Lire et Faire Lire Acadie
Francophone seniors share joy of reading with elementary students
Margaret Patricia Eaton
Dr . Odette Albert says something was missing from her life after she retired as an anesthesiologist . “ It ’ s hard to pinpoint , but the retirement dream wasn ’ t working . I could have a full-time job , just doing my garden … but ….”
An opportunity for fulfillment was presented at a Frye Festival lecture by French author Alexandre Jardin who spoke about Lire et Faire Lire ( LFL ), an organization begun in France in 1985 . It ’ s an intergenerational program designed to promote a love of reading through lively story-times with volunteer seniors who visit elementary schools to read to small groups . There ’ s no comprehension test at the end of the session , it ’ s about reading for the joy of it .
By 2016 over 18,000 seniors in France had participated in the
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Dr . Odette Albert
Acadie ( LFLA ) has also flourished in New Brunswick ’ s Francophone schools .
“ Jardin was a good presenter ,” Dr . Albert , president of LFLA says . “ I knew right away this was something I would like to do . I read to my grandchildren when they stay overnight , and I love that , but how do you explain when you really like something ? You just know !”
She brought together six like-minded friends and made a proposal to the Francophone South School District , headquartered in Dieppe , which includes 35 schools from Miramichi to Memramcook and west to Saint John and Fredericton , resulting in a pilot project at St . Henri and Champlain Schools . “ The following year they asked us to go to all the schools and how could we say no ?”
Next LFLA was invited by the Department of Education to go to the two Francophone districts in the north so now Albert looks forward to an entire province covered by grandmothers and grandfathers reading to children , turning the fun experience into a lifelong passion for literature . At the same time , seniors who feel , like Albert did , they ’ re no longer useful to society , will be stimulated by the inter-generational experience and the opportunity to make a positive impact on children ’ s lives .
Volunteers come from all walks of life . Some are retired teachers , “ but that ’ s not a requirement because volunteers don ’ t teach ,” she says . Instead they have fun reading to small groups ( four to six ) in the school library , once a week for 10 weeks , either in the autumn or spring ( or both ) for a 15 to 20-minute period . The children from Kindergarten to Grade 2 have been identified by their teachers as those most likely to benefit from such an intervention . At the beginning , LFLA focussed on Grade 2 , however Albert says they ’ ve been asked to shift the emphasis to Grade 1 to better prepare for the Grade 2 provincial language arts assessments .
In addition to the reading period there ’ s preparation time which includes choosing a book from the collection which the volunteer likes , “ because if the reader doesn ’ t like it , it ’ s hard to get the kids interested . We want the volunteers to make the story lively — less teacher and more grandparent .”
Interested in becoming a volunteer reader ? Dr . Odette Albert would love to hear from you . Contact the organization at lireetfairelireacadie @ yahoo . ca or telephone 854-0060 .