EducationNews.org

An Interview with Rooster Morris: Getting Kids to Read (and Write)

Michael F. Shaughnessy - June 5, 2009
Senior Columnist EducationNews.org
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales, New Mexico

1) First of all, is “ Rooster “ your real name, and if so how did that come about?

Rooster is a nickname. Texas cowboys placed this handle on me when I was a small boy. Country kids back in the sixties usually received two haircuts a year whether they needed them or not. After a good shearing my hair grew back with all the silky consistencies of a mongrel tumbleweed. I had a huge rooster tail in back and a blaring cowlick in front. I’m only thankful the cowboys chose to call me “Rooster.”

2) Tell us about your early years before you became famous.

In my early years I lived with my family on remote cattle ranches. I started riding horses at the early age of 4 or 5. Following my Dad around on cattle drives made for some long days in the saddle, but it gave me the opportunity to be a part of some big cattle workings of that time. Although I was just a kid, I had the privilege of working with some of the best cowpunchers in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and the Oklahoma Panhandle.

Living in the country, it seemed like a big event if people came to visit you. One Sunday afternoon a cowboy friend of my dad’s brought his dad out for a visit. That man was 90 some years old but he could play the fiddle. He played for hours. After hearing and watching that old man play, I knew I had to play a fiddle somehow, some way. It took me a long time, but eventually I taught myself to play.

Years later my scratchy cowboy fiddle playing brought me in acquaintance with several literary figures. Buck Ramsey, a wheelchair-bound cowboy poet, asked me to come play the fiddle for him at Boys Ranch. At that time I was extremely busy managing a large ranch in West Texas. My fiddle had been tucked away under the bed and silent for quite a while, but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to say no to Buck. After that performance, we ended up at Nara Visa, New Mexico at their annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Buck introduced me to more poets and writers. I became good friends with Charles Gardone, the first black man to win a Pulitzer Prize for his writing. Needless to say, being in the presence of these brilliant-minded people sparked a desire inside me to do something more. I’m not sure about the being famous part, but I love what I do.

3)    Now, you spend a lot of your time talking about a fictional character named Axle. Where did you get the idea for this character?

Bear in mind before I started writing, I had been traveling and reading various stories to students and playing my fiddle. When I first started writing, I did what seemed easy for me. I wrote poems for a character education series that I wanted to submit to newspapers for publishing in their N.I.E. departments. Newspapers in Education provide papers for schools and include stories and educational materials that teachers can use in their classrooms. I completed eight or nine poems and sent them off to an editor. The editor came back with all sorts of suggestions but really wanted me to focus on this one poem about a dinosaur that walked on his hands. I worked on this poem for a couple of months. I polished this poem into a picture book. It was ready to publish but a gut feeling suddenly told me to stop the presses.

By this time I had had more experience of engaging large audiences of children. I knew for certain that I could relate to young audiences much better with a chapter book story. I also got the feeling from listening to kids that they could relate to a boy or girl character better. While rewriting and developing the story, the dinosaur eventually turned into a little boy named Axle Galench (pronounced g’lench).

This process taught me a valuable lesson. I can edit and revise any character until it was right-until it fit. That is one of the things I tell students—you can start writing about any character. Then you can change the character to fit the story.

4)    What is wrong with the way teachers teach nowadays? And why do you appeal so much to kids?

Wow! That’s a good question. And in a way that’s why I started traveling to schools in all over the country. I wanted to see firsthand why some kids read and some do not. In a nutshell, I feel our teachers have their work cut out for them. They tell me, in whispers, there is no time for them to teach because of all the testing and quotas the students are required to meet. Their students get tired and some are nervous wrecks by the time all the testing is done. Personally, I feel that people need time, especially kids, to develop their minds and their learning stamina. The people who sincerely love to teach can do it best, but they need the time and energy to do so.  

From my travels across our land I’ve concluded that the past seventy years has been a conversion process for America. Thanks to TV, reading, writing, and now even conversation is a strenuous and foreign exercise for a lot of people. Our ingenuity and imaginations has slipped into neutral. When I perform for kids, I keep it fun and relatable. I show them how to have fun reading a book. I help them realize that exercising their minds and imaginations is more important than watching TV. The pictures they see while I’m telling the story can only be seen in their own minds—nowhere else. 

5) Tell us about this fictional land called Bedlam. What is it all about?

Bedlam is a place where I let my imagination run wild. That is another thing that writing Axle’s story has taught me. If I ask myself questions, my imagination will create answers. I can create entire worlds and the creatures that live in them. Bedlam is just like it sounds—chaos. Axle has to make his way through Bedlam without getting distracted by these extreme creatures he encounters. That is a difficult task for a 12-years-old.

6) How do you get kids to write- and enjoy it?

Dale Carnegie said people love to talk about themselves. I’ve found that kids will write about themselves if it’s fun. I make a game out of it. I ask them a serious of questions that prompt their desire to express, in writing, their mental flashes of ideas. There is no pressure for the kids to perform, but I do strive to spark their desire to want to write. I focus on their fun and excitement.

7) What kinds of things do you do in the schools?

My reading program is a combination of music, readings, story telling, and sharing. I always start off by telling the kids that if an old cowboy can write anything at all, they can do better. When I was a kid, no one ever told me that I could be a writer so I am always sure to tell them that they could be a great writer, illustrator, musician, or whatever they want to do. I once heard a man say that in order to succeed at something, you have to have a dream that is bigger than your fears. In other words, you have to care more about your goal than you do about someone else laughing at you. That is such an important lesson. Then I show the kids how I taught myself to play the fiddle. We sing some of Axle songs together and then I start telling them the story and I do a reading using different character voices. I use a lot of sound effects and facial expression to engage the kids and keep their attention. Some of my audiences are over a thousand kids—I have learned that the more I ‘perform’ the story instead of just reading it, the more the kids create images in their minds. That is what it is all about.

8) Do you have a web site where we can find out more about Axle and his endeavors?
We have several websites: www.axlegalench.com has information about Axle and the books. There are games there for the kids to play and all sorts of teacher / librarian aids. Www.roostermorris.com has information about my programs, my music, and my books. There are photos from past shows and videos of some of my performances. Www.laid-back.com is our website that promotes our N.I.E. Materials and school programs.

9) I believe that you tell kids that what they read and write today affects their entire lifestyle and the rest of their lives. How do they react to this?

I have had kids write to me and perfectly quote things that I have said even when there were poor performing conditions, background noise from the cafeteria, a bird flying in the gym—you name it and I have probably experience it. I will share this story—I received a letter from a 5th grade girl that attended one of my performances. She told me that she had always wanted to write but didn’t know where to start and she was scared that people would laugh at her. She told me that she was going to get a “Dream bigger than her fears.” She was paying attention and took that message to heart. Another boy wrote that he was going to write a book about a little boy that had traveled to outer space. He said he had never thought about writing but after the writing workshop, he wanted to write a story than other kids could read. I am always touched by the kids’ feedback, especially when I hear them say, “I want to be just like you when I grow up, only without the gray hair.” Every child’s response feeds my energy to keep writing, traveling and performing.

10) What question have I neglected to ask?

Have my answers created more questions for you? If so, send them along and I will get to work!

Thanks,

Rooster