A Kindergartner created this story:
“When I grow up I want to be a choo choo train driver. I will keep the train on the tracks and make sure it doesn’t derail. I will drive a steam train with people on it. I will take them to stations and places they want to go. I don’t care where there go, I just want to drive!” LS
Author trades autographs with young authors
It was at 4:30 on October 29, 2012.
Antil first asked his audience at the New York State Reading Association conference, “How many of you believe in angels?”
When everyone raised their hands, he began:
“I am the seventh child of a seventh son of a seventh son. My name is Jerome Mark Antil. I am Jerome from St. Jerome – patron saint of librarians; I know that because my mother told me. I am Mark after Mark Twain. I know this because, when I was twelve, my mother promised me the complete set of Mark Twain she received on her twelfth birthday in 1914.
I have been inspired to write and assist the causes of literacy in schools through the influence of four women in my life.
One of the women was my mother, Mary Rowe Holman Antil. She would read us chapters each week all through the school year. Mom raised eight children, and then at the age of sixty two – she entered college, received her degree, her Masters and worked toward her doctorate.
Mrs. Doxtator was one of the women. The same year the school guidance counselor suggested I forgo college and consider becoming a truck driver, Mrs. Doxtator, my English teacher, wrote on the corner of one of my compositions, ‘This is one of the loveliest autumns I have ever read about.’
The third influence was my daughter, Worley. At thirteen she asked me to promise her that I would write a book to help single dads. I did – Handbook for Weekend Dads – it is an Amazon bestseller, in category. She also asked me to write my stories – the stories I had told her growing up. When I asked her if she remembered any, she handed me four pages where she had written the subject lines to forty two stories. My first novel came out in December 2011 – The Pompey Hollow Book Club.
Years before, when my daughter was nine, I took her to Syracuse, from Dallas, Texas – to visit her grandmother, who was turning 93, in a health care facility at the time. We got there, put my mother in a wheelchair and took her out of the hospital and to a restaurant – where she ordered a steak. I looked across the table at her and asked, ‘Mom, you okay?’ She reflected a moment, looked back at me and said, “You know, Jerry, I’m finding the memory is much kinder than the mirror.” She went back to her steak. Later I caught her eye and asked her if there was anything she needed. It was the moment we both knew we would probably never see each other again, on earth anyway, as I had to get back to Dallas with my daughter. She put her fork down, looked at my nine year old daughter, touched her hand gently and said, ‘Not to worry, Worley – your Grandma Mary just knows that heaven is a wonderfully big library – everything is going to be just fine.’ She smiled and picked up her fork again.
Ladies and gentlemen, for all of us who believe in angels, today, the very same day her seventh child of a seventh son of a seventh son is addressing the New York State Reading Association – today, October 29th, would have been my mother’s birthday.
I said there were four women, and there are. The other woman is my lovely wife, Pamela. Pamela helps me continue my writing contests in elementary schools – now entering their seventh year.”
Addressing the New York Reading Association’s annual Conference in Liverpool, NY – Jerome Mark Antil AKA J. A. HOOMUS – began the meat of his his talk with a letter he received from Timothy P. Ryan, Superintendent of Schools.
“September 10, 2012
Dear Jerry,
I hope this letter finds you well. Now that the summer is upon us, I have taken an opportunity to reflect on the school year. One of the topics that immediately entered my thoughts was the ever increasing emphasis from our political leaders on math, science and expository writing. Although I agree, many of the future employment opportunities will require a solid foundation in these three areas, the trend seems to over-emphasize the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) curriculum and reduce the importance of the humanities and of creative thought in general. The obvious irony is that as our nation strives to become an even greater economic engine, we are attempting to do so by devaluing the very American characteristic that made us strong in the first place; creativity. This brings me to the point of my letter.
Four years ago you approached me with the idea of sponsoring a writing contest. We shared a number of great conversations regarding education, children and the best criteria to use when judging student work. At the time, public schools in New York were inundated with information reinforcing the importance of non-fiction writing. The biggest emphasis has been placed on the ability to examine documents, identify the relevant information, analyze that information and then restate that information. The State’s exams fall short because they neglect to test the final step of synthesizing the various pieces of information to form new knowledge…the creative stage.
When you first introduced the idea that you would like to sponsor a writing contest for the students of the Fabius-Pompey School District, my immediate thought was that it would be a good way to encourage the kids to write in a manner necessary to reinforce the skills needed to successfully navigate the standardized exams. During the course of our discussion, you expressed the view that the priority should be on creativity and having the students develop an awareness of the magic in their everyday lives. Since you were sponsoring the contest that is what we agreed to do. What a fantastic decision!
We knew that Fabius-Pompey had a pretty strong reading and writing program. The introduction of your writing contest ignited a fire with our young people to indulge in observation and creativity. The license to do so has greatly contributed to our young students’ development for enthusiasm in writing and a belief that they each have something important to say. This love of writing, combined with the foundational skills of emerging writers have been a wonderful combination for each child as they pursue their education and as each child searches for his or her own unique voice.
In short, you were smart to stick to your guns and insist the writing contest be a way to foster creativity and a love of writing. The results have been what you had hoped. Students are more aware of the richness in their lives and believe that they have something to say that is both interesting and valuable to someone else. Well done!
Sincerely,
Timothy P. Ryan
Superintendent of Schools”
(Jerry then went on in detail how he motivates children to love to read and write – starting with the story telling process.)
Think About It – THE WRITTEN WORD IS 2 OF THE 3R’s!
Jerome Mark Antil’s two-hour institute is sure to be exciting and engaging. He has a copy of his book, The Pompey Hollow Book Club, for every participant!
As Jerry says…
I want to show how techniques of my many years of successful marketing has worked to wake up children’s desire to want to write and read. I simply stepped out of the box – and worked from a basic. Step one -Encourage a child to “Tell a Story” – leave the grammar and spelling, for now, to teachers and editors. Step two – teach the writing process – which includes good research (which requires reading) – and you will have gone full circle – and they will enjoy the ride, for life.
Jerome Mark Antil, author, memoirist, lecturer, philanthropist, has dedicated himself to literacy in schools. For every book sold, he donates a book to a school library. The Pompey Hollow Book Club has been compared to such classics as Tom Sawyer and to a family sense as a Norman Rockwell painting. Jerry also sponsors the J. A. Hoomus Writing Contest annually in schools (in sixth year) – and has not only caused a match to elementary school populations with an equal number of entries each year – he has enabled Kindergarten students to submit incredible thirty to fifty word compositions.
“The written word is 2 of 3R’s – for Pete’s sake. We’ve been doing it backwards. Writing starts with story telling.” JMA
