YOU, YES YOU, CAN TEACH SOMEONE TO READ
A STEP BY STEP HOW-TO BOOK
by
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WHO ARE YOU?
IF YOU ARE DRAWN TO THIS BOOK
YOU ARE PERHAPS
A MOM, DAD, SISTER, BROTHER
A GRANDPARENT OR FAMILY FRIEND
AN AUNT, UNCLE, OR LONG LOST COUSIN
AN AVID READER OR LIBRARIAN
A TEACHER’S AIDE OR TEACHER
A CAFETERIA WORKER OR PRINCIPAL
A SITTER OR NEIGHBOR
A POET OR CHESS PLAYER
A WAREHOUSE WORKER OR DRIVER
A COACH, CASHIER, OR COOK
AN ANIMAL LOVER OR TRAINER
A MUSICIAN OR RETIRED PROFESSIONAL…
SOMEONE WHOSE BRIGHT KIDS
ARE HAVING A TOUGH TIME IN SCHOOL;
SOMEONE WHOSE LIFE WAS CHANGED BY READING
LOOKING FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO SIMPLY PASS IT ON;
SOMEONE WHOSE COMPANY ENCOURAGES VOLUNTEERISM
LOOKING FOR A CHANCE TO JOIN OR EXPAND THE ENDEAVOR;
SOMEONE WHO IS TIRED OF THE SAME OLD SAME OLD
AND WHO BELIEVES THAT EVERYONE CAN LEARN;
SOMEONE WHO CARES
SOMEONE WHO DARES
SOMEONE WHO…
THE LIST IS ENDLESS.
WHOM CAN YOU TEACH?
AN ARTIST
A BROTHER OR SISTER
A CHURCH MEMBER
A DROP-OUT
AN EIGHTH GRADER
A FRIEND
A GRANDPARENT
A HOMELESS PERSON
AN IMMIGRANT
A JUVENILE ON PROBATION
A KINDERGARTNER
A LIFER IN PRISON
A MOTHER OR FATHER
A NEIGHBOR
AN OLD-TIMER
A PREGNANT TEEN
A QUARTERBACK
A RESILIENT SURVIVOR
A SCOUT
A TRUMPET PLAYER
AN UNCLE OR AUNT
A VOCAL TEAMMATE
A WILD AND CRAZY GUY
AN EX-OFFENDER
A YARN-SPINNER
A ZEALOT
JUST ABOUT ANYONE WHO’S WILLING TO GIVE IT A TRY
FOR AT LEAST A SESSION OR TWO.
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About the Book
IN A PRINT-SATURATED SOCIETY, MILLIONS OF SO-CALLED NON-READERS RECOGNIZE STOP, GO, BANK, BUS. HOWEVER, BECAUSE THEY WERE NEVER SHOWN HOW TO BUILD A READING FOUNDATION ON SUCH SIMPLE WORDS, THEY MISTAKENLY BELIEVE THAT THEY CANNOT LEARN. ENTHUSIASTIC LISTENING IS CRUCIAL IN WORKING WITH HESITANT READERS. IT CREATES SAFE SPACE, ACCELERATES LEARNING, AND BEGINS TO DISPEL SELF-DEFEATING BELIEFS. ONCE THEY FEEL SAFE ENOUGH TO TALK ABOUT THEIR REAL INTERESTS, MANY TERMS BECOME SIGHT WORDS THAT ALLOW THEM TO CONTINUE TO BUILD ON THE KNOWN.
SINCE WE LEARN BEST WHAT WE TEACH, EVEN RELATIVELY NEW READERS CAN ACCELERATE THEIR OWN LEARNING BY HELPING THEIR TUTOR-TURNED-MENTOR TEACH A CHILD TO READ. TURNING THE READING DYAD INTO A LEARNING TRIAD INCREASES SELF-CONFIDENCE AND SELF-RELIANCE ALL AROUND, AND EVERYONE BENEFITS.
SHOULD THEY DECIDE TO PASS IT ON TO ANOTHER CHILD, THEN OR LATER, THEY COULD TAKE THE PROCESS ONE SIGNIFICANT STEP FURTHER AND START A GEOMETRIC PROGRESSION OF LEARNING : EACH OF YOU TEACH TWO!
SUCH INFORMAL GRASSROOTS LEARNING TRIADS COULD BEGIN TO TURN THE COMMUNITY OF NEED INTO THE COMMUNITY OF SERVICE, ENRICHING MANY LIVES IN THE PROCESS.
About the Author
COMMUNITY-BASED LITERACY HAS BEEN LUCILLE CHAGNON’S PASSION EVER SINCE SHE TAUGHT HER TEN-YEAR-OLD ADOPTED TWIN SONS TO READ. THREE MONTHS LATER, THEY TAUGHT A SIX-YEAR-OLD WHO, TWO YEARS LATER, TAUGHT ANOTHER SIX-YEAR-OLD TO READ. LUCILLE DIRECTED THE URBAN LITERACY PROGRAM AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY’S CAMDEN, NJ CAMPUS FOR EIGHT YEARS. BESIDES HUNDREDS OF UNDERGRADUATES, LUCILLE HAS TRAINED SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REMEDIAL TEACHERS, TEACHERS FROM JUVENILE INSTITUTIONS AND A FEDERAL PRISON, MAXIMUM SECURITY INMATES, AND AMERICORPS TUTORS STATEWIDE. SHE TRAINED URBAN TUTORS OF ALL AGES: CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND PARENTS IN SUMMER-LONG LITERACY PROGRAMS, THIRD AND 8TH GRADERS IN REMEDIAL AND SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS, TEACHER MENTORS, INSTRUCTIONAL AIDES. LUCILLE DID DOCTORAL-LEVEL WORK IN ADULT LITERACY UNDER THE MENTORSHIP OF THE LATE MALCOLM KNOWLES.