Growing up, Malcolm Mitchell considered reading and academics as a bare minimum means to get to play football. While his journey with football led to playing in the NFL, the work he is most proud of today is his literacy work and his own journey of learning to love reading, advocating for literacy, and writing children's books. In this conversation with Susan Lambert at the 2023 Plain Talk Conference—where Malcolm was the keynote speaker—Malcolm dives into his own process of teaching himself to become a proficient reader at the age of 19. Through the lens of his own struggles and triumphs, Malcolm shares a powerful testimony to the importance of cultural connection, access to books, community building, and understanding the true "why" behind reading to get students motivated to read.
Show notes:
Quotes:
"I saw that [reading] as the thing that would allow me to become the best version of myself." —Malcolm Mitchell
"Reading is the most self empowering tool a person could possess." —Malcolm Mitchell
"I knew that I needed to surround myself with a group of readers to help foster an even greater love or deeper connection." —Malcolm Mitchell
"It's not whether people want to do something or not. It's whether they understand the value of it." —Malcolm Mitchell
"Our challenge is to create an atmosphere that hopefully makes students willing to learn. And that opens the door for a teacher to do what they do best." –Malcolm Mitchell
"High school is probably the most confusing place because the things that you need to do most to position yourself for a fruitful life are the things that are ridiculed" —Malcolm Mitchell
Growing up, Malcolm Mitchell considered reading and academics as a bare minimum means to get to play football. While his journey with football led to playing in the NFL, the work he is most proud of today is his literacy work and his own journey of learning to love reading, advocating for literacy, and writing children's books. In this conversation with Susan Lambert at the 2023 Plain Talk Conference—where Malcolm was the keynote speaker—Malcolm dives into his own process of teaching himself to become a proficient reader at the age of 19. Through the lens of his own struggles and triumphs, Malcolm shares a powerful testimony to the importance of cultural connection, access to books, community building, and understanding the true "why" behind reading to get students motivated to read.
Show notes:
Quotes:
"I saw that [reading] as the thing that would allow me to become the best version of myself." —Malcolm Mitchell
"Reading is the most self empowering tool a person could possess." —Malcolm Mitchell
"I knew that I needed to surround myself with a group of readers to help foster an even greater love or deeper connection." —Malcolm Mitchell
"It's not whether people want to do something or not. It's whether they understand the value of it." —Malcolm Mitchell
"Our challenge is to create an atmosphere that hopefully makes students willing to learn. And that opens the door for a teacher to do what they do best." –Malcolm Mitchell
"High school is probably the most confusing place because the things that you need to do most to position yourself for a fruitful life are the things that are ridiculed" —Malcolm Mitchell
This is Susan Lambert, and welcome to Science of Reading: The Podcast from Amplify, where the science of reading lives. With our seventh season coming to an end, and with the NFL season right around the corner, it's time to share a very special conversation with you all. Back at the Plain Talk conference, I sat down one-on-one with Super Bowl winning , wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell.
NFL announcer:Eight , Brady , cut it away and completed it . This is Malcolm Mitchell for the touchdown.
Malcom Mitchell :When I scored a touchdown, they probably put my name in the newspaper. People probably tell me good job all around town. But when I finished one book, no one ever said anything. So which one am I more likely to repeat?
Susan Lambert:Right. Which one are you more proud of now though.
Malcom Mitchell :Of reading.
Susan Lambert:After playing for the New England Patriots, Mitchell retired from the NFL in 2019. By that point, he'd already authored a children's book and became an advocate for youth literacy. But Mitchell himself wasn't always a confident reader.
Malcom Mitchell :I'm in my English 1102 class, and we're studying Edgar Allan Poe. And we're asked to read The Tell-Tale Heart, but the teacher says we're gonna do popcorn style reading. Now they have different words for it today, round robin reading. But essentially it's one student reads and then that student selects another student to read. And when this happened in college, I thought to myself, oh no, I thought I was past that.
Susan Lambert:I thought I didn't have to do that one anymore .
Malcom Mitchell :I thought this was gone. And I mean, I immediately break out in a sweat.
Susan Lambert:On this episode, we'll hear Malcolm Mitchell's journey from his childhood in Georgia to joining a book club full of older white women while starring on the football field to his current work as literacy advocate. Please enjoy this conversation with Malcolm Mitchell. So we have with us today, Malcolm Mitchell. What an honor. I've never had a former professional sports person on the podcast, so thanks for joining us.
Malcom Mitchell :Yeah. Most people , look at me and say, are you sure you were once an athlete? I don't really have the muscles or anything like that anymore.
Susan Lambert:Stop. <Laugh>
Malcom Mitchell :<laugh> .
