"I
love your materials and have used them with much success
with students in my (Rocket Corps) program at Richard
Montgomery High School in Rockville, Maryland.
Thank you for your work and making so much information
available to those of us who can share it with students." -
J. Good, Richard Montgomery High School, Rockville, MD
"I
use COTC in all my classes. All students are engaged by the
videos, which start some very lively discussions.
Students have told me that they have a better understanding
of both language and reading as a result of these videos.
-
J.
A. Greene, Assistant Professor of Education, Park
University, Parkville, MO
"I
was so fortunate to be in attendance for the presentation of
“The Code and the Challenge of Learning to Read It” seminar
at Columbus State University. As a 31-year veteran of the
public school system of Georgia, a reading teacher, and now
a reading coach, I was astounded by the information in the
presentation."
-
C. Taylor, Reading First Literacy Coach, Stewart County
Elementary School, Lumpkin, Georgia
"The Children of the Code experience was life changing for
me."
-
T. Nichols, Ph.D., Consultant, Alabama Dept. of Education
All I can say is WOW! ... I love all of the connections from
one expert to another and the links to rare vocabulary... I
also want to say that I appreciate your efforts in
presenting both sides.
- J. Petersen, Irvine Unified School District, Irvine,
California
"Your website has totally changed the type of material and
the message I'm delivering to my students...the clips are
awesome! I finally feel like I am able to offer my
students some truly valuable information about teaching
reading."
-
Dr. B. Lewellyn, Univ. of Dayton, OH
"I
am in awe of the research you have. In my 35 years as an
educator and a reading teacher, I have never read anything
to come close to your findings. Teaching reading is becoming
more of a science than a mystery. Thank you." -
G. Robertson, Director of Elementary and Federal Programs,
Autauga County School System, AL
"Wow!
Eureka! Now I get it. I wish I had heard this 25 years ago."
-
M. Plail, Sutton Elementary Even Start, Houston, TX
IMAGINE HOW BEING ASHAMED OF YOUR MIND WOULD
AFFECT YOUR LEARNING
"This is probably the most interesting, educational,
insightful, researched, helpful, meaningful information I've
received since becoming a teacher."
-
J. Stillman, Budlong Elementary, L.A. California
"I
have always felt that I am fairly well read, however, your
presentation and now your website has given me new
direction...I have always had a sense of urgency for the
children in my care (as a speech pathologist, a principal,
and now a director of special education) and now your
information gives me the meat to start alarming others... I
am planning on sending this URL to all of the principals in
my district and am going to set up time after school to
watch the videos together as a professional learning
community... thank you so much for the work that you have
done to bring all of these people together, especially the
children."
-
M. Friesen, Director, Special Education, Thomasville City
Schools, Thomasville, GA
Weare a non-profit social education
project. We aren't selling anything
and we aren’t pushing an ideology or
teaching methodology. We are a
free-to-schools online learning library
focused on 'reading' and based on the
following premises:
1) Children
who are unable to
proficiently
process the written materials used in
their grade levels -
who are reading
below the level necessary for the
brain-work of reading to be
transparent to the mind-work of learning
from what they are reading -
are in danger.
Their entire educational experience
is more difficult, frustrating, and less
likely to succeed.
2)
Regardless of particular methods of
teaching, the
better educators understand the
challenges involved in learning to
read
the better they can differentially apply
the methods or approaches they choose to
help children through those challenges.
3) The more
that education leaders and policy makersunderstand the collateral effects of
reading difficulty, in terms of its
harm to the general health of a
child's ability to learn,
the more effectively they can focus
their efforts to improve their school
system's performance.
The mission of
the Children of the Code Project is to
help educators and policy makers develop
a deeper first-person understanding
of:
who's at risk,
what's at stake,
and
what's involved
in learning to read. We
aren't here to persuade people about what to
think or how to teach, we are a resource for
people who are interested in deepening their
learning and the learning of the people they
work with.
"As a veteran principal in a large K-6 school filled with
largely disadvantaged youth and many struggling readers, I
find your website highly useful, intellectually provocative,
and very compelling. We've used your videos in faculty
meetings, parent meetings, and study groups. I've shared the
site with my colleagues. Thank you, thank you, thank you."
