Chattanooga Education, Arts & Culture is starting a new movement in schools and community centers during “Season for Nonviolence” (Jan. 30-April 4, commemorating Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
’s assassinations) in time with First Lady Michelle Obama's national discussion on Healthy Living on Google's Hangout on Monday.
Education, Arts & Culture and Administrator Missy Crutchfield is teaming up with International Recording Artist T-Ran Gilbert to bring the fun of reading to kids and teens with an original initiative, ChattanoogaEAC Let's Move! Reading JAMS (“Jump And Move!”) focused on the “Season for Nonviolence” theme: Healthy Mind, Body, Spirit, and Planet.
Celebrating favorite books like Dr. Seuss’ collection and books about Civil Rights like Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream,” Ms. Crutchfield shares with students the importance of reading, the power of believing in themselves, realizing their dreams, taking leadership, and being the change.
She said, “In my work I created a city department designed to be a model for other cities around the world. When you create a department that comes out of your passion, it doesn’t start at 8 and it doesn’t end at 5. And sometimes, finding the time to workout isn’t always easy, especially when you have so many priorities to focus on like helping kids with their reading and countering negative influences like video games and peer pressure. We know if our kids don’t turn around their eating habits and get more exercise in their lives, they will not live as long as their parents’ generation.
"We also know if kids don’t learn to read and meet third grade reading level, we are looking at building more prisons. These are two facts we can no longer ignore. So now as we launch these Reading JAMS which came out of my passion to get kids reading and then get them more active, we don’t have to stop what we’re doing to fit exercise into the day! We can look at ways to do both. That’s what we’ve done with ChattanoogaEAC Let's Move! Reading JAMS and the kids are activating, they are jumping up and down, they are seeing the power of learning, and how everything can work together. They are seeing how it can happen in a minute, transform your thinking and the way we do things, and we can be better, we can be the change.”
International Recording Artist T-Ran Gilbert joins in the movement talking to kids about the importance of reading as a singer/songwriter and gets them up out of their chairs dancing along to his hit songs “Turn the Lights On” and “Fly.”
Special guests like the “Cat in the Hat” and “Thing One & Thing Two” are known to make appearances with the team, as well as inspiring communities to invite their local celebrities and reading partners to join.
Contact Chattanooga Education, Arts & Culture at (423) 425-7823 or www.chattanooga.gov