My child could not read until he was 12. He was in all the special reading programs for the district, and I was badgering the teachers. One of them said to me in exasperation, “You just have to accept your child will never read beyond a 4th grade level, at best!”
So I pulled him out of school, and began to homeschool. I was a pioneer at it, and took great grief.
I had him reading in a week with The Natural Way to Reading by Stevenson. Basically, it turned everything teachers believe inside out. For instance, sound words out starting at the INSIDE vowel (easier to meld the sounds - the first one says its name, the second must shut up. Use cards to cover the first letter of the word.). Start with long vowel words, not short ones (easier for kids to remember vowel sounds.) NO PICTURES. (Teachers say kids need them for context, and to guess - but we don’t want them to guess! We want them to read!).
Such simple concepts, but radically different than what the district used, and when we got results, the district kept telling me I was doing it all wrong! (But they were happy to see him reading.)
Now he reads at college level.
“Such simple concepts, but radically different than what the district used, and when we got results, the district kept telling me I was doing it all wrong!”
Ha Ha Ha. That is so funny! I would rather get results the “wrong way” than to have an illiterate child taught the “right way”. Imbeciles. No wonder they couldn’t teach your child to read!
Ping for the homeschoolers.