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When Boston College Professor of Hispanic Studies Dwayne Carpenter joined the University’s Read Aloud program — which sends BC faculty and staff volunteers to Boston schools to read to students — he brought his trademark enthusiasm and creativity to the task, dressing in costume for his first reading which coincided with Halloween. Last week, Carpenter, who is Jewish, visited the first graders at St. Columbkille Partnership School dressed as Santa Claus.
“It was the highlight of my semester,” said Carpenter, who is co-director of BC’s Jewish Studies program. Carpenter told the students three holiday-related stories. He shared the Italian folk tale of Befana, a housekeeper who encounters the Three Kings while they are searching for the baby Jesus. Another Christmas story was set in El Salvador and featured a young Spanish-speaking child who wanted to write a letter to Santa but did not know any words, just the alphabet. In the third story, Carpenter showed the students a menorah and explained the meaning behind the eight candles of Hanukkah. Carpenter gave each of 31 children in his classroom stickers, candy canes and a dreidel. He then stopped by several other classrooms to visit with students at the school.
Established in 1995, Read Aloud is a joint program between the Boston College Office of Governmental & Community Affairs and Boston Partners in Education. About 60 to 70 employees of Boston College volunteer for the program annually. Once a week, teams of volunteers travel to four Boston schools and read a book out loud in classrooms to students from kindergarten to grade four. The schools involved in Read Aloud are: Thomas Edison K-8, Mary Lyon K-8, F. Lyman Winship Elementary and St. Columbkille Partnership School.
Carpenter joined Read Aloud in the fall. “I knew of colleagues who were involved in Read Aloud and they all had good things to say about it. I had made a resolution to do more volunteer work. I love to read and linguistics is my bread and butter, so this seemed like the ideal opportunity.”
Carpenter added that his mother was a second-grade teacher and he recalls, “the joy and inspiration these young people brought to her life. I have to admit, however, that I was more nervous about speaking to first-graders than I was in teaching graduate seminars on medieval literature and linguistics!”
While Carpenter is new to Read Aloud, many BC employees have been volunteering for the program for 10, 12 or 16 years, said Read Aloud Coordinator Laura Bitran of BC’s Office of Governmental & Community Affairs. The most senior members of the Read Aloud corps, with 16 years of service, are: Syed Khan of O’Neill Library, Paul Karamourtopoulos of Auxiliary Services, Intersections Director Burt Howell and longtime BC employee Mary Zlotnik.
Carpenter says he is enjoying working with the children. “They are so well-behaved and enthusiastic about participating.” Carpenter also said he appreciates the diversity in the student population at St. Columbkille Partnership School and the fact that the school celebrates multiculturalism.
The success of Read Aloud has spawned Share Aloud, a program geared toward older students. Three representatives from Boston College, Adjunct Professor Ruth-Ann Harris of the Irish Studies program, Dr. Arnold Mazur of University Health Services, and University friend Edward Shay, regularly visit 6th and 7th graders at St. Columbkille Partnership School to talk about historical as well as current events.
“Read Aloud is an opportunity to connect with the community in a positive way,” concluded Carpenter. “I am thankful to BC and to Laura’s leadership for making this possible.”
View a slideshow of Santa's visit to St. Columbkille Partnership School here.