I spent a week teaching writing in a school where 95 % of the students receive free or reduced lunch. I thought I was prepared because I knew that many of these children come to school 5,000 books behind.

"5,000 books behind" is an image I share with every parent and teacher group I can. It came from a conversation I had with Nancy Margolin, the librarian at McDougle Elementary, and one of the most thoughtful people I know. Two years ago she asked me how many books I'd read to my children every day when they were young. "A minimum of two or three," I guessed, remembering the fifty read-alouds I did of Goodnight Moon alone.

"So, if you think about how many books they've been read before kindergarten, five thousand would be a conservative estimate?" she asked.

"Probably," I agreed.

"Then think about children who have never been read to when they come to school. They start kindergarten five thousand books behind. How long does it take to make up that gap?" This image has impacted both my world view and my work. Many times it's teachers who must make up for five lost read-aloud years.

I was reminded of this conversation as I finished Mem Fox's Reading Magic: How Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever (Harcourt). She writes that children must hear 1,000 books read aloud before they unite the "magic" of language, print, and experience so that they can, themselves, can read. Reading with children helps them think about and understand the world, though they are not realizing this magic even as they're transformed by it.

The children I worked with at this school were missing this magic and their teachers have to fill enormous voids in language and experiences. They told me that if they had an unlimited budget, they would take their students out for a field trip once a week just so they would know a bit more about the world.

I taught collaborative writing in a third grade classroom, but it was hardly a cooperative experience. The children fought with each other about everything that was said. They have so little experience in expressing their thoughts and hearing those of others that each child wanted his or her idea to count the most. If their ideas weren't chosen, they exploded and one explosion detonated the next. It might have been better to do individual stories, but they didn't have the endurance, skills, or direction to carry through ideas by themselves. I wondered how any teaching could go on when the class is a sea of unmet needs.

Each day I worked with the children, I returned home exhausted. I was haunted by what I'd seen, and by knowing the energy, enthusiasm, creativity, and playfulness these teachers must muster. Daily, they see that these children need so much more than others, and yet they receive less.

I came to this school to teach children, many of whom I knew were 5,000 books behind, but I was the one who learned. I learned that the things I viewed as basic needs when raising my own children were luxuries these children didn't have. Continuous chatter, lots of outings, exposure to a huge range of experiences, singing silly songs, counting everything, and supplies as fundamental as crayons are missing in these children's lives. How can they care about learning, or working together, or creating a story, or taking a test when they come to school so unprepared to meet its demands?

In Chapel Hill, our percentages of poor students are not as high as the school I taught in, but our teachers see the deficit and disparity of experiences all too clearly. Fortunately, our district sees the problem and is working to find solutions. One action item of Chapel Hill Carrboro School's Minority Student Achievement is to ensure that students entering kindergarten have 1,000 books read to them. And our district has moved beyond observation and theorizing, it is taking action.

One of the most influential actions is the creation of the School Reading Partners Pre-K Program, coordinated by Pam Bailey and Gita Schonfeld. As a result of this program, adults are reading to children and children are reading to adults in eight elementary schools and seven prekindergartens. Volunteers spend one hour, working individually with two children in 1/2 hour blocks, giving these children the on-going, one-to-one practice that unites the magic of print, language and experiences they need so desperately. Volunteers are trained twice a year and those interested can call 967-8211, ext. 336 for more information. And those who are reading with young children will benefit by reading Mem Fox's Reading Magic. If I ran the world, it would be a requisite book for every parent and teacher working with young children!