The Missouri Reader Vol. 36, Issue 1 | Page 6

Editor’s Comments
Kathryn Pole, Ph.D.
The Missouri Reader has a long history of promoting excellence in the teaching of reading, and in supporting
better practices in classrooms. In this themed issue, ―Motivating Literacy Learners,‖ I hope to share with
you some outstanding work being done to address a component of reading that seems to me to make the
difference between superficial reading that students do in order to complete an assignment or get a good
grade, and deep reading that comes from an internalized sense of curiosity, invol vement, and emotional
connection.
Many of the articles in this issue tie into our theme. In her article on using children‘s literature to explore
social class and poverty, Rebecca Rogers uses critical literacy as a way to inspire children to create a better
world. Carolyn Carlson writes about the importance of fostering intrinsic motivation in our students.
Articles by Sandra Matson, Miranda Snowden, Xiaoming Liu & Elizabeth Dicembre, Kasie Ferguson, Diane
Pierce, Valerie Zelenka, and Elizabeth Bax all offer us snapshots into high-quality classrooms – the kinds of
classrooms where motivation to read and participate in other literate practices blooms. I thank our
contributors deeply for their insightful and important work.
One of the most enthusiastic contributors to this issue was Jordan Smith. At the urging of one of her
professors, Jordan, a teacher education major at Culver-Stockton College, submitted a paper she had
written in class, inquiring of its suitability for The Missouri Reader. In its original form, the paper wouldn‘t
work in our journal, but Jordan was motivated to revise it. I gave her guidance on ways to make her
manuscript publishable, and she worked with her professor, Dr. Terry Sherer, to make the changes. Her
resubmitted work interested me a great deal. Sadly, before we could confirm to Jordan that her manuscript
had a place in this issue of The Missouri Reader, she lost her life in an automobile accident. I was told that
Jordan never settled for second best. She was an exemplary student, a nurturing mother to her beloved
Maggie, served as a mentor in the Freshman Year Experience at her college, and had her sights set on being
an innovative and caring English teacher at middle and/or high school levels. Her achievements reveal her
curiosity, ambition, and love of a well-turned phrase. Jordan‘s contagious optimism will be sorely missed.
The article we publish in this issue stands as an enduring eulogy, and I want to thank her family for allowing
her work to be shared.

Sincerely,

Kathryn Pole, Editor

©The Missouri Reader, 36 (1) p. 6