learning to read

I am an experienced teacher of mathematics in schools, to children aged between 8 and 18 years. Now I go to my local high school and help with some math lessons, and it’s a very enlightening experience.

So what does this have to do with learning to read? Those of you who work in this important area of ​​a child’s life will know more about it than I do, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently as I’ve been working with a 10-year-old reading-age boy. of less than 5 years. Why didn’t Tommy know how to read when he was a kid? What went wrong with the development of him? Could you turn back the clock 5 or 6 years for this kid? Can I use the method that works for a 4 or 5 year old?

In my opinion, the most important activity that prepares children to become readers is reading to them while they can see the book. They see these strange shapes on the page and quickly realize that they are words that come together to make a story. This provides the best preparation for learning: motivation. I should add here, of course, that a child will still enjoy the attention she does when an adult reads to her, so don’t be surprised if she’s a slow learner!

Unfortunately Tommy must have missed this process for reasons unknown to me. The effect on him has been devastating. I can imagine that when he was a little boy, seeing that others in his class could read while he couldn’t, led him to believe that he wasn’t very smart. If he wasn’t very smart, then he must have thought that he wasn’t worth much as a person.

I found it in math classes when I was 9 years old. As he watched him work, it was obvious that his reasoning powers were considerable. And this boy could barely read!

At the time, Tommy was 10 years old. I promised to help him with reading it and I’m happy to say that we, Tommy and I, have been successful. Now that he is 12 years old, he doesn’t read for pleasure, but he can handle most of his own needs when it comes to words.

So why did we do it? Although his teachers had tried to help him in the past, he was one kid in a class of many. I was successful because I could work one on one with him.

There was another important ingredient: trust. I offered to help him as an unpaid volunteer because I couldn’t stand by and see so much intelligence being wasted on someone so young. I believed in his ability and told him so. As his self-esteem improved, so did he as a person.

The reading material he used was aimed at children his age. She didn’t have to read the adventures of Pinky the Poodle, or whatever!

So what works?

Tommy is obviously smart, though it’s always best to start with the assumption that a child is smart.

Encouragement works, but only if it’s honest. If you tell a child that he is doing fantastically well when he is not, he will see right through you and you will lose his trust. Remember, he is smart.

Patience and determination on the part of the adult are essential. You have to provide both when your pupil starts to waver.

Don’t rush things. Mystify your student with a Latin motto festina lente: “make haste slowly.”

Forget if you should use phonetics or rote or whatever. Who cares? It is the personal touch and his care for his student that counts.

Improve a child’s reading and you will change that child’s life.

When are you going to start?