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Marhsall Goldman is a Professor of Economics Emeritus at Wellesley College and Senior Scholar at the Davis Center for Russian Studies at Harvard University. In his book, Petrostate: Putin, Power, and the New Russia , Goldman chronicles Russia’s dramatic reemergence on the world stage, illuminating the key reason for its rebirth: the use of its ever-expanding energy wealth to reassert its traditional great power ambitions. In the article below Goldman reflects Russia’s role in increasing energy prices.

As energy prices rise to record heights, most consumers are unaware that it’s not only OPEC members who are the beneficiaries, but Russia which today actually produces more petroleum that Saudi Arabia. Russia has been the world’s largest producer of petroleum several times in the past including at the beginning of the twentieth century and again in the 1950s. But its role today when energy prices are at record levels has made Russia an especially important economic and political power, more so than ever before in the country’s history.

In more recent times, the bounty brought in by Russian petroleum exports has transformed Russia from near bankruptcy in August 1998 to levels of prosperity unmatched not only in Soviet but Czarist history. The Russian government today has built up nearly $500 billion in foreign currencies—not bad considering that less than a decade ago, in 1998, Russia’s treasury was effectively empty. Moreover the Russian company, Gazprom, the world’s largest producer of natural gas has just recently become the world’s second largest corporation as measured by the combined value of its corporate stock, a distinction that until just recently was held by General Electric. Today only Exxon-Mobil is larger than Gazprom, but Prime Minister Putin has promised that he will do all he can to help Gazprom reach first place. More than that Putin has begun to question why it is that the dollar is the world’s currency standard. As the US dollar loses value, the ruble has strengthened, gaining 20 per cent in recent weeks.

Not surprisingly both Putin and his protégé, Dmitri Medvedev his successor as President, have begun to demand that the ruble be included as a world currency (not bad considering that only a few years ago the ruble was not even convertible into other currencies) and that Russia have a say in selecting the leaders of international financial groups such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Given the likelihood that energy prices will remain at high levels for some time to come, it is likely that Russia will seek to use its new wealth to reassert itself as both an energy and a political superpower.

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This is the final installment of an interview with Spanish instructor Terra Trofort. I asked her how time-pressed parents can increase communication with teachers. She gave me these four tips:

1. “Ask what material is being presented in the classroom, then reinforce that material,” she says. “For example, if your children have vocabulary or “sight” words that they’re learning, point them out at home. Label objects so children can associate the appropriate spelling word with that item.”

2. “Get to know your school or public librarian. He or she can help you find books that are appropriate for your child’s reading level.”

3. “Check out your child’s teacher’s web site, if there is one. A lot of communication is available to parents online.”

4. The last tip is probably the most obvious. “Make it a point,” says Trofort. Communicating with your child’s teacher, and helping your child become a great reader, are things that you have to make a priority. By doing so, you could be helping your little one develop a lifelong love of books!

At Chipper Kids, we focus on making reading fun, but many children are learning the fundamentals of reading in not one, but two languages. Could a bilingual education help your child enjoy reading more? I recently asked Terra Trofort, Executive Director of Lingual Kids, LLC, to weigh in. Her company provides foreign language instruction (primarily Spanish) to young students. Trofort says that children who learn the principles of a secondary language often become better readers all around. Here’s the first of a two part interview:

I understand that Lingual Kids specializes in Spanish instruction. What’s unique about teaching Spanish compared to teaching another language?
Trofort: One thing I love about Spanish is that it’s phonetic. Once you learn the sounds, particularly the vowel sounds, you can look at practically any Spanish word and figure out how to pronounce it.

What if a parent knows only one language? How can they help?
Trofort: Read to your child! Even if you read to them in their primary language only, it often becomes easier for your child to learn a second language because they have a point of reference. They understand letters, they know that each letter has a sound, and they know that these letters and sounds create words (that have meaning). The child who reads often already has a grasp of the concept of language and how words work.

What can parents do to make reading time more meaningful?
Trofort: One good idea I’ve learned is to choose a book and focus on that one book for an entire week. It doesn’t have to be too long, but lengthy enough to have a good story line. Throughout the week, ask questions about the story. This helps your child build up their comprehension as they remember the story from one night to the next. It really helps you connect with your child as you’re helping them read.

Next week, Terra will share her ideas for how time-pressed parents can increase parent/teacher communication.

It’s not every day that you get first-hand advice from the leader of a school.

I recently interviewed Tamika Brundidge, director of the Destiny Day School in Atlanta, Georgia. She talked about how to make reading fun for young kids, and she also discussed the best way to communicate with teachers. Here’s our Q&A:

1. What can a time-pressed parent do to make story time meaningful?

“Make reading an anytime, anywhere activity. It doesn’t matter if you’re at the grocery store, doctor’s office, or even riding in a car,” says Brundidge.