Susan Lambert:Yeah. I would say that you look like a former athlete, so I don't know what that means. But anyway, we're glad to have you here. And as long as you're talking about it, when you introduce yourself to people now and say what you do, what do you explain to them about what you do these days?
Malcom Mitchell :Usually my answer is all jumbled up <laugh>, but I usually say I'm a picture book author. Okay. That's something that people can understand. If I say, youth literacy advocate or nonprofit leader, that's a bit more ambiguous and that's hard to grasp hold of. So I introduced myself as a picture book author.
Susan Lambert:How many have you authored?
Malcom Mitchell :Three so far.
Susan Lambert:What are the titles?
Malcom Mitchell :The Magician's Hat was my first title. The second is my very favorite book in the whole Wide World. And the third is titled, Hey, Georgia.
Susan Lambert:Very cool. When did you decide that you, you thought like, I'm gonna write a picture book?
Malcom Mitchell :It's so... I don't know how I got there. <laugh>. I mean, when I think about the community that I grew up in and how disconnected we were from the concept of reading or literacy, or using books as a driving force to create economic opportunities, me landing on being a picture book author and a nonprofit leader in the literacy space is compelling. I have very strong faith, so I believe there's something higher that creates opportunities. I feel like it's our responsibility to see them and take advantage of them . So along the way, I noticed this resource that was useful, and I just wanted to do my part in spreading the message on what it could actually do for your life. So the concept of me becoming a picture book author was based on me wanting to share the magic of reading with as many students as possible.
Susan Lambert:That's really cool. So you talked a little bit about the community that you grew up in. What was that community like and what were the opportunities for you?
Malcom Mitchell :I grew up in Valdosta, Georgia. A little quick story. In 2009 , Valdosta, Georgia was a part of an ESPN competition called Titletown , USA. And it was to find the winningest sport program in the country . Now, this wasn't isolated to high schools, but it included collegiate institutions and professional organizations. So, Valdosta High School was in the mix with the Chicago Bulls during the Michael Jordan era. And even the New England Patriots and all their rich sport history. And Valdosta High School won .
Susan Lambert:Wow!
Malcom Mitchell :So I grew up in an environment where football was faith.
Susan Lambert:Yeah.
Malcom Mitchell :So it's no anomaly that I became an athlete. That's the environment that I grew up in. We did not have a plethora of financial resources. Some would considered a poverty pocket or book desert depending on statistics and comparable statistics. So for the most part, I grew up as a child who played sports, was not exposed to a lot due to a lack of resources, but had a loving mother who allowed me to believe anything was possible.
Susan Lambert:Moms are good people. I'm a little biased, but <laugh> as a mom, moms are good people, right?
Malcom Mitchell :Fair enough.
Susan Lambert:What about the role of academics? What did that play in your life there, in the football center of Georgia? <laugh>
Malcom Mitchell :Academics were a necessary evil to be a part of athletics.
Susan Lambert:Had to get the grades to play, is that it?
Malcom Mitchell :That's it. And that was the way you thought about it in my neighborhood. It's ... what's required to play a 72? Okay. Well, my objective is a 72. Because me playing football is the desire, not me becoming this person with a high level of intellectual prowess. So we made decisions based off of that principle, and, you know, that put a lot of us in very unfortunate situations as we got older. I say high school is probably the most confusing place because the things that you need to do most to position yourself for a fruitful life are the things that are ridiculed <laugh> .
Susan Lambert:Yeah. Oh, man. Yeah.
Malcom Mitchell :Right? People are calling each other nerds and picking on each other for getting straight A's or studying. Those are the things you should actually be doing.
Susan Lambert:Right. <Laugh>.
Malcom Mitchell :But those are the things in certain communities that are frowned upon. And some of it could be cultural identity or cultural misunderstandings, I'm not fully aware. But I know in my high school, you know, the football players reign supreme.
Susan Lambert:Yeah. So, in your world, academics were only the gateway to get to play football. Whatever you had to do to get there.
Malcom Mitchell :Yeah. It was, okay, I'll do it. Because I don't really have a choice.
Susan Lambert:Mm -hmm . <affirmative> . But you ended up playing at the University of Georgia, right?
Malcom Mitchell :Correct. Go dogs . It's necessary to say that anytime you ...
Susan Lambert:Okay.
Malcom Mitchell :Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just ...
Susan Lambert:The Georgia Bulldogs.
Malcom Mitchell :See, there you go. Yeah, exactly. <laugh>.
Susan Lambert:Gotta honor that for sure. What's the process for getting into college at that point as a football player? Are they, I mean, you have the academics, but...
Malcom Mitchell :I have a funny story. <laugh>
Susan Lambert:Great.
Malcom Mitchell :I was in 11th grade and I was more into art or cartoons and music. I have an older brother who was actually the star athlete, and I became a football player because that was my father figure.
