Episode 161: Building Literacy Through Storytelling with S. Hughie Lassiter
Stephen Hughie Lassiter is the author of Kingston To The Rescue. He is also a special education teacher in Philadelphia, where he teaches reading and math to elementary school students. Hughie designed an educational program called Educate to Skate, which combines the metrics of learning, physical exercise, and independence with skateboarding to teach math, geometry, and science to elementary and middle school students.
In our talk, Hughie and I discuss how his son’s skateboarding career influenced his work in special education. He also details how he intended his book to teach reading as well and how storytelling can be a wonderful teaching tool.
Topics Discussed:
Under-reading a serious issue among children
Addressing the loss in learning during the summer
Taking four years to write a book
Resources mentioned:
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Read the transcript for this episode:
Welcome to Educator Forever, where we empower teachers to innovate education. Join us each week to hear stories of teachers expanding their impacts beyond the classroom and explore ways to reimagine teaching and learning.
Stephen Hughie Lassiter is the author of Kingston To The Rescue. He is also a special education teacher in Philadelphia, where he teaches reading and math to elementary school students. He designed an educational program called Educate to Skate. Educate to Skate combines the metrics of learning, physical exercise and independence with skateboarding to teach math, geometry and science to elementary and middle school students. His program was successful in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Los Angeles, and lasted over 13 years. So nice to have you here, Stephen and I would love for you to take us through your journey as an educator in whatever way that feels good to you.
S. Hughie Lassiter 0:37
Well, okay, I have to preface this by saying that I'm the youngest of 10 in my family. There is three other school teachers in my family. So growing up, I pretty much had no choice but to go in education and social work and follow what my siblings did. So I also have a degree in social work, as well as teaching certification and special education. So my journey started a long time ago. I knew that I would do what my siblings did, but I took it a step further. I did what one sibling did than I did with the other sibling. I knew that I would need these skills in this type of education to be able to affect change and impact people.
Lily Jones 1:28
So it seems like a typical youngest child. I'm the youngest, only a three, but, you know, we always have to do a little more, sometimes.
S. Hughie Lassiter 1:35
Yes, we have to hold up our end of the family, you know. And I was, I was told what to do, what to study, how to do it, because I had role models. I had people to model behaviors for me, and that's what I wanted to do. So that's what I did.
Lily Jones 1:52
Fantastic, yeah, fantastic. And so I know along the way, you created the Educate to skate program. Can you tell us a little bit more about that and how that came about.
S. Hughie Lassiter 2:01
Certainly, that program came about because my my oldest son, Stevie Stephen Lasseter. His pseudonym is Stevie Williams. He's a professional skateboarder, very famous, worldwide, famous. My grandson Kingston was off also important in the creation of this book, because he's also a skateboarder, and he takes education seriously as well. So when it came to educate the skate I knew that how students learn, students learn through different ways, tactile, kinetically, were word of mouth and association. So I said, let's find something that the kids can enjoy, they can learn about. I can use that to teach science, physics and math. So my son, I created this program, and we started out giving our skateboards to underpin this kids. We transitioned that to design a program where I could share it with different schools around the country, and I did that in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, so kids can see that learning is fun, and a child can learn from anything if it's broken down into a way that they can comprehend it and understand it. So we were blessed to have skateboarding as an apparatus to achieve that, and with a skateboard as many parts, many functions, how to skate the parts of the skateboard we use vocabulary words, we use reading comprehension. We use comparing and contrasting. We use elements of physics and geometry. And kids really like that. They was like, wow, this is really like geometry. I'm getting to know geometry, yes, because you need now, you know angles and degrees, you know about axles, you know about rotation and thrust you know so as a teacher, I know that when learning is fun and presented that way to a child, they're going to take to it, they're going to gravitate towards it, they're going to engage it and learn from it. In our program, not only did we do that, we gave out free skateboards, free T shirts. Stevie came down to Atlanta, different places, and he participated with his company into the functions of this program. It was really, really successful. And to see kids learn and grow like that, it was really cool. So it inspired me to write this, this book. This book is an amazing book. It's an amazing book. It's not just a book to be read and set on the shelf. It's a tool, and we can get it into that later on through the question.
