Learning in the Absence of Education
Essays on Homeschooling
© Beverley Paine
Index
Homeschool
Australia
“Is Thomas reading yet?”
(continued)
It is two years since I wrote that article, reprinted in several Australian newsletters. Such is the demand for reassurance that non reading children are normal...
Thomas’s reading ability stalled somewhat after ten years, and continued its slow rate of improvement. There was nothing either of us could do to accelerate his skill building, without imposing tedious remedial learning tasks, that served only to frustrate Thomas further, and to diminish his self esteem, as most concentrated on simple phonic skill building.
We did come across a list of words, one hundred of the most common words in the English language. Thomas rote learned about sixty of these, and that helped. But still progress beyond this stage was slow.
Despite being unable to read Thomas was fascinated by print. He would ‘read’ the dictionary while playing scrabble, from the age of four! He looked at magazines, sometimes for hours a day. He poured over the writing in his Lego catalogues, learning to read the words, just as his brother had before him. Slowly, ever so slowly it did all come together, until the day came that Thomas found that he couldn’t stop reading. Whatever was lying around on the table, or posted on the wall, advertisments when out shopping - Thomas was reading, or trying to read them all.
He still has a long way to go at twelve years of age. But at least he is moderately independent now. He doesn’t consider himself learning disabled, although understands that a school would have labeled him thusly. He knows he is learning differently, and at a different rate, to other children.
When his grandmother comes to visit next time Thomas will be able to answer her question, confidently and happily, dispelling her unnecessary worry about his reading ability.
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Excerpt from Learning in the Absence of Home Education: Essays on Homeschooling
© Beverley Paine, 1999