Susan Lambert:Sure.
Malcom Mitchell :You know, we didn't have a father at home. I have an older brother, that's the person I look up to. What he does, I will copy. He started playing football. I started playing football with no understanding of anything football related . All I knew was that I was gifted with this athletic ability to play well, and I was rewarded for it. That all is said to lead up to this point. In 11th grade, I started getting recruited by colleges. I had no idea what that meant.
Susan Lambert:Wow.
Malcom Mitchell :People like Nick Saban, Mark Richt , Urban Meyer , they would call my phone trying to have conversations with me about offering me scholarships. I didn't understand that concept. So I would ignore their phone calls. And when I had coach at the time ask me, "Malcolm, why are you ignoring these calls?" I said, "Well, they're strangers." <laugh>, why do I wanna talk to a stranger? <laugh> ? So for me, I didn't understand the process at all until I started getting recruited, and that's when I learned about calculating GPA or taking the SAT or the ACT and having requirements to get into universities. And for athletes, the requirements are not as daunting as for other students. So I just learned what I needed to do , set some goals and objectives, and strived to accomplish it because I really enjoyed playing it was a sense of happiness for me and my family.
Susan Lambert:Yeah. A lot of reward, right? For that?
Malcom Mitchell :Well, there's a lot of incentives. I mean, just, for a comparable, when I scored a touchdown, they either probably put my name in the newspaper, people will probably tell me good job all around town, and I'll be celebrated for that. But when I finished one book, no one ever said anything.
Susan Lambert:Wow.
Malcom Mitchell :So which one am I more likely to repeat?
Susan Lambert:Right. Which one are you more proud of now, though?
Malcom Mitchell :Reading.
Susan Lambert:Yeah.
Malcom Mitchell :Yeah. It's just a gift that never stops giving if you commit to it. Football was amazing and gave me a lot of opportunities. It created a platform that it is hard to say would've been created in any other situation. And it helped me provide for my family, it helped me understand accountability, responsibility. It really set me up to try to live my best life as a man in society. But reading gave me something deeper.
Susan Lambert:Hmm . That's interesting. I wanna go back a little bit because you were talking about that 11th grade year with all these people calling you, trying to figure out what recruiting was. That must have been a lot of pressure.
Malcom Mitchell :Not when you're blissfully ignorant. <laugh> <laugh> .
Susan Lambert:Fair enough, fair enough.
Malcom Mitchell :<laugh> And I was blissfully ignorant until about 23 years old. So honestly, it wasn't a lot of pressure because I didn't understand what was happening. I mean, I knew the opportunities, but I didn't understand the gravity of it all. I didn't know that kids around the world desire to do that. Because it wasn't my immediate desire. Remember I started playing because I watched my brother.
Susan Lambert:Watched your brother play. Yeah .
Malcom Mitchell :Right. So when Nick Saban showed up at my high school, and everybody in my school is going nuts, I'm like, well, I'm gonna skip school that day because I don't get it.
Susan Lambert:Right. Yeah.
Malcom Mitchell :And it sounds silly and it sounds a bit ignorant, but it's true. I did not know. I didn't know the gravity of the opportunities. So, no, there was no pressure because I didn't understand that anything was required of me, except just be who I was.
Susan Lambert:So when is it that you discovered books or decided like, there's something to this reading thing that made you dig in a little bit.
Malcom Mitchell :I was in my English 1102 class, and there's two phenomena that took place.
Susan Lambert:English 1102. That would be 11th grade or in your college?
Malcom Mitchell :That's college. That's freshman year of college.
Susan Lambert:Freshman year. Okay.
Malcom Mitchell :Freshman year, second semester. I'm in my English 1102 class, and we're studying Edgar Allen Poe. And we're asked to read a Tell Tale's heart, but the teacher says, we're gonna do popcorn style reading. Now they have different words for it today, round robin reading, but essentially it's one student reads, and then that student selects another student to read. It's a nonreader's worst nightmare.
Susan Lambert:Yeah, for sure. Yeah.
Malcom Mitchell :Yeah. I mean, I'm starting to sweat thinking about it <laugh> , you know? And when this happened in college, I thought to myself, oh, no, I thought I was past that.
Susan Lambert:I thought I didn't have to do that one anymore.
Malcom Mitchell :I thought this was gone. And I mean, I immediately break out in a sweat because I'm afraid that I may get called on. And I know my reading ability is not up to par.
Susan Lambert:Yeah.
