Children of the Code
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 1:08 am
Here you can access a collection of 'interviews' and video snippets from many of the world's experts in the field of reading:
http://www.childrenofthecode.orgThe Children of the Code Project is a ‘case in point’ for how poorly our society understands learning and the personal and societal costs of unhealthy learning. Consisting of over 100 interviews with field leading scientists and scholars the COTC project has produced over 140 video segments that cover subjects ranging from the origin of writing to the neurology involved in producing the virtual language experience we call reading.
The Children of the Code is a project of Learning Stewards a 501(c)(3) non profit organization. Founded in 2008, its mission is to ‘make the case’ (economically, politically, socially, neurologically, psychologically, educationally, parentally) for “stewarding the health of our children’s learning”.
Most children who struggle with reading experience the struggle as a reflection of something wrong with themselves - something to be ashamed of. Unintentionally but pervasively, parents, schools, and society as a whole contribute to perpetuating this insidious myth. Children don't think that their reading troubles might be the result of normal differences in their genes and brains analogous to being tall or short - they don't think that maybe their parents, siblings, and other care-givers didn't engage them in enough conversation before they started school - they don't think that their teachers didn't teach them correctly - they don't think the confusion they experience is a consequence of an archaic and artificially complex 'code' that presents a completely unnatural processing challenge to their brains... no, they blame themselves - they feel ashamed of themselves - ashamed of their minds. Statements like: "I'm dumb", "I'm stupid", "I'm not smart", "I'm not good in school" are all strategies to protect themselves from the shame they feel.