike Söllner from the Coordination Centre for Civic Engagement at the District Office agree with the District Administrator. That is why they are currently calling on all citizens who are interested in reading to register their interest in the project. Everyone who can spare some time once a week to volunteer as a reading mentor in a school close to home and thus support children is very welcome. 

Playful encouragement according to the motto "Reading together opens doors".

Reading mentors do not need to have any special pedagogical knowledge. The only prerequisite is that you enjoy reading, storytelling and playing as well as interacting with young people. It is also important to know that the volunteer mentors are by no means "substitute teachers" and that the mentoring hour has nothing to do with tutoring or homework supervision. It is about targeted reading promotion with humour and patience - not about pressure to perform. First and foremost, the aim is to make reading fun, and then success usually follows automatically - according to the motto: "Reading together opens doors" .

The work is based on the 1:1 principle, i.e. one reading mentor works with one reading child. The quality feature is education through bonding. In this way, a lot is achieved with manageable effort. Once a week, the mentor and the reading child meet at school for an hour to read and talk together, usually after school, at lunchtime or in the early afternoon. 

Introductory seminars for future reading mentors

In order to prepare the future volunteer reading mentors for their task, the Coordination Centre for Civic Engagement is offering a 1-day introductory seminar on Saturday, 18 September 2021 from 9.30 a.m. - 3.30 p.m., in which a lot of interesting information about the commitment as a reading mentor will be imparted. The number of participants is limited to a maximum of 15. A second qualification is optionally planned for Saturday, 25 September 2021. The seminars will take place at the Friedrich Baur primary and secondary school in Stadtsteinach and will be led by Simone Zimmerer, the reading officer for the primary and secondary schools in the district, and Birgit Glaß, volunteer MENTOR coordinator. Both have been trained as speakers by the MENTOR national association in the past year and can pass on many practical tips and strategies. The reading mentoring at the schools will begin in October; before that, the time possibilities of the mentors will be coordinated with those of the reading children in a first meeting at the school. The reading mentoring should extend over at least one school year, with holidays always being excluded. 

Adalbert-Raps-Stiftung Supports generously 

In order to create the best conditions for the weekly reading sessions, all participating schools were recently equipped with "mentor cases". Thankfully, Adalbert-Raps-Stiftung financed the purchase of 10 of them. The suitcases are filled to the brim with animating games and books so that reading children and reading mentors can benefit from them during reading lessons. 

Florian Schneider, Director of Social Affairs at Adalbert-Raps-Stiftung , on the Foundation's reasons for supporting the project: "The idea of the reading mentors is very simple and at the same time highly effective. With the individual support of the reading children by the reading mentors, it is not only possible to improve the reading skills of the participants: The project contributes to better educational and life opportunities overall and thus makes a decisive contribution to more educational justice. A topic that has gained even more importance with the pandemic and the consequences of home schooling and is a particular concern for us in our funding activities."