Lily Jones 4:54
Yes, yeah. I mean, I love all of that, though. I mean, just going back to the Educate To Skate, I love how it came out of. Of you know, students interest, people's interests, learning doesn't just happen in a classroom. And so meeting students or people where they are and through skateboarding is amazing. And thinking about all those connections in anything we do, any students interest, we can always think about connections to things that students can learn. And so I just love that as a foundation. And I also love how you did it with your son. I mean, what a cool family affair that you had going on there, too.
S. Hughie Lassiter 5:25
Oh yeah, it was amazing.
Lily Jones 5:27
So yeah, tell us about your book, The Adventures of Kingston to the Rescue.
S. Hughie Lassiter 5:32
Yeah, I have it right here,
Lily Jones 5:34
fantastic.
S. Hughie Lassiter 5:37
It's available on our website, Kingstontotherescue.com. Of course, I had to plug the book, but nevertheless, again, it's not just a book to be read and relegated to the shelf. It's a learning tool in the book, there's a reading strategy, there's sight words, there's a genre, and it's an attempt to bridge the gap between learning when school is out and when school starts. That means going home, engaging with your family, doing your homework. Those are the times when learning can still exist and continue. So this book does that. It's a heartwarming story in that my son, Steven, got his start down at LOVE Park in Philadelphia. And if you Google Stevie Williams, you'll see what I'm referring to, because he's very famous, one of the world's best skateboarders. So his son, my grandson, Kingston, which is who the story is about. HE GOES TO LOVE Park with his father one day, and while his father is engaged with some of his old friends from back in the day skateboarding, Kingston is standing in front of the LOVE Park statue, and as he's looking at the statue, the statue begins to talk to him, and in the voice of James Earl Jones, the statue says, Kingston, I knew your father. I gave your father powers. I want to give you powers too. So the LOVE Park statue gave Kingston superhero powers and his skateboard superhero parents also. So it's a story that resonates with kids and a lot of people, because it's a heart warming story, it's an adventurous story. It allows a child to see that people can do good things, and in this case, he's been granted these powers to help people, and he used these powers to help people. This is the first book in a series of seven books. Each book will have another rescue story. In fact, the other book right here, this book is called Nettie has alopecia. Nettie has alopecia includes Kingston. He rescues a person in this book. So we not only collaborate with other people, but we come up with ideas that can discuss different topics as well as promote reading, this book also has sight words and a reading comprehension story, and it also has a strategy. So the book, again, it's not just a book that one can read and put down and leave it on the shelf. Parents can now take control of their child's education with this reading strategy. If a child is exposed to certain words, sight words, over and over, repetitious. Lily recite the words, say the words, spell the words over time, they're going to to incorporate that into their memory. They'll be able to recognize these words on site, spell these words, use these words and incentives and comprehend these words when they see them in the story. So the book serves many purposes.
Lily Jones 9:08
Fantastic. I love that. And it seems like you've really worked in a lot of your background as an educator, and I'm sure your background as a social worker as well. Can you talk to us about how both sides of that experience kind of informed your approach to storytelling and literacy,
S. Hughie Lassiter 9:25
Right. Well, storytelling to a child, especially a child who is struggling with their reading, they're still learning, they're learning with their ears. So there's comprehension questions, there's ways to identify certain details in the end of story, the main idea, stuff like that, just from hearing it. So we use that as a way to initiate some foundational reading strategies and reading approaches. Storytelling is a good tool to allow a child to use their imagination to go someplace and to close their eyes. And hear things and and while they're listening, they're learning. So we use a lot of strategies and a lot of different approaches, a lot of principles and goals to help a child read. And storytelling is one of those things.
Lily Jones 10:15
Yeah, fantastic. And how about your experience writing these books? Had you ever written a book before? Or what was that like?
