Phonics for Life
No matter how hard they try, many bright students become frustrated because they can’t reach the level of performance expected of them. The most common reason is that they can’t read well. Educators agree that students who can’t read well by third grade will be severely handicapped for the rest of their lives. Parents must make certain that their children excel in reading. All other academic performance hinges on this crucial skill.
WHAT WENT WRONG?
It certainly is not your fault or your student's!
In 1930 America was the most literate nation on earth, and then the schools abandoned a method that had been successful since the time of the Phoenicians – phonics. To this day, many Americans still suffer the consequences of that ill-fated action. Finally our schools have realized that mistake and are trying to get back to that ancient method, but most are struggling because their programs cover only the basic sounds and leave out large blocks of essential skills.
Our writing system is alphabetic. The letters are code for the sounds they produce. This was the historic achievement of the Phoenicians. In this system, each letter represents a sound. As the sounds in a word are spoken, the word is automatically pronounced. It is a simple, natural way to read and is processed in the auditory and language centers of our brains. Our alphabet produces 44 sounds governed by specific rules. It is much easier to learn these, and be able to decode and pronounce ANY word than to memorize the hundreds of thousands of words in our language.
Reading is primarily taught in our schools using the "sight word" method. This "whole word" memorization turns English words into English ideographs. There are no clues to help you pronounce the word. Each word must be memorized visually like a logo. This is processed in the visual center of the brain, which is not used for language. We might as well use pictures for words like the ideographs in an Egyptian temple
"When you impose an ideographic teaching method on an alphabetic writing system you cause reading disability"
--Why Johnny Can't Read by Rudolph Flesch
SCIENTIFIC PROOF
Current research (Click Here) reveals the exact areas where reading is learned and shows that intensive remediation actually rewires and increases connections in that area. Scientists have never before shown that the brain’s white matter grows in response to intense but relatively brief remedial training.
WE CAN HELP!
Our method is not tutoring. It is a complete course in reading instruction developed by Cliff Ponder, founder of Academic Associates. This system works even after others have failed. It works for children, adults, esl/ell learners and has had great success with dyslexic readers. We are not part of a large franchise system nor do we teach a huge number of students. We provide individualized lessons based on each person's needs. We teach one-to-one in homes and libraries
ONLINE TOO!
Ideal for out of area, older students, homeschoolers, adults and ESL learners. Click here to go to our Online page.
BECOME AN EXCELLENT READER
- The Academic Associates™ course is a logical, step-by-step method for teaching decoding, comprehension and fluency.
- Our course has helped thousands of students worldwide. It works consistently, even after other methods have failed.
- We work one-to-one with children, teens and adults.
CALL 831-458-2177 OR EMAIL US AT barbarateachesreading@gmail.com FOR A FREE, NO OBLIGATION CONSULTATION!
WHAT SHOULD PARENTS DO IF THEIR CHILDREN CAN’T READ WELL?
Cliff Ponder, Founder of Academic Associates™
During 20 years as an elementary school principal, Cliff Ponder observed that many bright students couldn't learn to read no matter how hard they tried. Years of scientific research revealed that flawed education theories were to blame. Armed with this fresh new evidence, he perfected the world's most powerful reading instruction methodology. The Academic Associates Reading Program now has 225 centers, clinics and schools around the world. Because of Cliff’s vision and efforts, thousands of children and adults have become better readers.
