WHY SPEED READING WILL NEVER BE UNIVERSALLY TAUGHT IN THE SCHOOLS

Many people wonder why Speed Reading isn’t taught in schools (both public and private).

I used to wonder the same thing. Working as a substitute teacher in some local public schools in Washington state (15–20 years ago), whenever I had some “sponge time” [an extra 5 or 10 minutes after finishing an activity but before we could leave for the next class, recess or for lunch], I would often ask the students this question: “who would like to learn how to read REALLY FAST??!!”

Everybody wanted to learn.

Within the next few minutes, I would go through a very quick, INTENSIVE 5-minute speed reading lesson, and almost always, there was one (or more) student(s) who would catch on to the skill easily (well enough to read 1000 words per minute [or more], with VERY GOOD understanding).

The results were pretty amazing, really. Most children improved their reading speed. Many doubled their reading speed and improved comprehension. Nobody was any worse off.

Who wouldn’t want to make this available to all the kids?

After experiencing the school system, and seeing how different educators react to Speed Reading, I’ve come to realize that there are several reasons why Speed Reading just isn’t compatible with the School System.

Following are some of the reasons:

1. School Teachers must keep their classes under control. Can you imagine, if every child in a school class learned to read 500–5,000 words per minute, how difficult this would make it for the teachers? The average school teacher can only read 300 words per minute. How, then, can he/she plan reading assignments and other assignments for children who read much faster than he/she can? How about grading all the extra papers, assignments, book reports, etc.

Does that sound like a crazy fear?

It isn’t, really.

EXAMPLE: Several years ago, a 3rd grade teacher in California bought a copy of a Speed Reading instructional manual, during February of the school year. She then proceeded to teach the 21 students in her class how to Speed Read. The kids did very well. They all read faster. The fastest student read 720 wpm with very good understanding. (the average 3rd grader reads just over 120 words per minute)

I spoke with the teacher at the end of the year, and she was pretty excited with her results:

— She said that Speed Reading did more than just help with the reading. It helped the students do better in ALL the subject areas, except Physical Education. (yes, they even did better in MATH).

— They got more work done. Whenever the teacher gave the students an in-class assignment, they were done quickly. (This had the annoying side-effect — for the teacher — of creating a larger work load. She no longer had as much time to correct papers during class time while the kids were doing “busy work.” Plus, she had to come up with OTHER ways to keep them busy during class.). This was true for Social Studies, English, Spelling, Math, etc.

— When the students did their end-of-the-year standardized tests, her entire class finished the whole standardized test early (except one immigrant girl from Korea who still didn’t understand English yet). In her 20 years of teaching, this had never happened before. Normally, there were always several students in each classroom who don’t finish the standardized tests within the prescribed time limit.

— The average test score for the class was the highest that she had ever had.

Pretty exciting stuff!

So, what do you think she did the next year?

She confessed that she didn’t do much Speed Reading with the students the next year.

I think the extra workload took its toll.

We need to be practical and fair. Teachers don’t like to be overworked any more than anybody else does. When you have a class full of geniuses, it’s going to be a lot more extra effort to keep up with them.

2. Then there are other issues, like internal “political issues.”

For Example: What would happen if your whole class of 3rd grade students were to finish all their textbooks by Christmas? That would be pretty great, right?

Well, maybe not. Perhaps the principal will not be happy to order more books for your class for the rest of the year. Perhaps there is no budget for it. Maybe next year’s 4th grade teacher will worry about being out of a job if you do all her work for her this year, before she gets to even see those kids. Or, maybe she will have to draft up a completely new curriculum, and lesson plans, for next year’s 4th grade class.

Bummer for her.

Now she’s going to have to stay up late at night all year long to keep up with this group of students — all because of YOU. Maybe she’ll give you the “cold shoulder” from now on. Or, it could be that she will complain to the School District Office that you aren’t following the “approved curriculum” for your class, or that maybe you should be disciplined — because you are not a “Team Player.”

Even though the results could be miraculous, schools are not the best venue for teaching Speed Reading. Do it somewhere else and avoid all the politics.

3. Some school teachers simply don’t believe that Speed Reading is possible….Therefore, it must be “a bunch of baloney.”

I recall one 3rd grader that I taught during a 30-minute lesson a few years ago. He got so good at speed reading, that within a few minutes he was able to read over 5,000 words per minute with very good understanding. I was impressed.

The next year, I was substituting a 4th grade class at another school, and this same boy came up to me and introduced himself (I also remembered him). He was so happy to see me. But he confessed to me that his current teacher had BANNED Speed Reading in her classroom. I encouraged him to obey the teacher whenever she was there. But I also told him that he was still free to speed read during lunch time, and at home, and anywhere else outside of class. He then asked if he could stay inside during recess and speed read. I allowed him to do so. He read a 150-page book in about 5 or 6 minutes, and then proceeded to tell me all about what he had just read.

I was even more impressed.

Now that he knows how to bypass his teacher without disobeying her, he can now move forward and get a better education (despite her resistance).

His teacher will never change. So, bypassing her solves the problem and keeps the peace.

4. In a school setting, it’s important for “everybody to move along together, at the same pace.” If you teach Speed Reading to your entire class, the results won’t be uniform. Some children will choose to ignore the Speed Reading lessons, meaning, that they will still be slow-readers. While other students will really take off — being able to read 2,000 to 5,000 wpm. How will you get everyone together “on the same page” after that? Despite all the “diversity” talk these days, the school system isn’t prepared to handle REAL diversity of this nature when it comes around.

Don’t get me wrong. Speed Reading will be fantastic for the children who learn it and take charge of their future with it. However, public school classrooms aren’t designed for this much concentrated talent in one place at the same time. It requires too much individualized attention in order to do the proper follow-up.

If your child goes to school, and you want your child to be a good speed reader, you must be prepared to “be the support system,” if necessary.

WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO TEACH SPEED READING TO WILLING CHILDREN WHO GO TO PUBLIC OR PRIVATE SCHOOL?

In my opinion, the best way to teach SPEED READING to any children who go to a public or private school would be one or more of the following:

1. Teach it as an extracurricular activity. If you ever get a chance to teach Speed Reading on school property, you are fortunate indeed. This is the exception, not the norm. I’ve done it a few times, but be careful. Here’s what I recommend: Teach it as a class after school, just for volunteers. Teach it during lunch period — only for those who want to learn it. Teach it before school. Start a club and call it “Speed Reading Club.” Don’t do anything that may be viewed as a challenge to the system in any way.

Also, since you are only doing it outside of the school’s “class time,” nobody’s curriculum gets threatened. No rules are being broken, nothing changes.

2. Keep a very low profile — do it at HOME. When you teach it, you can do it privately at home, one-on-one or in small groups, to your own children, or the children of your friends and acquaintances. Don’t make a big deal of it. Help kids when you see an opportunity, but encourage them to keep it “under the radar.” That way, they don’t attract any unwanted attention.

“Out of Sight, Out of Mind.” Avoid attention.

3. Teach it at a completely different venue. Teach a class for the Parks & Recreation department. Teach it for the local Homeschool Group. Just teach it away from school property. Nobody else notices, nobody else cares. Any school children that take a Speed Reading class off-premises can safely walk back onto the public school property without attracting any attention from educators, administrators or anyone else who may disapprove of Speed Reading.

You know what your child’s needs are. Make sure that your child is properly taught to Speed Read. Your job isn’t to change the world, it’s just to make sure that your own child has a good education. Speed Reading is one of the key skills of that good education.

— George Stancliffe, author of Speed Reading 4 Kids