So how do you ‘read’ in the car? “Purchase books on audio,” she says. Parents can even record themselves reading audio storybooks to make the experience more personable. Whatever you decide, just set aside 10 minutes out of the day to read to your child.

2. What type of picture books are your students enjoying this year?
The students at the Destiny Day School enjoy “create-your-own” books, “mysterious books” that allow students to make guesses or assumptions, and “interactive books” that encourage children to repeat tongue twisters, rhyming words, or repetitive phrases. They are also enjoying “wordless books” that tell a story using the books’ illustrations combined with the child’s imagination.

3. What are some tips to get a slow reader excited (and not frustrated) about beginner books?
Brundidge suggests the following:
• Allow children to create their own story books
• Ask open ended questions to prep the child as he or she goes through the book
• Try to partner the student with a more advanced reader
• Create activities associated with the book (ie, plan a garden visit to supplement Counting in the Crazy Garden)

5. How should parents communicate with their child’s teacher?
“Partner with the teacher,” says Brundidge. This means being open to the teacher’s suggestions for your child. Don’t forget to ask about your child’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as his or her interests, in the classroom. Let the teacher work with you to provide the best learning experiences for your early reader.

This is the final installment of my interview with award-winning children’s book author Diane Z. Shore.

“Research has shown that the single most important predicator of reading success in schools is that a child is read to regularly–not reading drills, expensive pre-school programs or reading instructions,” says Shore. With that in mind, here are two more of her creative ideas for making reading fun:

1. Show your children the dedication page and back flap of the book
“Tell them that the back flap is where they can find information about the author and illustrator. Ask them, ‘What is an author? and ‘What is an illustrator?’” suggests Shore. “Visit the author’s website. You might find out what inspired the author to write the book. Tell your kids that authors aren’t magical beings that live somewhere out in Authorland. They are real people who eat Lucky Charms for breakfast, sing along to the car radio, and occasionally leave their wet towels on the bathroom floor.”

2. Find fun activities, exercises, crafts, and/or lesson plans that go along with or relate to the book
“Teaching magazines like The Mailbox include a variety of theme related crafts, exercises, etc. that can be reproduced,” say Shore. “Additionally, the author’s website or the publisher’s website may have activity pages or lessons plans.”

For more information on Diane, visit her website.

Her newest work, the hilariously funny I-Can-Read book titled How To Drive Your Sister Crazy! will be coming out this Fall.

This week’s Interview with an Educator will be published in two installments. In honor of Black History Month, which starts next Friday, I interviewed Diane Z. Shore, author of This is the Dream. Her pictorial chronicles the events before, during, and after the civil rights movement. She recently shared with me five easy, simple tips for making read-aloud story time fun.

1. Ask beginning readers to participate
“If your child can read, take turns,” says Shore. They could
read one page and you could read the next page, or they
could read the lines that repeat. “If your child is not yet
reading, let him or her hold the book or turn the pages.”

2. Try to read the book first before reading it to your
child
This way, you become familiar with the story and how the
author intends for the book to be read. When you
successfully read a rhyming story, the cadence (rise and
fall of your voice) can be mesmerizing, says Shore.

3. Choose a comfy, cozy setting with little or no distractions
If you have the latest news or sports program playing
in the background, there’s a good chance you won’t finish the story.

4. Ask questions
“Ask both literal and open-ended questions,” says Shore. “For example: When and where does the story take place? What do you think it would be like to…?”

5. Find a book that you love
The best picture books are clever and have a way of keeping grown-ups interested in the story. “When you are excited about a book, that excitement is contagious!” says Shore.

The final installment of this two-part posting will list the last seven tips from Diane and info on her upcoming projects. It will be published next Tuesday on the Chipper Kids blog and in the Chipper Kids newsletter. If you’d like the newsletter delivered to your Inbox, be sure to sign up today.

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Mary Outing has been a kindergarten teacher for over 30 years. She is the reigning Teacher of the Year at Tuckaseegee Elementary School in Charlotte, North Carolina, and, full disclosure, she’s my mom. Outing has three ideas to help parents and educators make reading fun for their kids. The first tip is to allow picture book to come to life.

“When reading a story, try to make the experience real,” says Outing. “If you’re reading about an enormous tomato, take a few minutes to have a real tomato with you and show it off. If you’re reading about a wagon, have a red wagon there. A picture is good, but the real thing is even better.” Outing finds that even two to three weeks after the fact, children often talk about a story they’ve read if it has made an impression on them.

Another way to make reading fun is to pick a book that introduces new definitions. “Choose three or four words from one story to increase your child’s vocabulary,” says Outing. “Repeat them to your child. Then see how they can relate.”

Outing also advises moms and dads to let their kids pick books based on topics they’d like to explore. “If your child is interested in flash cards or jump ropes, take them to the library and invite them to choose books on those subjects,” she says. “You never know. It could be their interest throughout life.”

By making pages real, increasing vocabulary, and picking fun subjects for your child, you can create the building blocks for a lifetime love of reading.