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Kobe King, now playing basketball as a Wisconsin Badger at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, was once a Hintgen Elementary student in La Crosse. Today, he returned to his former school as a guest reader spending time with kids in kindergarten through fourth-grade to share stories about patience, determination, and hard work.
King read “Salt in His Shoes. Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream.” The book, written by Deloris Jordan, Michael Jordan’s mother, and his sister Roslyn, tells a story about hope, strength, and working together to help a child make his or her dreams come true.
“Nobody’s perfect but I think it’s important to remind kids to always try and do the right thing,” said King. “I had a lot of positive role models, and they were a big influence on me, so I think it’s important with being in this position that if I can do that same thing for other kids it’s something I should do.”
King also took time to sign autographs and answer questions from the young students like “How high can you jump?”, “How did you get so good at basketball?”, and “How many dunks have you made?”
“Kobe’s a shining example of what a good role model is,” said Hintgen teacher Kristen Markworth. “We’ve watched Kobe set his goals and work so hard and push until he got to where he wanted to be. He’s such a kind, respectful, and responsible person and those are the things we are working on with our students every day.”
At Hintgen Elementary, teachers regularly host guest readers who visit the classrooms, interact with students, and read to them. The program gives students the opportunity to engage with supportive members of the community while also developing literacy skills from being read to aloud.
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