In honor of the birthday of one of America’s most admired authors and illustrators, Theodor (Dr. Seuss) Geisel, March is designated as National Reading Month to celebrate and promote the joys and the importance of reading.

Reading plays a crucial role in our lives.  It stimulates our imagination, expands our knowledge of the world and each other and helps us to develop language skills. 

Reading is also associated with early childhood learning and development, as it helps children to:

• learn sounds, words, and language
• expand literacy skills
• develop the ability to focus, concentrate, socialize, and communicate

There are also long-lasting health benefits to reading for individuals of all ages, including increased cognitive function, memory, empathy, and decreased levels of stress.

Literacy Statistics

Literacy Data and its impact on the Nation

• Illiteracy has become such a serious problem in our country that 130 million adults are now unable to read a simple story to their children
• 21% of adults in the US were illiterate in 2022
• 54% of adults have a literacy below 6th grade level
• 44% of the American adults do not read a book in a year

Literacy Data and its impact in the classroom

• The Top 3 states for highest child literacy rates were Massachusetts, Maryland, and New Hampshire, in that order (highest to lowest).
• The Bottom 3 states for child literacy rates were Louisiana, Mississippi, and New Mexico, (highest to lowest).  Approximately 40% of students across the nation cannot read at a basic level.
• Almost 70% of low-income fourth grade students cannot read at a basic level.
• 60% of the behavioral problems occur during reading assignments- group or independently.
• Struggling readers suffer socially.
• Struggling readers suffer emotionally.

During this month, we encourage each other to read every day.  Spend ample time reading our favorite books and recommit ourselves to making sure children and young adults read diverse literary works early and often so they can see themselves and others in what they read.

In addition, in order to do our part to help promote reading and literacy, we have partnered with Mary’s Center in the month of March on a book drive!

 

According to this time management concept, you should schedule blocked time for work followed by set periods of rest. 

The Pomodoro Method was developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980’s and he used a timer to break work into intervals – typically 25 minutes in length – separated by short breaks. Each interval is known as a pomodoro (from the Italian word for tomato) after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer Cirillo used as a university student.

 

The original technique has six steps:

1. Decide on the task to be done
2. Set the pomodoro timer (typically for 25 minutes)
3. Work on the task
4. End work when the timer rings and take a short break (typically 5–10 minutes)
5. After four cycles – or four pomodoros – take a longer break (typically 15-30 minutes) and once the long break is finished, return to step 2

This technique can be tailored with different time frames for work and rest.  Another popular option is the 52/17 method with blocks of 52 minutes for work followed by a 17 minute break.  Figuring out your personal habits and productivity cycles will help you determine the optimal time blocks for your individual needs and, by allowing for uninterrupted work time punctuated with breaks, your productivity and creativity can flow. 

Check out “Deep Work” by Cal Newport.  In this book, he teaches you how to develop your focus and resist distractions which will help drive you toward your most important goals. He contends that focus is like a mental muscle: Through deliberate training, you can strengthen your focus and expand your mental capacity.

Initially identified by Italian sociologist and economist Vilfredo Paredo, the 80/20 Rule relates to the notion that 20% of your efforts will be responsible for 80% of your results. 

To help with time management, know your goals and identify the tasks that will help achieve results.  Then, imagine sorting your actions to identify the 20% that will help achieve that aim and if you could do those actions 100% of the time you will be well ahead of the game. 

Richard Koch’s “The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less” is a great resource to learn more about ways to apply this magical concept to many facets of your life. 

 

The Eisenhower matrix is a simple tool to help you sort through daily activities.  Attributed to President Dwight D. Eisenhower and popularized in Steven Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” the above table provides an easy visual aid to help sort priorities.  

Activities in Box 1 are urgent and important, ie. DO NOW actions.  Box 2 represents DO LATER actions.  These are tasks that are important but not urgent, so schedule a time for these activities.  In Box 3, you have actions that are not important but are urgent – these might be tasks that you DELEGATE.  Finally, actions in Box 4 are not important and not urgent, therefore things to ELIMINATE from your list of activities.

The first HPV vaccine was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or FDA in 2006.  This vaccine – Gardasil 4 – protects against 4 strains of HPV.  The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) provides advice and guidance to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding use of vaccines for control of vaccine-preventable diseases and ACIP recommended Gardasil 4 for girls and women aged 9 – 26 years old.  

In 2009, the FDA approved another vaccine, Cervarix.  This vaccine protects against two high-risk strains of HPV.  Also in 2009, ACIP extended its HPV vaccine recommendation to include boys and men aged 9 – 26 years old. 

Gardasil 9 protects against 9 strains of HPV 

Low-risk strains: 6, 11

High-risk stains: 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58

Gardasil 9, our current HPV vaccine, was approved in 2014. It protects against nine HPV strains, including high-risk types associated with cancer and low-risk types associated with genital warts. While still available worldwide, Gardasil 4 and Cervarix were discontinued in the United States in 2014.

In 2018, Gardasil 9 was approved for use in both women and men ages 27 – 45 years old