Malcom Mitchell :Well, a student raises her hand and she begins to read, and she says, you know what, I'd like to read the entire short story. I thought to myself, thank goodness, <laugh> and I went back to texting on my phone, probably <laugh> . She started to read, and to me it sounded like music. Poetry. It sounded like Jimi Hendrix playing the guitar, or Bob Dylan blowing his harmonica. It's just a sound that I had never heard before. It just made me curious. And then it also challenged me as a competitor because I knew I could not do it at the same level. It's first thing that happened, but I kind of ignored it because, yeah, she can read well, but I'm all SEC Freshman of the Year, <laugh> . And people are ... the professor wants to take a picture with me.
Susan Lambert:Right. Yeah .
:So, whatever. Well, the second thing happens in the same class, we get our report back for a project or an assignment that we had to turn in, and one student receives her report back, and she goes ballistic. I mean, she's screaming at the professor. She cries and she storms out. And I'm thinking to myself, what happened? One student looks at me and says, well, she's not happy with the grade she received. And I said, well, what did she get? Someone said she got an 89. I said, 89 <laugh> . I mean , I would've hung that up on the refrigerator. <Laugh> . I went back to my room that night and I Googled, why do grades matter? Because I couldn't understand why someone would have that type of reaction to getting an 89. And after looking at a few videos, I realized that that student understood something I did not. That her academic performance would dictate her future opportunities.
Malcom Mitchell :And then I thought to myself, maybe I should give this a try. And I did. And I quit within three minutes of trying. Again, there's this, this internal push and pull of me feeling like I need to take on this challenge of becoming a proficient reader, but also, while this is happening simultaneously, I'm excelling as an athlete. Right? Why do I need to read when I can catch really well? And for the majority of my life, for all of my life, nobody could answer that question. And I don't think anyone really wanted to or tried to because my athletic ability led them to believe that I'd be okay either way. And that's just not the case. One night I was watching Jay-Z rap videos on YouTube, and you know how YouTube works, right? You watch a video and then they begin to populate themselves, you know. Well I fall asleep while I'm watching videos, and I wake up -- I guess I watched so many of the videos, I wake up to him doing an interview with this fat white guy, <laugh> . I mean, I learned that that fat white guy was Warren Buffett, <laugh> <laugh> . But at the time, it was like Jay-Z was a pinnacle. We didn't know about Warren Buffett in my community <laugh> , we knew about Jay-Z, you know? Well, in this atmosphere, he was sitting down with a suit on, and he was articulating himself much differently than he did in his music. And he said that he used books to help build his intellectual ability to brainstorm in real time to come up with this music. I don't know if you know this, but Jay-Z is known for never having to write down a lyric. He just brainstorms it.
Susan Lambert:No, I did not know that.
Malcom Mitchell :And then he said in this <laugh> , he said in this video, that he uses reading to help him build those abilities.
Susan Lambert:Wow.
Malcom Mitchell :He never mentioned that in one of his music videos. <laugh> . Right?
Susan Lambert:Yeah.
Malcom Mitchell :Eventually I made the connection that if you wanted to build a sustainable life for yourself, this is before I even learned the statistics. I just made the assumption based off of the references that I heard, because after Jay-Z said it, I heard Warren Buffet say something similar. Then I heard others , someone else say something similar. And so many of these successful people were saying the same thing. I thought to myself, if I want to have any sustainable success in my life, whether I'm an athlete or not, I need to be a proficient reader. And that's when I became committed to the process after obtaining enough evidence.
Susan Lambert:Wow. But there must have been a reason you were listening for that, right? Like, that seed was planted maybe before Edgar Allen Poe , or maybe at Edgar Allen Poe , who knows. But it's interesting that somehow that seed was planted and you kept hearing this over and over and over again.
Malcom Mitchell :I don't think it was a seed of academics, but I think my mom definitely planted the seed of always trying to be your best and maximize your potential. My mom stressed that more than anything else as a child. And I think that is what made me latch on to reading, because I saw that as the thing that would allow me to become the best version of myself.
Susan Lambert:And that's amazing.
Malcom Mitchell :I think that is why Edgar Allen, Poe those moments, stuck because they represented me recognizing, here's something that could help me be the best version of me. And I still believe that to be true today. Reading is the most self-empowering tool a person could possess. It's not money. It is reading.
Susan Lambert:Hmm. Wow. That's powerful. How do you go about doing that though, when you're a freshman in college and how did you teach yourself to be a proficient reader? Did you reach out to somebody and ask for help? Did you practice?
Malcom Mitchell :No. I mean, walking around saying, I don't read so well ain't the most popular thing to do, <laugh> . So, you know, in these videos that I was watching, I heard a few book recommendations. And the first book recommendation I heard was titled , The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Green . Now, I don't know if you've ever seen this book.
Susan Lambert:I have not.
Malcom Mitchell :But it's like trying to read the Old Testament, <laugh>
Susan Lambert:<laugh> . I know what that's like, <laugh> .
