Why at age 85, did I feel a mission to help the non-gifted learn to read?
After my 40+ years in the field of education, having sat through 272+ semester hours of undergrad and grad-level classes (no doctorate, no box), also, having observed in more than 1,000 classroom settings from grades K through 12, in 13 states, Canada, Guam and Hawaii, both public and private, and having seen students, in almost each classroom, struggle to read – or give up learning, I can no longer sit in isolated retirement.
The recent research of How the Brain Learns to Read, has sparked this mission. The research is recent, the outcomes could be awesome. If only my novice Grade 1 teacher had known that foreign reading researchers have confirmed a link between phonics and reading success.
Allow me to review my own struggle with reading. September, 1940, age 6: day one is imprinted in my mind – I distinctly remember standing beside our country road, EAGERLY waiting for the school bus. (That feeling never returned at any level.) At school, a neighbor boy, Lester, lay on the back table and cried – all day. Our teacher – ignored him. Day two: he was fine – fit into the class very well. Later, we became friends.
But what about reading? We used the latest scientifically designed (parent appeal) reading series. I still remember page 1. There was a picture – don’t remember what it was – but under the picture in big letters was the word, look. To write it, begin with a downward line – then two circles – then a downward line with two arms.
Interesting. I’m sure we all said the word, “look” together. Then came page two; it showed, “look, look” – we were moving along nicely. Next, I think it was: “See Jane.” Page four, “See Jane run.” Wow, four words in one day. At that pace we would be able to read the English language within our lifetime.
I remember nothing about letters or sounds – just words on a page under pictures. I have no idea what any of the pictures were. I focused on the words. Reading was not a new concept: my mother had read to me; the family read. We also read the Bible, so I knew that words have meaning – however, I never remember being told by anyone that letters have sounds. (How could one boy be so dense?)
I gave up on spelling: ten words per week, 32 weeks in a school year; that is 320 words per year. I can still remember comparing that rate with a dictionary: hopeless! I lost all interest in spelling. Then, probably during grade 4, my teacher paid my parents a visit, concerned about my reading and spelling skills. (I do not think I was stupid at that age; scored at 10th grade level in Geography in 5th or 6th grade. Did fine in math – liked it.)
My mother continued to read to me and with me; she tried to help me with spelling. Mother (an RN) would ask questions, such as, “What sound do you hear?” I do not remember my verbal responses but I do remember my mental thoughts: “Mother, what has that to do with anything? I’m not deaf.” (If only she would have said – “Letters have sounds.” I would possibly have said, “Oh!!!”)
To continue: in the middle of grade 6 my parents placed me in a parochial school. I distinctly remember day two or three – the teacher said. “Tomorrow we are going to look at the vowels.” (probably for my benefit). “The vowels are a, e, i, o, u.” Vowel, was a new word and I wrote the a, e, i, o, u, down. At home that night, I remember writing the alphabet, underlining, a, e, i, o, u. Then I tried to find some sort of mathematical pattern, any pattern or meaning. I could find NONE. The next day we did something with the vowels but I do not remember linking each to a sound. (How dense could I have been?) Incidentally, in college I had a course in Phonetics. The teacher would dictate words, both English and foreign language; we were to write the word, using the International Phonetic Alphabet. I don’t remember missing any sound – letter link!!! (Question: is “denseness” related to age?)
As I stated, I have observed (with purpose) in well over 1,000 classroom settings. In each, there have been students who were not with the program: mental drop-outs; many could not read. They had given up, feeling “stupid” and/or out of the “learning” culture.
So, since lack of reading skills is a major problem, what can I do? My research showed that there have been at least three scholars who have written and devised strategies to teach all children to read. They had neither platform nor audience. The “expert” voices were so loud and the publishers so dominate that none of their proposals were accepted. They had no internet – only an innovative book that few read (who listens to a non-professional?).
However, I do remember in the Fall of 1967, I began teaching in a new private school. I was placed in charge of the “end of year” achievement testing. Grade 1: each student tested at the 99th percentile in reading. We decided to retest each using Grade 2 tests. At least we did get a spread of scores with the bottom being at percentile 92.
Note: the previous summer I had completed an Ed Psy course taught by a “Reading Specialist” who loved to interject tid-bits about the latest updates for “Reading Education.” He stated that typical Grade 1 students could read about 200 words and some might get up to a max of about 400 words.
My curiosity about our Grade 1 scores made me ask the teacher, “About how many words can your kids read?” Her response was a shock. She said, “Oh, maybe about 4,000.” To an educator, those two numbers (400 or 4,000) were notable. I knew she used a phonics approach.
Let me tell you about that reading program. It was phonics based, with the idea that letters are symbols for sounds in the English language (unique for that day’s 1930s approach to reading).
Not the end of the story. That publisher was NOT a main-line publisher of reading books and seemed to not promote the program. Its methodology was not “main stream” so its phonics approach was not widely accepted and disappeared from the educational scene. That seems to be true for most programs that are not “main stream.”
Thus, about 2 years ago, as an aged educator who often existed “outside the box,” I decided to do some research and found that most “outside the box” was being done outside the U.S. So, how does the brain learn? There are scores of studies that learning to read, actually helps the brain develop new neural pathways, valuable for all areas of learning and life. Also, I had observed both athletic coaches and music teachers. Neither put the beginner “in the game” until some BASICS were mastered and the fundamentals were practiced.
My question: If athletes and musicians master the BASICS before the game or concert, why do we expect children who are not “ready” to learn, to be tossed onto the learning game as their peers are rapidly moving ahead with great success? Therefore, my mission: why not devise an “on line” program that will develop both a foundation for “success” and the confidence of “success.” Let’s devise a program that teaches reading The Way the Brain Learns.
This program must be designed for parent – student, or tutor – student, or with a voice for individual use as practiced brain training.
Intuitive Phonics
No Clutter®
Learn to read the way the brain learns is designed as a tool for struggling readers to move toward reading success.
The program is designed to help the typical student begin to see the phonetic: letter – sound patterns of the English language.
It is designed for the student who finds himself saying, “I hate reading.”
I have found no reading program that specifically targets reading as an intuitively developed process. Thus, this must utilize a “unique” strategy for teaching students who are struggling with the complexity of the English language.
Let’s teach the way the brain learns.
Let’s use phonics patterns – not phonics rules.
Let’s make it for individuals who want to learn to read and spell, English???
Could this strategy be utilized for other languages?
Will someone be daring enough to try it? Time will tell.
Three qualities will be needed for both tutor and student:
