The Teacher Who Couldn't Read by John Corcoran

There's an epidemic in America. One that is stealing the future of our nation's children. One that is suspending millions of adults in childhood. It's name: illiteracy."

 

 

Those are the opening lines of this video, John Corcoran: Illiterate Life Story. I recently read this book about John, an illiterate adult who learned to read near his 50th birthday. The story of The Teacher Who Couldn't Read: One Man's Triumph Over Illiteracy is John's story about his struggle with illiteracy. We follow him through elementary school where he sat on the 'dumb row' to high school where he learned to cheat. And, amazingly, we follow him through college and his years as an illiterate teacher. He was even able to hide his illiteracy from his wife, until the day she overheard him trying to read a story to their 3-year-old daughter.
 

Throughout the story, the pain of illiteracy is gripping. I remembered the children from my own childhood who were part of the 'dumb reader's' group. The kids who the teacher's gave up on. I even thought of some of the trouble makers, both who were my fellow students and students while I taught, and wondered if some of them were in the same position as this young boy - incredibly bright, yet struggling to cover up their own illiteracy.
 

You can visit the John Corcoran Foundation site to learn more about John, illiteracy, and what we can do to change this epidemic.

A Pearl in the Storm by Tori Murden McClure

I read this wonderful book a few weeks ago. It is called A Pearl in the Storm: How I Found My Heart in the Middle of the Ocean by Tori Murden McClure. I could not put this one down!

The author, Tori, writes about her two stormy trips across the Atlantic Ocean... in a rowboat! She even survives a hurricane, though she is battered, bruised, and beaten in the process. Her spirit is incredible. Her education is remarkable. And, this story is a wonderful real-life adventure where those of us who would never dream of such an undertaking can catch a small glimpse of what it would be like.

Parallel Journeys by Eleanor Ayer

I recently finished an amazing book called Parallel Journeys by Eleanor Ayer. The book follows the young lives of Helen Waterford and Alfons Heck, who were born near each other in Germany. But, Helen was Jewish and Alfons was Aryan or non-Jewish. Helen ended up in hiding and then in a concentration camp during WWII while Alfons became a high ranking leader in the Hitler Youth. This story tells their amazing stories, side-by-side.

 

 

Alfons Heck later regreted the life he had lead. He felt that because of their age, millions of German youth had been brainwashed by Adolf Hitler. Millions of these Hitler Youth died fighting for their beloved Fuhrer. In his later life, Alfons became a journalist and wrote about his experiences as a Hitler Youth leader. Helen Waterford read one of his articles and contacted him and they eventually joined forces and spoke about their experiences at high schools and other settings.

I found the quote by Alfons Heck at the beginning of chapter 1 to be incredibly powerful:

Unlike our elders, we children of the 1930's had never known a Germany without Nazis. From our very first year in the Volksschule or elementary school, we received daily doses of Nazism. These we swallowed as naturally as our morning milk. Never did we question what our teachers said. We simply believed whatever was crammed into us. And never for a moment did we doubt how fortunate we were to live in a country with such a promising future.

I did not have Alexandra read this book, but I will one day. It is a powerful story showing both sides of this horrible time in our history. Especially in light of last week's events at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC, I found the very last quote of the book very powerful, too. It is actually on the wall of the Hall of Remembrance at this museum (which includes some of Helen's story):

 

Only guard yourself and guard your soul carefully,

lest you forget the things your eyes saw,

and lest these things depart your heart all the days of your life.

And you shall make them known to your children

and your children's children.

Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire by Rafe Esquith

I just started reading Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56 for the third time in about 6 months! It is an amazing story about a public school teacher who is doing amazing things within his classroom "of immigrants and children of immigrants." This book challenges us to set high standards for our kids and gives lots of ideas of how to creatively teach our children.

NPR has a brief interview with the author, Rafe Esquith. And, the kids have their own website called The Hobart Shakespeareans. Yes, these 5th graders put on a Shakespearean play every year! And people from all over the world come to see them perform. They also travel around the United States as part of their education. Part of this comes later than 5th grade - kids who maintain an "A" average and go to Saturday school get to travel with Mr. Esquith to visit colleges while they're in high school.

I'm just amazed at this man and what he is doing for these kids. It makes me feel like I'm not doing enough! But, the book also encourages me as to what kids can do and gives specific ideas for how to do it.

Update: Alexandra and I watched the DVD "The Hobart Shakespereans" this week, and really enjoyed it. It was great to see Rafe "live" and just added to my amazement of this man and his kids.

Update: I reread most of the book today. I'd forgotten that he sometimes uses offensive language and calls a list of writing instructions he made up "the Bible." I still think the book has tons of good info in it, but wanted to make you aware!