Word of the Day: Passenger

pas·sen·ger /ˈpasinjər/, noun: a person traveling in a vehicle or vessel but not operating it; someone other than the driver or captain “I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can’t say; I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.” Harriet Tubman, c. 1822 – 1913 “My fate cannot be mastered; it can only be collaborated with and thereby, to some extent, directed. Nor am I the captain of my soul; I am only its noisiest passenger.” Aldous Huxley, 1894 – 1963 “All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it.” Samuel Johnson, 1709 – 1784 pictured: happy students after receiving dictionaries from the Rotary Club of Centre, AL.   Rotary is an international organization passionate about education. If everyone in the world could read and write, each would be able to share their personal gifts with the world and ultimately live up to his or her full potential. In this day and age of computers and spell check, do children really need a paperback dictionary? This was discussed when the club initiated this service project. Teachers gave us a absolute “YES.” For 8- and 9- year old children who are still learning to read, the internet is not a safe or consistent environment for learning. For some children, this may be their first book. For these reasons, the Centre Rotary Club agreed to pair up with the non-profit organization the Dictionary Project to purchase affordable dictionaries and to distribute them to local third graders. During the month of December, the Centre Rotary Club has handed out more than 300 dictionaries to third graders in the Cherokee County Elementary Schools. Dedicated third grade educators teach the children how to use the dictionaries from comprehension, spelling and alphabetizing. This empowers children to become good writers, active readers, creative thinkers and resourceful learners. The Student’s Dictionary is much more than the traditional dictionary. It also contains information on weights and measures; science elements; the Constitution; sign language; the world; the countries; the states; the presidents; the planets, and much more. These books are a wealth of facts and trivia. Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders worldwide who provide humanitarian service and help build international goodwill and peace. There are 1.2 million Rotarians in over 200 countries in the world whose projects address the social challenges of today like literacy, disease, hunger, poverty, lack of clean water and environmental concerns, while encouraging high ethical standards. Written by: Trudy Lowe, Member/Club President Centre Rotary Club