Malcom Mitchell :Yeah , and it's not a book for, you know, struggling readers, <laugh> . So I pick up that book and I'm immediately discouraged.
Susan Lambert:I bet.
Malcom Mitchell :Immediately. It took me about an hour to get off the first page, and I'm having to Google every other word because my vocabulary isn't strong enough to kind of digest the book. So I thought to myself, well, I wasn't always a good football player.
Susan Lambert:Right?
Malcom Mitchell :I couldn't have been.
Susan Lambert:Right.
Malcom Mitchell :I had to learn how to do these things. And I thought to myself, what was the process of me becoming a good football player, and what if I take that same process and I replicate it in relation to books? So I said, okay, the first step of becoming a football player is learning the fundamentals. Start from the lowest point and build upon that. So I go back to the bookstore, and instead of picking up The 48 Laws of Power, I pick up The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Susan Lambert:Oh.
Malcom Mitchell :And I started using picture books to build my vocabulary and understand sentence structure.
Susan Lambert:Wow.
Malcom Mitchell :And that's how I took the natural progression to becoming the reader that I wanted to be is I started from the most basic point. I was a 19, 20-year-old college athlete walking around with The Cat in the Hat in my backpack.
Susan Lambert:Did anybody know that? Or did you keep it hidden
Malcom Mitchell :At the beginning no one knew. It was just something that I wanted to accomplish, and no one would've cared initially because I was still having success on the field. And still today, if a professor walks in the room who discovered the, I don't know , I'm just gonna make up something. If the doctor who walks in the room who discovered the cure for cancer walks in and LeBron walks in, LeBron James walks in simultaneously, who's gonna get more attention?
Susan Lambert:No . LeBron James.
Malcom Mitchell :Right, because no one cares about the academic prowess when it's put beside an athlete.
Susan Lambert:Right .
Malcom Mitchell :That's the sad part. <laugh>.
Susan Lambert:Yeah.
Malcom Mitchell :Right? Because that guy who's curing cancer is probably doing more for the world than LeBron James. And I'm sure in some cases that can be argued. But yeah, I went back to the bookstore and I used picture books to help me build a foundation for reading. And that's why I started writing them too.
Susan Lambert:I was just gonna ask that <laugh> , is that the connection back to picture books ?
Malcom Mitchell :Yes. That is the connection.
Susan Lambert:So I was watching your Ted Talk video, which by the way, we'll link our listeners in the show notes to that video, and I think in there, you, you talk about joining a book club.
Malcom Mitchell :Oh, yeah. <laugh>.
Susan Lambert:In that Ted Talk video, there's actually a picture flashed, of you sitting in the center on the couch with all of these, well, I'm just gonna say it, old white ladies, in a book club, right?
Malcom Mitchell :Yeah. <laugh>, You said that that me.
Susan Lambert:I did say that, because I'm an old white lady, so I can say it. <laugh> . W ell, how did that happen?
Malcom Mitchell :I start with picture books. I move to graphic novels, and I move to young adult, and then I move to just traditional nonfiction fiction books. I'm reading whatever I want, but I have no one to share it with.
Susan Lambert:Okay.
Malcom Mitchell :There's this concept that my mom preached when I was a child. You are who you hang around. And I still wasn't the reader that I wanted to be. And I knew that I needed to surround myself with a group of readers to help foster an even greater love or deeper connection with this. And I started with Oprah's Book Club. The only problem is it wasn't tangible enough for what I needed. It was online.
Susan Lambert:Oh, right. Yeah.
Malcom Mitchell :There was no physical location. There was no one to meet with. There was probably a chat section, but that's not what I identified myself needing. I am not joking when I say this, and it is just as random as it's going to sound. One day a friend of mine walks into my room and said, do you have any books you would recommend for the summer? And I had a trunk full of books, and I could have very easily have said, sure, go in the trunk and grab one. But I saw it as an opportunity for me to get a free ride to the bookstore <laugh>. So I said, no. And she said, well, let's go to the bookstore and you can pick out one for me.
Susan Lambert:Okay. <laugh>.
Malcom Mitchell :I said, great.
Susan Lambert:Let's go.
Malcom Mitchell :Let's go. I go to the bookstore, and traditionally I go to the bestsellers racket. I just look at whatever's doing well, and I pick one of those books. Well , I get to the bestseller's racket, I look to the left, there's a lady who has about seven books in her hand. And I had never seen anything like it. And I'm thinking to myself, well, if I'm looking for a book, I'm sure this person who's walking around with seven of 'em could give me a good book recommendation. So I think to myself, I'm gonna walk up to her and ask <laugh> as I'm making my way towards her, I'd be honest with you, I actually walked by her. She was an older white woman. I was a younger Black guy. And I thought to myself, this ain't a great idea.