S. Hughie Lassiter 10:22
No, I hadn't written a book before. I could almost say this was an epiphany, because one day I was talking with my son, Stevie, and I said, Son, you know, I want to do something. You know? He said, Well, Dad, write a book. I said, about what? So he said, Well, write it about Kingston. And one day it all just came to me LOVE Park, because Steven has spent so much time down LOVE Park. And when one gets to know his story, you can see what I mean. He got discovered down LOVE Park went to Hollywood and Los Angeles and was in TV shows, commercials and movies and all those kinds of things, all from LOVE Park. So it's an extension of the fact that, and it's also a dedication, which I outline in the book, dedicated to my son and grandson. It's dedicated to him and his hard work. I was able to bring all those elements together into this book. It took me four years to do this book, because I wanted it to be right. It's beautiful. Writing is not something that you can just do off the top of your head. I guess some people can. But when you have a story that you want to tell and you expand upon that, you know you have to plan these these things and be inspired and get material and content and put it all together, and that takes some time. So, you know, it's better not to rush it. It's best to get it right. And we feel we've done that with these books.
Lily Jones 11:53
And so many pieces of the puzzle. I appreciate how you really took this layered approach of thinking about the significance of, you know, personal family, and also what students will connect to, and also the sight words and literacy, you know, all these pieces coming together within this book. And it's so interesting to hear you unpack all those pieces. Oh, yeah, certainly, certainly. And so thinking about storytelling and engaging in stories for students and kids, how do you think that can help them build resilience and competence?
S. Hughie Lassiter 12:24
Because it'll, it will inspire them. They hear a good story and they'll think like, wow, you know, I want to read more or hear more about it. I can learn how to read and read a story myself. So it's inspiring. You know, it gives a child something to think about and to gravitate towards and, you know, to be motivated by. So that's a very good thing.
Lily Jones 12:51
Absolutely. And then thinking about students who maybe might be struggling with reading, or teachers, even out there, who might be having students struggle with reading and reading fluency. What advice might you give them, or what common problems are you seeing or challenges?
S. Hughie Lassiter 13:08
Well, because I'm a special ed teacher, we in special education. We approach things individually. We do IEPs, which outlines a child's specific deficiencies and where they can, you know, improve it so it can be extrapolated to the gen ed classes, because if a teacher can help a student understand the fundamentals of reading, going from the letters in the alphabet to diphthongs and diagrams and consonant blends and syllables and stuff like that. That's the approach to reading. Long vowels, short vowels and stuff. I like that. Sight Words, CBC words. It's how a child learns how to read. All these things goes into teaching a person, not just a child, a person, how to read. So you have to use those strategies all the time.
Lily Jones 14:03
And I appreciate how they're put into a engaging book too, because it's like both are important, right, like teaching them in isolation and also in context. And so I appreciate that your book kind of brings both of those worlds together.
S. Hughie Lassiter 14:16
Certainly. Thank you very much.
Lily Jones 14:18
Absolutely. So tell us more about where you see the Adventures of Kingston growing from here?
S. Hughie Lassiter 14:23
Well, honestly, we're hoping that one day it becomes a cartoon, a movie. We have different products. There's a Kingston t shirt, there's a Kingston water bottle, there's a Kingston red cape. On our website. Again, that's www. Dot Kingston to the rescue.com, where we, you know, we want kids to take hydration seriously and carry the water bottle the backpack to carry their books and the t shirt to remind them of positive things. And again, there's other books coming there. Is the bully rescue, The Lost Child rescue, the lost Animal Rescue. We can highlight those on our website as we get them and as they're completed and presented to the public, and again, they'll contain strategies and sight words and maybe even a comprehension question or two, just a way to again, bridge the gap from when school was down to time school starts the next day. So the parents, if a parent, can get our books, sit down with their child for just 15 minutes a day after school, review, five sight words, 10 sight words, over and over and over, because a child learns repetitiously. Sometimes it takes more repetition for certain kids to learn things, but it can happen and again, it gives the parent an opportunity to take control of their child's reading education. And it's not just the teacher. I mean, really, let's face it, we're not their parents. We're their teachers. So a parent is a part of the educational team. So here, mom, here Dad, here's a tool to help you continue the learning process at home. Check out their strategy. Review these sight words. Use this book as a learning tool for reading comprehension, comparing and contrasting sight words, vocabulary, a plethora of reading strategies and materials. So we feel good about that.
