Masuk Free Press

At Masuk, students can combine their passion for reading and their love for kids by joining the RAWR Club, where they visit the local elementary school to read to younger students. They have worked with students in first through third grades. RAWR stands for “reading and writing rocks”, which is a message that they hope to share with the students.

“We have high school students that are interested in becoming teachers or working with children in some capacity, and we go down to Fawn Hollow Elementary School during their Wing time,” said Laura Massey, the club advisor. “It’s usually students that need a little bit of enrichment that are more advanced for their grade level, and we do different reading and writing activities that our high schoolers come up with.”

The RAWR Club didn’t start with Massey. It began as a way for interested students to gain experience in the education field. She saw a future for the club and decided to take it over for the original teacher.

“There wasn’t a future educators club or anything like that at that point,” said Massey. “So it was just students here at the high school that were interested in becoming teachers, and they wanted to find a way to be able to work with elementary school students.”

When they’re not at the elementary school, members of the RAWR club are working to plan their next visit. They come up with reading-related activities and exercises to complete with the kids. 

“At meetings during flex, we plan for what we’re going to do after school. We had a meeting on Tuesday, and we planned ‘I am’ poems for them to do. Then we made templates and printed all the papers and got markers and colored pencils ready,” said senior Claudia Mensah. 

The RAWR club is a great way to get children excited about reading and turn it into a fun activity, as well as foster positive connections between the high schoolers and the younger students. 

“It’s great to see how enthusiastic the younger students are about reading and writing,” stated Massey. “It’s wonderful to see the way in which the high schoolers are able to relate to them and explain things and put themselves on their level, and every meeting we all walk out with a huge smile on our faces. The entire experience is positive.”

Each visit offers fun for everyone, no matter what grade they are in. It becomes something for the kids to look forward to. Not only is it a time for them to do work, but it is also a time for them to socialize and have fun. According to Mensah, the kids are always happy for the high schoolers to come.

“Every time they see us, they’re always excited to see us because they get to leave class for 30 to 45 minutes to do stuff for the high schoolers. They think high schoolers are cool, so they love it,” said Mensah. “My favorite part is interacting with them, even though I don’t want to be a teacher and I’m not doing anything in teaching. It’s just fun to go there and talk to them.”

This club demonstrates the importance of reading, and it proves that reading doesn’t have to be boring.

“As an English teacher, I think reading is so important. It opens you up to so many different opportunities, so many different experiences, so many different emotions,” said Massey.

The RAWR club is not only about reading, however. It prepares students for teaching and allows them to see the world from a different perspective. Through this club, students are able to gain valuable experience with kids. This can help set them on the path to becoming teachers in the future. 

“I think our high schoolers being able to see it from the teacher’s perspective and trying to not only share their enthusiasm for reading but also to help be able to instruct and support, I think that’s a really important lesson for teenagers becoming adults because that is part of the shift in their role with younger people,” said Massey. 

Reading is important even for students who are not interested in becoming teachers, according to Massey.

“I think reading is something that opens our eyes to something outside of ourselves, and I think that’s also something that the club gives to our high school students because they’re able to see beyond Masuk and their struggles and successes and achievements and they’re able to see it through their childhood eyes.”