Susan Lambert:Yeah. <laugh> .
Malcom Mitchell :But I wanted to be a reader so bad.
Susan Lambert:Hmm .
Malcom Mitchell :I mean, I just wanted it so bad I didn't even care. I turned around and I walked right up to her and I said, I hate to bother you, but I'm just looking for a good book, which you mind recommending one. And with joy on her face, she said, no problem at all. And she kind of, I mean, she riddles off five or six books, and then she says, my book club is reading. And I hear book club
Susan Lambert:<laugh> . Oh .
Malcom Mitchell :And I say, here's the moment.
Susan Lambert:Right.
Malcom Mitchell :I've been looking for this. This is what I've been asking for. So before she can finish her sentence, I say , well, can I join your book club?
Susan Lambert:<laugh>? What did she say ? <laugh> ?
Malcom Mitchell :She was taken aback, <laugh> ,
Susan Lambert:I was gonna say, the look on her face, maybe?
Malcom Mitchell :<laugh> . Her first comment was, I don't think you want to join my book club .
Susan Lambert:<laugh>.
Malcom Mitchell :And my response to her was, yes, I do <laugh> . She said, well, we're just a bunch of older women. I said, well, I really don't care. <laugh>
Susan Lambert:<laugh> ,
Malcom Mitchell :I gave her my email address.
Susan Lambert:Okay.
Malcom Mitchell :And my name.
Susan Lambert:Mm-hmm. <affirmative> .
Malcom Mitchell :And she said she'd reach out because she had to talk to the person who created the book club. Because no male had ever participated.
Susan Lambert:Oh.
Malcom Mitchell :She goes back home and she does a little research and she finds out that I'm a University of Georgia football player. She sends me an email invite , invites me to the first book club meeting, and I showed up. And for two years we met every second Tuesday of the month.
Susan Lambert:That's awesome.
Malcom Mitchell :And those women have played a huge role in me becoming the person I am today and the reader I've become as well.
Susan Lambert:That's an amazing story. That's amazing. <laugh> .
Malcom Mitchell :Yeah, Now , yeah. I mean, if you look at the picture, I may be a bit of an outlier, but <laugh> , you know, honestly, as I think about what the world is today, I would encourage more people to focus on what you're trying to accomplish versus what people look like. You know, I'm positive that we all had different religious beliefs, the things that were obvious--One, I was the only Black person. The other one , I was the only male. I was the only one of my generation. And some of them became my greatest friends. One is on the board of my foundation, another I mention in a book, it's like, take off society goggles, so you can see what's really there.
Susan Lambert:Yeah. And what's so cool is it was reading, it was books, it was literacy that brought you together. But you had the courage to reach out, to ask to join that. I mean, that's, that's courage.
Malcom Mitchell :Or desperation.
Susan Lambert:Yeah. Oh, that , yeah. Yeah.
Malcom Mitchell :Yeah . Could be either or. Both are useful. <laugh> ,
Susan Lambert:That's , that's a good point. It's a good point. So you left Georgia and then went to the NFL and played in the NFL? Were those ladies still an important part of your literary journey?
Malcom Mitchell :Yes. They're still a part of it today. Before I left the University of Georgia, I self-published my first picture book.
Susan Lambert:Oh, that was before you left Georgia.
Malcom Mitchell :Yeah. And that was intentional because I knew, based on my experience, if I waited until I was drafted to talk about the importance of literacy, I would have then given kids an excuse. Because I remember, that's what I used to do. Let me break it down even more. If a person gets drafted and they start giving back to their community, it's, oh, you're only doing that now because you have money.
Susan Lambert:Oh, right, right, right, right. Yeah .
Malcom Mitchell :Right. And I said, I want to eliminate that excuse.
Susan Lambert:That's amazing.
Malcom Mitchell :So I'm gonna do it when I don't have anything. So someone will not be able to say, I've only decided to do this because. No, I decided to do this long before that. So I self-published my first picture book in college because I didn't wanna wait. I didn't want a child to be able to come up with any excuse <laugh> like I used to .
Susan Lambert:So you said you were a little bit of an artist. Did somebody else illustrate this? Or you?
Malcom Mitchell :Someone else illustrated.
Susan Lambert:Okay.
Malcom Mitchell :Yeah. I was more of like the , uh, what would I consider my art style to be?
Susan Lambert:Different than a kid's picture book maybe? <Laugh>.
Malcom Mitchell :I just look at stuff and I don't know, I just say, that's cool, or no, that's not that cool. <laugh> .
Susan Lambert:Right <laugh>. So book number one was self-published before you left the University of Georgia. When did you do numbers two and three?
