The Road to Reading

For the first four years of my schooling in Burbank, I was a nonreader. I was terrified that the teacher would ask me to read aloud, so I became expert in avoiding any task that required reading. I would hit or kick the unlucky person sitting next to me, pretend to be sick, hide in the bathroom, throw a temper tantrum, do anything that would get me out of the classroom. I was a holy terror, but I did manage to conceal my disability.

An aunt of mine discovered my secret when I was 8 years old. She asked me to distribute the gifts at our family gathering on Christmas morning, but I couldn’t read the name tags. Everyone was horrified. My father contacted the school and insisted that they do something about my reading problem. As a result, I was placed in the class for the learning disabled. But I still didn’t learn to read. The teacher kept giving me lots of worksheets that I couldn’t do. I was certain that I was stupid and a complete failure. I hated myself and I hated school.

When I was promoted to fourth grade, I still could not read, write or spell. I was a serious behavior problem: belligerent, rude, stubborn, and I absolutely refused to do any schoolwork.

I wouldn’t have anything to do with my new teacher, Anita Wheeler, and told her that she was stupid and boring. However, with Ms. Wheeler’s infinite understanding and patience, she finally did get through to me. She told me that I was not stupid and that I could learn to read. I really didn’t believe her, but gave her three months to prove that she could teach dumb, stupid me.

This story does have a happy ending. By the time I got to sixth grade, I was only one month behind my reading grade level. I had made up six years in the two years I was with Ms. Wheeler. She not only taught me to read, she saved my life. I went on to college, received my teaching credential and now teach a sixth-grade class.

I wanted to share my experiences so that others who are struggling to read will not give up hope. They must understand that they are not dumb. They are not stupid. They will learn to read when they find a teacher who knows how to teach them.