His mother, reading, and his faith helped make Ben Carson the man he is today.

At 57, Carson, director of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, is not only interested in helping children regain their health, but in helping them succeed in school and in life. He will be the keynote speaker at the Closing General Session May 7 at the 54th Annual Convention North Central in Minneapolis.

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An internationally renowned surgeon who focuses on traumatic brain injuries, brain and spinal cord tumors, epilepsy, and neurological and congenital disorders, Carson is the author of more than 100 neurosurgical publications, three best-selling books, and the recipient of dozens of honorary doctorate degrees and other merit citations. In June, 2008, he received the nation's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

He is the founder, along with his wife, Candy, of The Carson Scholars Fund, Inc., a nonprofit organization that recognizes and rewards students in grades 4-11 who strive for academic excellence. A fourth book by Carson, Take the Risk." Learning to Identify, Choose, and Live with Acceptable Risk, was released last year.

A movie based on his first book, Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, written with Cecil Murphey, is to be aired February 7 on TNT. Starring Cuba Gooding as Carson, the movie tells the story of the family's rise from poverty in Detroit, where the film was shot, because of the efforts of his indomitable, persevering mother, Sonya, portrayed by Kimberly Elise. Sonya Carson's husband left when her two boys were very young.

In a recent telephone interview with Reading Today, the soft-spoken but outspoken medical doctor said his main message to the thousands of attendees at the convention will be that "the real responsibility of educators is to cultivate a spark of interest in students--whatever it takes to motivate them. If children get excited by something, then their interest will be self-perpetuating."

A serious issue for Carson is reading competency: "A hundred and fifty years ago we were the envy of the world because we emphasized reading. Now so many children are not competent in reading by the third or fourth grade-and they should be. It is the foundation of everything else."

He said he almost missed that "window of opportunity" because he did not become an avid reader until fifth grade ... and he hesitates to think what may have become of him had he not learned to love reading.

At the time, his mother decided that he and his older brother Curtis, now a successful engineer, were watching too much television. She insisted each boy read two books a week and report on what they read. Carson says in Gifted Hands: "That rule sounded impossible. Two books? I had never read a whole book in my life, except those they made us read in school."

But he and his brother did it because they knew she meant business--and because they loved her, he said.

"Bennie," she told him, "if you can read, honey, you can learn just about anything you want to know. The doors of the world are open to people who can read." He and his brother didn't find out until years later that when his mother checked their book reports-even marking on the papers like a teacher would-that she couldn't read what they had written. But she had made them believe in the power of reading.

Carson said he understands kids today have a lot of distractions and cites the pervasiveness of cell phones as an example. But, again he sees challenges as opportunities--some realized, some lost.

"What we need are math and science teachers who can tell kids how a cell phone works, break it down for them and push them to do higher math and more difficult science. Part of the reason we as a nation are doing so poorly in science and math is because we don't have the expertise in the classroom; we don't have relevant math and science teaching."

Carson doesn't lay all the blame on educators, however. He said he wants children to know they are responsible for themselves and he is opposed to the "being a victim" psychology.

He also believes in the power of faith, recalling the story recounted in Gifted Hands--how at 14, because of his terrible temper, he tried to stab a friend, who was saved by a large metal belt buckle. Carson locked himself in the bathroom and prayed.

"I felt so hopeless.... I prayed my heart out," he said. His prayers were answered, he believes, and he came to realize his faith was a tangible thing that could deliver him from the lack of self control that could have ruined his life.

Another issue that greatly concerns Carson is health care reform in the United States.

He said he recently was in touch with the transition team of Tom Daschle, President Barack Obama's choice for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and director of the new White House Office on Health Reform. Carson said he offered to help on an informal basis, and because he has a deep love for his country, "will always help when asked."

His work at Hopkins and his foundation ultimately will be his major focus. It will be "time much better spent," he said. He also plans to try to help physicians be better doctors and not have to spend so much time on administrative matters.

For more on Carson, visit his foundation's website, www.carsonscholars.org or www.achievement.org and click on his name.