Students' Best Friend a Good Listener

By Aunshuman Apte
Rockville, Maryland
07 August 2007

Today it is story time at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School near Washington, D.C. Meet the audience: Dune, the Labrador. He is all ears for the story that seven-year-old Del Toro is reading him. The two met a year ago and now they regularly spend story time together.

Del and Dune are part of a literacy program called Reading Education Assistance Dogs or READ. Launched in 1999, READ is now in schools and libraries across the United States.

Dog trainer Janet Golden says reading to dogs creates a relaxed environment for the children. "They will read to Dune. Dune is non-judgmental. He listens. He is not going to make fun of them."

Third-grader Rebecca Torvik agrees. "If every kid could, then I think everyone would like to do it because it is so fun."

Literacy experts say children become visibly relaxed and their blood pressure drops when they read to therapy dogs. Rebecca is now closer to the reading level of her peers after spending more than a year reading to Goldie. Her mother, Lisa Torvik, is delighted with the results. "I like the smile that I get everyday. You know, when she comes out of there she always has a big grin on her face."

That is the point -- using dogs to inspire children to read.

学生最好的朋友和听众

今天是华盛顿马歇尔小学的讲故事时间。听众是：Dune, 拉布拉多猎狗。它正在全神贯注地倾听7岁的Del Toro讲故事。他们一年前认识，现在像往常一样一起度过讲故事时光。

Del 和 Dune是称为阅读教育辅助犬（简称READ）文化节目的成员。READ 是在1999年开办的，在美国各学校和图书馆提供服务。

驯犬师Janet Golden 说，阅读给狗听可以为孩子创造放松的环境。“他们都读书给Dune听，Dune是不带有批判性的，他听着不会取笑他们。”

三年级的Rebecca Torvik 同意此说法，“如果每个孩子都可以这样做，我认为每个人都愿意做，因为它很有意思。”

有学问的专家说，当孩子们读书给治疗狗听时，他们会放松下来，血压会下降。
Rebecca花了一年多时间读书给Goldie听，现在她的读书水平接近于她的同伴。她的母亲Lisa Torvik对这个结果非常满意。“我喜欢我每天的笑容，你知道，当她出来时总是脸上总是带有非常大的微笑。”

这就是要点——利用犬鼓励孩子阅读。