Superintendent’s Chat

Richard McClements, Shonto Preparatory School

Jack and the Beanstalk was probably my favorite fairy tale as a youngster. When you think about it, the author was really creative. A young boy climbs up a beanstalk into another world and finds himself in the castle of a giant. There he meets a hen who can lay golden eggs. He gets away with some goodies and chops the beanstalk down before the giant can get him. I also liked the Three Little Pigs, Billy Goat Gruff, and Hansel & Gretel. Those stories really fired my imagination.

As I grew older my taste in books changed, but I never outgrew my admiration for writers and the gift they have to make you feel things so deeply. There is nothing better than having a character or plot that is just compelling. The great books often lead to a corresponding movie, but those that do often are not as good as the book.

From my teenage years on, my favorites have always been historical novels. One of my earliest favorites was Drums Along the Mohawk. It was written by Walter Edmunds who lived about 40 miles from my hometown of Newport, NY. It was made into a movie and is about the Mohawk Valley and a young couple during the Revolutionary War. For those of you who are older, the actor is Henry Fonda. His movie wife is Claudette Colbert. My mother has probably seen that movie 20 times. I am not far behind.

My next favorite author was Terry C. Johnston. He wrote a series of books about mountain men, a topic that has always intrigued me. Terry Johnston’s first book, Carry the Wind, really hooked me. It is about a young greenhorn from the east who goes west to become a mountain man. Carry the Wind was so popular, the author wrote two more books about the same major character. I read the second and the third. Once I find an author I like, I try to read all of his books.

I have written on several occasions about how books and knowledge go hand-in-hand. Go to the library and start reading. I know within the first chapter if I like the writer. If he or she hasn’t got my attention, I stop reading that book and find another. There is no reason why anyone should have to read something that is boring or poorly written. We all have different tastes and like different writers. I never read science fiction. I do like a good mystery. I do not like comedies.

The point is read often. You will be surprised at how much it helps you learn in school. Did you also know that there is a strong correlation between your vocabulary and how much money you earn in life? The more you read, the better is your vocabulary. You are better off buying a book than a CD. Listen to the music on the radio.