Born to Read

George Brett was born to hit.

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John were born to hand jive.

Both Christopher McDougall and Bruce Springsteen were born to run.

In Proust and the Squid, a fantastic book that details how humans became readers, Maryanne Wolf wrote, “Human beings were never born to read.” Making sense out of lines curved, straight, circular, crossed, and dotted, learning how to read is truly a miracle.

Katelynn’s miracle reading story is far from typical.

Katelynn started working with the OLC in August of 2016. Thanks largely to her tutor Marilyn, Katelynn’s reading confidence is soaring. “I now like to read junior novels and nonfiction stories about animals.” Her fondest memory of working with Marilyn is reading Runny Babbit.

In just seven months, Katelynn’s reading improved more than three grade levels.

George Brett was not born to hit. He spent thousands of lonely hours swinging at a ball on a tee.

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John practiced dancing and singing for years.

And Christopher McDougall and Bruce Springsteen put in the blood, sweat, and tears necessary to perfect their crafts as well.

Learning to read is a miracle of perseverance, hard work, and the caring help of a teacher.

Well done Katelynn and Marilyn. Keep up the brilliant work!

If you know of someone who needs reading assistance or would like to be a volunteer tutor, connect with us here.