By Dennis Van Roekel, Special to CNN Editor’s note: Dennis Van
Roekel taught high school math in Phoenix for 23 years. A
longtime activist for children and public education, he is
president of the National Education Association, which
represents more than 3 million public school employees. On March
2, 45 million people are expected to take part in the National
Education Association’s Read Across America Day, the nationwide
program that helps children discover the joy of reading. As a
teacher, I emphasized to my students the value of reading. But I
am also a parent, and as a parent, one of my favorite things to
do was read to my children. We’d pick out favorite books, and
I’d read them over and over at their request. We opened up doors
to imagination and wonder. I’ll never forget the excitement in
their eyes as we moved through story after story, adventure
after adventure. At the same time, I knew they were learning new
words, new sentences and new stories. And as they learned to
read on their own, my children