By Dee Tadlock, Ph.D.
Welcome our new regular columnist, Dee Tadlock, Ph.D., author of Read Right! (with Rhonda Stone). Dee will be bringing us the latest information on reading because Read Right and NSFM are convinced that every child has the potential to be an excellent reader. In this Information Age, reading is essential to open the door to a lifetime of wonderful experiences and enjoyment. Dee will tell us how it is that we have so many reading problems when anyone who can talk can become an excellent reader.
Mom walked into the living room and saw Amy standing up for the first time as she leaned on the coffee table.
"Look at you," squealed Mom, "What a big girl!" Amy smiled and pounded on the table, a look of accomplishment on her face, as Mom swept her up into a big bear hug, celebrating the joyous occasion. Before long Amy took her first step and just days later, she walked confidently around the table. Soon she raced around it, reveling in her newly-developed skills.
All of us can identify with Amy and her Mom, as the quest to walk begins. We hold our breath as she takes that first tentative step alone, struggling for balance, falling down, getting back up and trying again. Amazingly all of Amy’s learning is done with intensity, continuity, and a high level of intent until that day comes when she walks easily and effortlessly.
We all know children can and will learn to walk. We trust each child will figure it out. Although we don’t know how the brain develops the skills, we still have faith it will happen. And, we know that ultimately our children will walk as effortlessly as a seed sprouts from the ground. Why, then, do we think that reading is different? A child’s brain figures out how to do hundreds of other incredibly complex processes, but for some reason we agree to categorize reading as an exception.
The fact is all children love to learn to walk and talk, but there are millions of kids who move from loving to learn to "hating to read." My son was one of those kids and I wanted answers. We did everything like we were supposed to. I read out loud to him and he had an advanced vocabulary for his age. He was adventurous, inquisitive and never shirked from a challenge. He wanted to read and told us, "I want to read...Aunt Linda and Uncle Bill do, you and Daddy read. I want to read too!"
I knew there was nothing wrong with my son, so the only other possibility was that there was something wrong with the methods of instruction. I promised that I would do everything I could to find answers to the key question, How does the brain learn a process? What does the brain need to do in order to read excellently and effortlessly?
I spent the next three years researching a variety of academic disciplines and, as I hoped I found some answers. All processes or ’how-to’ things (how to walk, how to talk, etc.) happen below the level of consciousness. None of us have access to or control over what the brain does to make a process happen, just like the seed unfolds to a plant without effort. Therefore, processes can’t be taught directly. Instead, they must be figured out on a subconscious level.
Our brain is well-equipped to figure out how to do thousands of things, because it is driven by an innate need to make sense out of everything it encounters. It is pre-wired to do the "figuring out" based on gathering information, making attempts, and adjusting when the attempts don’t work out in order to try again. What I learned is that reading occurs just as naturally as walking and talking when we allow children to figure out for themselves the incredibly complex process of reading It cannot be taught. It must be internally figured out.
My son was now in the third grade for the second time and emotionally damaged by his consistent failure to read. I tried out my new techniques, hoping for at least an incremental improvement. Miraculously, what we saw was a total elimination of his reading problem in just three months! My son was transformed as he became an excellent student with minimal effort, and we got our happy, fun-loving, confident son back. He eventually went on to be a university graduate.
My research and experiences led me to develop Read Right, a proven method that guarantees reading success at any age. If you are a parent with a child younger than five, you can ensure excellent readers before they enter school. Older children with established reading problems require the brain to be re-trained but once it is, they are guaranteed to succeed in reading.
Over the next several issues I will share:
I look forward to continuing this discussion with you in future issues and please call or e-mail us with any questions or concerns.
About the Author:
Dee Tadlock, Ph.D. is the founder of Read Right Systems, in Shelton, WA and primary author of the book "Read Right! Coaching Your Child to Excellence in Reading." www.readright.com
"A high degree of individual and collective literacy is essential in a world that communicates its ideas, its concerns, its data, and its solutions primarily in writing."
Peter Gow, "To Build a Nation of Readers", Education Week, Vol. 25, No. 22, February 8, 2006
In fact, according to the U.S. Dept. of Education, there is a 30% chance that Amy will become one of the millions of children who "don’t like to read" and therefore avoid reading. If she is among those children who have difficulty reading, then there is a 75% chance that Amy will "never read efficiently enough to acquire information or to enjoy the process."* In other words, children who develop reading problems frequently go on to become adults with reading problems.
*National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
February 2007