Learning the (Literacy) Tricks of the Trade: RNY’s Literacy Coaching Workshop

by Alessandra Simeone

Do you remember your favorite book growing up? A good book has the power to captivate and change the way we think, learn, and grow. Often taken for granted in adulthood, reading is an essential part of everyday life – and fundamental literacy skills form the foundation for learning across all subjects.

That being the case, Row New York was excited to welcome the Literacy Coaching Workshop led by Erin Boyajian of Active Culture. During this Education Roundtable, our program staff gained insight into promoting literacy for our student-athletes, and creating a safe academic culture of excellence and success.

“Good reading leads to good writing – the two go hand in hand,” said Boyajian. “When students do not have a strong reading foundation, we need to create a culture in which they feel safe to build upon it.” Struggling through reading can sometimes be a source of embarrassment or concern for students; as a result, they may not understand the subject matter and become hesitant to learn more. By facilitating a learning culture, students feel safe to ask any questions free of judgment from others. At RNY, we promote this open environment; with small groups, students are encouraged to read aloud and work through confusing passages with tutors’ guidance, often helping each other through the process.

Within this supportive environment, Boyajian adds, “coaches can set expectations high, and students can motivate themselves to reach those goals.” Motivation is a key factor to literacy success as well, as students need it to put forth their best effort; “reading needs to connect to things that matter to students; the focus needs to be on meaningful work that helps students self-motivate.” Motivation through meaningful subject matter is especially helpful for reluctant learners, as it can appeal to students who otherwise might not be interested. Often, the RNY curriculum includes reading and writing activities related to rowing, pop culture, and other topics relevant (and interesting!) to students. While coaches are responsible for expectations and guiding this motivation, students are responsible for their efforts and, throughout their time at RNY, they own these successes and failures and build upon them.

Boyajian highlighted other essential elements of reading proficiency, including techniques to increase foundational reading skills, comprehension, and the ability to learn from the text. She provided our program staff with activities to help students understand concepts, words, and themes within their reading, along with composition exercises to stimulate descriptive writing and development of their own writing voice.

Thank you to Erin Boyajian and Active Culture for providing us with literacy tools for our academic sessions. RNY is eager to put them to use as we pursue our goal of supporting our student-athletes toward and through their own successes!