Reprinted from the Fall 2011 edition of InterCom

by Christina Galardi

A 9th grade girl survives on an uninhabited island in the middle of Lake Michigan for a week, living side by side with snakes and rabbits and seeking nourishment from leeks and other edible plants. This Girl Scout wilderness survival exercise sounds like an incredible tale — but it is just the beginning of the story that brought Dr. Michelle H. Martin, the first Augusta Baker Chair in Childhood Literacy, to the School of Library and Information Science.

The Augusta Baker Chair was created to respond to disparities in resources and support for reading in South Carolina, where illiteracy affects approximately 15 percent of the total population. The position requires a unique combination of research, programmatic coordination and teaching, and Dr. Martin will collaborate with educational, business and political leaders to develop literacy initiatives across the state and nation.

One of Dr. Martin’s most important responsibilities will be investigating best practices for children to comprehend and value reading as well as techniques to bring stories alive. Her research will be used to expand outreach programs through the South Carolina Center for Books and Literacy. “There is nothing — not TV, not computer games, not anything — that can captivate an audience like a well-told story,” Dr. Martin said.

“Dr. Martin’s work will be an international magnet for researchers and potential students,” said Dr. Samantha Hastings, associate dean and director of SLIS. “The school has always been known for our specialty in children’s literacy and children’s services, but the Augusta Baker Chair can be used to influence curricula statewide and draw attention to reading.”

Long before Dr. Martin became the Augusta Baker Chair, she was a proud Girl Scout. Both of her parents were scout leaders who instilled in her a commitment to the program at an early age. Her high school experience in the Girl Scout destination program, which culminated with the test of survival on Lake Michigan, was pivotal to her leadership development. Braving foaming rapids perched on a raft, singing songs in the soft glow of campsite firelight against a blanket of darkness — moments like these from Girl Scout experiences shaped Dr. Martin’s passion for nature, which she later expanded by earning a master’s degree in outdoor education. She later worked at a residential outdoor education school in the Sierra Nevadas and served as a naturalist at South Carolina’s Sesquicentennial State Park. Although these outdoor adventures may be a sharp contrast to the academic setting where Dr. Martin works now, they honed her passion for teaching.

“It was the best training ground I could have had,” Dr. Martin said. “I wish every student teacher in the country could go through an experience like that. It was not unusual to be in the middle of the lesson and be interrupted by a vulture or a red-tailed hawk flying by.” She provided sound effects to illustrate. “Discovery was alive and well.” Dr. Martin’s creativity and resourcefulness have already seen success. When she was a professor at Clemson University, Dr. Martin spearheaded Read-a-Rama, a day camp that connects reading with outdoor activities like fishing and learning about insects. She hopes to bring her camp creation to the Columbia area. She also envisions a campus literacy pledge, in which each USC student reads weekly with a child or adult, and a used book drive called “Touchdown for Literacy” at the annual Carolina-Clemson football game.

Kim Jeffcoat, executive director of the South Carolina Center for Children’s Books and Literacy, described Dr. Martin as a dynamic leader. “She has the expertise and the experience to get these programs off the ground. She has great energy — her ideas are fantastic.” Coincidentally, Jeffcoat was a member of Dr. Martin’s Girl Scout troop. Dr. Martin’s experience in Girl Scouts also engendered a lifelong commitment to civic engagement.

As the new Augusta Baker Chair, Dr. Martin said, she has a responsibility to improve the community, both in South Carolina and beyond. “If I, who has been given so much, can’t give back to the communities out of which I have come, what good am I?” she said. The reality of illiteracy is a grim story in South Carolina, as poor reading skills, which are closely linked to poverty levels, can compromise the state’s potential for economic development. Literacy is key to the state’s survival. “If South Carolina doesn’t make change, we can kiss our possibilities goodbye,” Dr. Martin said.

For those children left stranded by their circumstances, Dr. Martin’s work to improve educational outcomes is a landmark on the horizon. “She has boundless energy and a commitment to children and their wellbeing,” Dr. Hastings said.