It’s normal to be bad at math, but not reading. Why?

Let’s start with a thought experiment: Why do we normalize struggling to learn math, but not literacy?

Walk into a room and announce, “I’m bad at math!” Nine times out of ten, someone else will say, “Samsies!” But if you flip it, and openly you’re bad at reading…there would be stunned silence. *

Given this literacy stigma, you might think teaching teachers to teach reading is a piece of cake (that’s a tongue twister if I ever wrote one) but just like being read math equations won’t magically teach you division, being read books doesn’t make you iterate.

In fact, 75% of Kindergarden - 2nd grade teachers say they don’t feel prepared to teach students how to read. So trained specialists and tutors are vital to helping every kid have literacy access.

Many kids need extra support learning to read. When parents can afford it, they hire tutors or use their own time to help their kids. But lots of parents can’t afford that kind of support. And to make everything a little more interesting, there’s a real stigma for parents if their kids are struggling to read—so a lot of them don’t share the struggle and how they get through it.  

Hence why we’re so bullish on helping Words in the Wild amplify their ability to improve reading education for teachers, and literacy outcomes for kids. Without words, doors close and the world becomes small. 

*Sample size of one, but: while I’ve heard the former plenty in my career, I’ve never once heard the latter. You?