Lily Jones 16:34
I love how it engages the whole family too, and I think makes it integrate into daily life that it's not asking parents to do something too extra, right? They're reading a book. They're practicing some sight words, something that's manageable. But also, yeah, parents need some guidance. Sometimes, I know even me as a teacher parent, right? Like, I'm like, All right, my daughter's in eighth grade. Now, I never taught eighth grade. Like, tell me what to do at home.
S. Hughie Lassiter 16:58
Also, the thing is, parents, parents can feel good. Parents want to feel good about the fact that, hey, I'm helping my child learn how to read, and they can tell their friends, hey, I'm helping my child learn how to read with this strategy and this tool here, you should try it too, and parents want to feel good about that. You know, I see parents drop their kids off every day, pick them up. They wanted to be engaged in the in the educational experience with their kids. So hey, why not give them a a an apparatus that can help them do that? And that's through our work. Lovely.
Lily Jones 17:34
I love it. And so it's so cool hearing about your experience. And you know, taking these things that you're passionate about and creating these new products and programs, and a lot of our audience out there are educators who might have something on their heart or in their mind that they want to create. And what advice do you have them about getting started?
S. Hughie Lassiter 17:53
Well, fill a void. Find a void. In my case, as a teacher who teaches reading and math, there's a voice. Do you know, I don't know these precise statistics, but most of our kids in this country as school age kids are under reading under grade level. Yes, and how? Okay, it's a glaring fact. So we could just sit and talk about it and discuss, you know, the dynamics of it, but what are we going to do about it? There's so many strategies out there. Different schools have different curriculums and programs to address these, these needs. But unfortunately, the numbers speak for themselves. So perhaps if, if it's looked at on a micro and macro level, dates and regions can make a concerted effort to address that problem. It's not rocket science. These are the strategies that that people use to learn how to read English. It's just that simple, sentences, capitalization, grammar, you know, phonics, stuff like that that should be pushed, that's to be pushed in school, more so than I would say the ancillary like the specials, you know, I think so anyway.
Lily Jones 19:17
I mean, there's no shortage of urgent problems in the world through education, right? And so I think I appreciate your advice to kind of lean into a need, like there's a lot of things that need to change or be fixed to support all students to be successful. And so really, starting with something, I think, for our educators out there that they see, right, and that they've experienced in some ways with students, and creating a solution for that is great advice.
S. Hughie Lassiter 19:41
Yes, I agree. I agree. And we got into this profession because we actually care about education. We got into this profession because we want to have a positive impact on the lives of children and help them become better readers. Citizens, more productive, more independent. You know, it starts from the younger ages. We have to model certain behaviors. We have to give direct instruction. We have to go back and we have to review every site. We have to teach kids all the time, all the time. It's everything. Every interaction should be a learning experience for a child.
Lily Jones 20:24
Yes, I completely agree, in so many ways to create and enhance those learning experiences too. Yes, I agree. So Stephen, it's been so nice talking with you. Can you tell folks how they can connect with you?
S. Hughie Lassiter 20:36
Sure I am on Instagram at Kingston to the Rescue. My website, again, is WWW dot Kingston To The Rescue, com. You'll read about our book and some other things, and, you know, it's a good experience. And again, we have a shopping cart, so there's some Kingston products. And you know, it's the products are just an extension of what we feel and what we we believe in. Because, again, if you carry these things with you, you'll you'll have these things ingrained in your your mind. So Kingston is that apparatus to help people remember, do good things, be well, help other people and get your education.
Lily Jones 21:19
Wonderful. Thank you so much.
S. Hughie Lassiter 21:21
You're very welcome. Bye.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai