I came across this article written by Sister Monica Foltzer. Her book A Sound of Reading has been used for decades to teach struggling students as well as those where English is the Second Language.
“Sister, can you teach me how to read?” an inmate of a Cincinnati city jail asked Sister Mary Germaine early in February 1993. Since Sister Germaine was a high school math teacher, she was a bit perturbed, but said she would try. Terry was 26 and had attended nine years of schooling. From the first grade, he had been classified as Educable Mentally Retarded, because he could not read. He even pointed to the word -the- and said he didn’t know that word.
Sister Germaine came home to me, and asked my advice. I gave her a copy of a book I had written many years ago and proceeded to tell her how to teach Terry to read.
“He will learn the sound of three consonants and one vowel isolating them from my Picture Key Word cards with your help: from mop, M, from tent, T, from sun, S, and the short sound of A from apple. You will help him slide these together: ma, sa, ta. It is important for him to blend these sounds together with your help. Then help him to sound out these words by himself: mat, sat, tat.
Next he will string some of these words into sentences; thus he will be reading on the very first page, limited reading, but real reading nevertheless: Sam sat. Matt sat. Sam sat at a mat. You will continue with more consonant sounds and more vowel sounds until Terry learns all 42 of them.”
At the next class session, Sister Mary Germaine went to the jail, took Terry into the hallway where he wouldn’t be seen or heard by the other students, and proceeded to teach Terry the way I had instructed her. After Terry had read about four sentences, he said delightedly, “I can READ! WOW!” Then he leaped out of his chair and bounced into the classroom and announced, “Guess what, guys? I can READ!” This from a young man who all his life had hidden the fact that he was illiterate.
Since Sister Germaine’s time was limited and Terry was eager to learn, one of the other inmates who had attended two years of college and knew some phonics, offered to tutor Terry twice a day. At the end of a little less than three months, Terry, with his tutor’s helpful affirmation, finished the first reading book, learning even the four syllable words. Terry also read eight primary readers and during the last few weeks, was able to read parts of the newspaper. He proved to be a very intelligent student.
On his last day of school, Sister Germaine decided to give Terry a diploma in reading. He was so excited and asked if I could come for the presentation. I agreed, and together with his tutor and Sister Germaine, we gave Terry his reading diploma.
Terry’s last remark to me was that his jail time had proved to be a blessing in disguise. Monday, two days later, April 26, 1993 he was dismissed from jail. He said the first thing he was going to do was to get a library card, so that his two children would not have to suffer the way he had. You see, they had also been diagnosed as “Educable Mentally Retarded!”
Would you like to help someone else learn to read? Would you like to get involved in a worthwhile, national project helping others? The National Right to Read Foundation is looking for people to serve in its National Tutor Network. For information please call us today at 703-425-5388.
Sister Monica Foltzer taught at Xavier University in Cincinnati for 23 years and is the author of Professor Phonics.