Malcom Mitchell :So after I left the university, Scholastic reached out, purchased the first book for me and signed me off for a three book deal.
Susan Lambert:Oh. that's great.
Malcom Mitchell :Yeah. So , the second book was done in 2017, immediately after the Super Bowl .
Susan Lambert:Okay. And what year was the Super Bowl ?
Malcom Mitchell :17.
Susan Lambert:2017. Okay.
Malcom Mitchell :Yeah. I think I wrote My Very Favorite Book in the Whole Wide World the week after the Super Bowl .
Susan Lambert:Wow. I mean, I gotta just stop for a second and say, I'm sitting--well, we're doing this in person for our listeners, which we don't usually do in person--but like, I'm sitting across the table for somebody that's played in the Super Bowl , that's pretty cool. <laugh> and even cooler wrote three kids' books.
Malcom Mitchell :I appreciate that.
Susan Lambert:Even cooler. So how does former wide receiver in the NFL go from doing that to founding a literacy foundation?
Malcom Mitchell :You gotta have some really good people in your life <laugh>. I have a great team of people who took my ambitions and spearheaded them while I was on the field. I think you have to make a few sacrifices. I think opportunity cost is the word I'd use. You gotta give up something for something else. And instead of my off season being full of travel, it was travel, but it was travel to and from elementary schools trying to encourage students to read. Honestly, I don't know how to answer that question , because I would like to say it was very intentional, but the truth is, I was just doing what I feel. Not necessarily what I thought was best. It's just, I know what it feels like to feel you only have a few options in life.
Susan Lambert:Yeah.
Malcom Mitchell :I know what it feels like to watch your family members suffer from something they can't even describe, which is low literacy. I know what it feels like to have to go to your aunt's house to take a shower because your hot water is off, or watch your mom miss a meal so your whole family can eat. I know those feelings. And reading to me grants an individual the opportunity to break down any societal, environmental, social barriers that says, you are only restricted to this. Because once you read, you're exposed to everything, which means I then can believe I can be anything. And to me, that represents hope. And I just wanted to give children, people the hope that my mom had given me. So I don't know if it was intentional, I just felt like that was what I was supposed to be doing and feel like that's what I'm still supposed to be doing and I enjoy doing it.
Susan Lambert:What's the big focus that you're working on right now? What would you say the top of mind is for you and the foundation?
Malcom Mitchell :Book ownership is always top of mind. It's really hard to practice reading if you don't have access to books. My foundation also creates digital platforms that allow educators to engage their students in literacy-based activities.
Speaker 4:Hmm .
Malcom Mitchell :I think the cultural connectivity is the number one priority for me. It's eliminating the idea that ... I'm just gonna be straight up with you. How about that?
Susan Lambert:I love straight up. I love it.
Malcom Mitchell :Okay. So I was just in Austin, Texas doing a South by Southwest conference. I was on a panel talking about the educational system and specifically Black boys. And the conversation was, okay, why are Black boys the lowest performing readers and why have they always been since the beginning of taking the statistic? And I said , well, you gotta ask yourself the question, is the concept or is the thought accidental or was it intentional? alright? And there's been intentional cultural disconnection between understanding education and how it could help you foster growth in life. And it's not restricted to any particular group of people. I think it's more based on environment.
Susan Lambert:Okay.
Malcom Mitchell :And for me, the number one objective is to go into these environments and say: No, this tool actually works.
Speaker 4:Mm-hmm. <affirmative> .
Malcom Mitchell :And it will give you the greatest sense of value that you'll ever find. You know? I know there looks like there's an easier path, but you gotta, trust me, if you commit to the process, it'll take you further than you could ever imagine.
Susan Lambert:Hmm. Have you seen that impact? Like, are there any individual stories you can think of where you're like, oh my goodness, my message resonated with this kid or this person and ...
Malcom Mitchell :I periodically receive emails from educators? I don't do a great job of, and I probably should do a better job of , I don't know, owning it maybe? It's tough to describe, and I don't wanna complicate the conversation, but it's like, I don't think I set out, I don't that's my ambition. My ambition isn't to receive any type of accolade.
Susan Lambert:Yeah.
Malcom Mitchell :You know? That's not really what ... I am going with the intent that I hope that's what happens.
Susan Lambert:Right.
Malcom Mitchell :That is why I make the choices that I make. But I'm not looking for anything in return. I received those messages and I do need to learn how to better embrace them because I think it'll take you even further. I think I struggle with that a little bit.
Susan Lambert:Okay. I love that honest answer. I love that honest answer. Well, so we have a huge listener base. Probably a different kind of listener base then ... Well, I don't know, you've been talking to educators a long time, so maybe folks know what you're doing out there. For sure they'll know after this. But what kind of messages would you wanna give them? You know, outside of what you've already talked about, to any educators.
