ENGLEWOOD, N.J.—The Rotary Club of Englewood believes that dictionaries are an invaluable learning tool for children. As such, Rotary has been implementing its annual Dictionary Program, in which all third-graders from every school in Englewood and Englewood Cliffs are given a free personal dictionary.
Rotary chose that grade because, “Educators see third grade as the dividing line between learning to read and reading to learn.”
The dictionaries are a gift to each student from the Rotary Club of Englewood to use at school and at home for years to come.
The Rotary Dictionary Project was started 25 years ago by Mary French. To date, over 31 million dictionaries have been given to children.
Joyce Grossbard, coordinator of the Rotary Dictionary Project, said the goal of the dictionary program is to assist all students in becoming “good writers, active readers, creative thinkers, and resourceful learners.”
“A dictionary is perhaps the first and most powerful reference tool a child should own,” she said. “Its usefulness goes beyond the spellings, pronunciations, and definitions it lists. It is the companion for solving problems that arise as a child develops his or her reading, writing, and creative thinking abilities.”
On May 1, this journalist visited the Elisabeth Morrow School on Lydecker Street in Englewood and observed the delight and interest that the third-graders took in receiving their dictionaries.
At 9 a.m., Grossbard, Stephen Wiessner and Rotary President Elect JoEllen Knie addressed 50 enthused third-graders. After being introduced and welcomed by Beth Brennan, the head of the Lower School, the three Rotary ambassadors took turns explaining what Rotary does and its important programs, such as the “Gift of Life,” in which children from around the world who have critical heart conditions are flown here to area hospitals to receive free lifesaving surgeries not available in their own country. The children and their parents or guardians are hosted by Englewood families for the duration of their stay.
Wiessner, who is also the executive director of the Flat Rock Brook Nature Center in Englewood, emphasized that Rotary is a service organization and that he is even teaching his middle school daughter the importance of giving back.
“The Englewood Rotary Dictionary Project is an important venue for children to give back to the world when they get older, because children are our future,” Wiessner said.
After the Rotarians’ presentation, Grossbard asked if there were any questions and dozens of hands waved in the air. The trio was happy to answer a steady stream of questions about Rotary.
As soon as the dictionaries were distributed, the children began looking through them with great interest. The response was one of delight and appreciation.
“This is so cool and so interesting,” said one 9-year-old girl. “I am going to look up all the words and learn a lot!”
Her friend added, “This is great to help me with my spelling.”
This year, Rotary has changed the dictionary to include even more information. It has sign language, braille, the longest word in the world, all of the U.S. Presidents and their biographies, the Constitution and world and state maps with all kinds of fascinating information. There were also some Spanish/English dictionaries for children whose parents do not speak English.
Each dictionary contained a letter to the parents of the third-graders that advised, “Students benefit from an increased self-reliance and resourcefulness, inspired by the maxim, ‘look it up.’ We encourage you to engage with your child in learning to use this dictionary. For example, try looking together to find the longest word in the English language. It’s there!”
The 2019 dictionary also has a new label in the front describing what the Rotary does and, in the back, a beautiful tribute label designed by Knie dedicated to the iconic philanthropist, Joan Van Alstyne Johnson, who passed away in March.
Johnson joined the Rotary in 2004 and immediately became involved with the Dictionary Project and began delivering dictionaries to all of the third-graders in every school in Englewood every year. She stayed actively involved in this project until she died. She always said that this and Gift of Life were her two favorite Rotary projects.
Grossbard recalls that when she tells the third-graders at Elisabeth Morrow that Johnson was a student in the school’s first graduating class, their jaws drop.
Van Alstyne was also involved with Dwight-Englewood from the beginning when it was the Dwight School for Girls.
Grossbard recently remarked, “I love this project on so many levels. To give the gift of literacy is profoundly important. The joyful expressions on the faces of the children as they receive their dictionaries is so moving. Some exclaim, ‘Is this for me? Can I take it home?’ There is so much excitement generated by the children when they try a dictionary ‘look up’ game or search for the longest word. They are interacting and sharing what they have found with each other so it becomes a collaboration. That’s just what we are hoping for.”