-
B. Weiss, Principal, Meadow Hill School, Newburg
Our online
library provides educational resources that
address virtually every domain and
discipline associated with understanding the
'code' and the 'challenges involved in
learning to read it'. Unlike
traditional documentaries or books which
require such an investment of time and money
that they are seldom used, our resources are
in the form of hundreds (and growing)
mini-modules that are free to use and that
can be emailed, arranged in any number of
ways in presentations and trainings, and
that can form the basis for school
system-wide faculty dialogues. Use one
of them - use all of them. Use them in board
meetings, grant proposals, teacher
trainings, and student and parent
conferences.
"[at your seminar] there was much validation of what I
already knew but didn't know WHY it worked. The website is a
tremendous resource which I plan to use extensively in
future professional development for my principals and
teachers."
-
C. Michel, Ed.D. Lafourche Parish School Board, LA
"My company provides professional development in the area of
reading instruction. During a training, we went into the
school's computer lab and watched [COTC Videos]. Most
teachers had tears in their eyes, one sobbed uncontrollably.
They all said they see the urgency. The information provided
on your website is so important. Every educator, parent, and
resident of the United States needs to know these facts. I
recommend your site to all participants in our trainings."
- M. Steverson, Smartel Learning Link, Marina Del Rey, CA
"This information is a very important basis of understanding
for teachers and I am not sure how many of us know it. I
learned more here (3 hour seminar) than in all my college
courses on language."
- B. Gallagher, Niagara Falls, New
York
Thanks again for visiting our site. We hope
you will now proceed to explore our site's
home page,
index of interviews,
menu of videos,
and our topics
page.
If you find what we are working on
interesting and helpful make sure you hit
the 'contact
us' button (located on the top
menu bar) and sign up to receive our
updates. If you want to help us
succeed please send us your
feedback and
suggestions (also a button on on
the top menu bar).
"I
cannot say enough about this project "Children of the Code."
As a professional working with children and their families
(I'm a pediatrician) and in particular with children with
special needs...I have been religiously following and
reading each interview. I have shared your website
with many parents and educators. There is so much
excellent work going on in each of the categories (from
neuroscience to behavioral science to education) that can
give us the tools to tackle this horrendous gap of reading
ability in our nation. -
G. Muscolo, MD
"What
really attracted me to your project was its originality and
breadth. I really like that you have assembled such a
diverse group of experts in a variety of areas pertaining to
reading."-Dr. Paula
Tallal, Neuroscientist, Rutgers University
"Like
most scholars, until awakened by the “Children of the Code”
project, I took reading as much for granted as eating and
drinking. Very few of us have paid sufficient attention to
the specific emotions triggered in children as they begin to
read. “Children of the Code” merits the serious
attention of anyone interested in emotional health of
children or the future of America." -
Dr. Donald L. Nathanson, M.D. Clinical Professor of
Psychiatry, Jefferson Medical College, Author: Shame and
Pride and Know
"I
love what you have all done and am using the videos in
graduate school psychology courses as well as in
consultation with elementary teachers and administration".
- Dr. Lynn O'Connell, Alfred University
"Thank you!!!! How great to have my graduate students read
the interviews of Adams, Shaywitz, the list goes
on....Videos are great. They were very helpful in my
undergraduate classes. "
- Mary Wines, Professor, Midwestern State University
Language Therapist Master's Program CALT, Wichita Falls
"I
recently attended your presentation on “The Effect of
Learning to Read Difficulties on Mental Health” at the
School-Based Mental Health conference. As a mental
health practitioner working in schools, I regularly see the
effects of learning problems on children’s mental health.
Your presentation however, informed me at new levels and
inspired me to new heights for working with students’
reading abilities and struggles. -
Dr. B. Bloomster, School Intervention Program Coordinator
Copyright
statement: Copyright (c) 2014, Learning Stewards,
A 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization,
All Rights
Reserved. Permission to use, copy, and distribute these materials
for not-for-profit educational purposes, without fee and without
a signed licensing agreement, is hereby granted, provided that "Children of
the Code -
www.childrenofthecode.org"
(with a functioning hyperlink when online) be cited as the source and appear in all
excerpts, copies, and distributions. Thank you.(back
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