2. Why?  Your time in the ERC will be dedicated entirely to you becoming a better communicator with a focus on reading and writing  Communication. Is. Everything.

3. Communication. Is. Everything.  Without clear and confident communication, how would you…  Get a job or get into college?  Get a loan for a car?  Be taken seriously?  Earn respect from people who matter?  Get a date?

4. Reading is an important piece of effective communication Students often do not think of themselves as “readers”, but consider the last time you… – Read a video game cheat web site or instruction booklet – Read a news or sports article that interested you – Aimlessly surfed the Internet for hours at a time Reading just isn’t a book you are assigned in school! The better strategies you learn for better reading, the faster you’ll be able to get what you want out of life. This is what we do in the ERC.

5. Reading “Reading should be an education of the heart…[It] reminds you that there is more than you, better than you.” - Susan Sontag If you are the average teenager, your daily reading consists of: – cereal boxes at the breakfast table – Sparknotes™ for an English class – bold words in your history textbook in fear of a quiz – the phrase “where is the bathroom” in Spanish over and over again in case you are called upon in class – equations in science class – text messages all day – your Facebook™ Wall all night

6. So what else do I need reading for? Practicing good reading skills now will help you immensely in years to come as what you learn will become easier the more you do it Reading skills DO progress with more practice and time – if they have not, you would still be reading Goodnight Moon Reading is a skill that will serve you long after high school through many different facets, but knowing some pointers will make more difficult reading easier to tackle, and this is what we do in the ERC

7. You will get old.  As a student in high school, will you will think, act, and only know what you know now for the rest of your life?  Reading will broaden your knowledge, opportunity, and potential  Good readers know how we need to think carefully before we believe everything we see  You will only be as smart as the last thing you have learned

8. Writing is an important piece of effective communication “Writing is thinking on paper” – William Zinsser Writing well is a skill that will serve you long after high school through many different facets but knowing some pointers on those different types of writing will make the process a little easier Along with reading, much of your time in the ERC will be focused on writing

9. Your Writing is Permanent Everything you submit online is saved forever. “‘The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of ‘universal access to all knowledge.’ It provides permanent storage of and free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly three million public-domain books. As of October 2012, its collection topped 10 petabytes. In addition to its archiving function, the Archive is an activist organization, advocating for a free and open Internet’” (Wikimedia Foundation, 2013). Forever. Anyone who matters -potential colleges, future employers, YOUR CHILDREN- will be able to see it. How do you want to be remembered?

10. Writing is the Ticket Writing shows how you think: Many of the standardized tests you take have some focus on writing and your score is greatly affected by it College applications often ask for a writing sample or an essay Job interviews often ask for writing samples

11. How the ERC will help you  In the ERC you will learn how to read for clarity and take notes for understanding  You will learn the writing and research process  You will practice standardized assessments  All with the help of a smiling staff who wants to see you succeed

12. Looking forward to working with you!