Malcom Mitchell :To any educators, I would say, the way you communicate to your students has a defined impact on their beliefs. And it's very important to culturally connect. An example would be, I remember when I was a child and my educator wanted me to read Charlotte's Web. And when I asked her why she told me so I could pass the class. Well, that was a false assumption that I cared about passing the class.
Susan Lambert:<laugh> . Yeah.
Malcom Mitchell :Because I did not care about passing the class.
Susan Lambert:Or Charlotte's Web maybe.
Malcom Mitchell :No. I mean, I felt bad for the spider dying, but I had friends who were actually being shot.
Susan Lambert:Right.
Malcom Mitchell :The moment I realized that reading created an opportunity or would create opportunities so my mom wouldn't have to work three jobs her whole life, I started to approach it differently. Education has to be tied to something, a tangible goal that a person wants to accomplish for them to fully invest in it. And when you think about students who are not reading, or who are not paying attention, who are not engaged in the classroom, the thing that I would assume is they don't understand how this impacts their desired outcome.
Susan Lambert:<affirmative> mm-hmm. <affirmative>,
Malcom Mitchell :Because I hated lifting weights.
Susan Lambert:<laugh> ,
Malcom Mitchell :Every moment of it. It hurts. I don't like it. But every single day, from the time I started playing football, from the time I stopped, I lifted weights. Why? Because I understood how that was going to impact my outcome.
Susan Lambert:Yeah.
Malcom Mitchell :It's not whether people want to do something or not, it's whether they understand the value of it. And in certain situations, you know, when I walked outside of my front door growing up, I didn't see doctors. There were no lawyers. I look at the neighborhood I live in now, and it's like, where were these people? Because if I saw this, well then I would've understood the tangible result of education.
Susan Lambert:Yeah.
Malcom Mitchell :But no, I never saw that. And there are millions of kids around the world who will not see that. They will not be exposed to anything that gives them the understanding that, my academic performance will dictate my economic opportunities. You have to culturally connect. And when I saw Jay-Z, that's when I said, well, wait a minute. I also would say , I'll share a little bit more about my foundation, if that's okay.
Susan Lambert:I'd love that.
Malcom Mitchell :Yeah. I started Share the Magic Foundation in 2016. The mission is to change lives through literacy. We do that through two ways, in school programs and virtual challenges. Our website is readwithmalcolm.com, where you can learn more about what we do. We just finished up one of our virtual challenges called Read Bowl . It's where classrooms across the country compete to see who can read the most minutes on average in a four-week time span. And we had over 110,000 students participate.
Susan Lambert:Oh, that's amazing.
Malcom Mitchell :At least one classroom in every state and seven countries participate.
Susan Lambert:Oh, that's great.
Malcom Mitchell :So , trying to think of innovative ways to create engagement, because there's something that I learned also. Having the information and the ability to teach is great, but if you don't have somebody willing to learn, it doesn't make a difference. So our virtual challenge has created an atmosphere that hopefully makes students willing to learn. And that opens the door for, I think, a teacher to do what they do best.
Susan Lambert:Hmm. That's great. Yeah . Congratulations on that. Again, we'll link our listeners in the show notes to that. I didn't realize you were in that many countries too. That's a great reach.
Malcom Mitchell :It's fun . Yeah. I can't holistically internalize it. I just, you know, right? Like we said before we started recording. Like, I don't know how to wrap my head around that.
Susan Lambert:Yeah. It's a big thing, isn't it?
Malcom Mitchell :Yeah. Yeah.
Susan Lambert:Well, we appreciate your time and for you joining us, but mostly appreciate the work that you're doing. So thank you for that. We appreciate it.
Malcom Mitchell :I appreciate you.
Susan Lambert:Thanks so much for listening to my conversation with Malcolm Mitchell. Find out more information about Malcolm's work and the Share the Magic foundation at readwithmalcolm.com. We'll have a link in the show notes. I'd love to know what you thought of this episode. Join the conversation in our Facebook discussion group, Science of Reading: The Community. Science of Reading: The Podcast is brought to you by Amplify. For more information on how Amplify leverages the Science of Reading, go to amplify.com/ckla. Be sure to catch all our new episodes by subscribing to Science of Reading: The Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. While you're there, please rate us and leave us a review. That will help more people hear from great guests like Malcolm Mitchell. Next time on the show, we've got another special episode for you. We're going to talk about strategies for educators to stay up-to-date on the latest literacy research with Dr. Neena Saha .
Dr. Neena Saha:I'd love to create, you know, sort of a database of single case research design where you could look it up by a student's age, grade, race, when trying to figure out what works for them individually.
Susan Lambert:That's next time on Science of Reading: The Podcast. Thank you again for listening.