WORDS

Last night was a very special night at the Lavender house. Last night Joshua learned how to read. It wasn't that he learned to read in one night. We've been working on this for six months! Every day we went over the sounds of letters and how they come together to form words. We memorized sight words and struggled night after night to get him to understand how to read. He didn't get it. Then, last night all the pieces came together for him and he got it!
We've been through this before. This is our third child that we taught how to read. For some reason, our experience didn't make this round any less frustrating. It's hard to understand how the brain works sometimes. Joshua is perhaps the brightest of our children at this age (5 years-old), yet he seemed to take the longest to learn to read. Each child is different and their learning styles so unique. When it comes to learning, one size does not fit all. This is an important revelation that all educators must understand. Anyway, last night, after months of foundation building, the light came on in Joshua's brain and suddenly he could see!
I'm just going to say this up front. There are few things in life as rewarding as watching someone learn how to read. I understand why my wife gives her life to teaching kids. When you see the light come on in their little head it sends electricity surging through your feel-good channels. Joshua was so excited! He went through the house reading words on books, boxes and even the walls! He kept saying, "I can read, Daddy! I can read!" I almost started crying. He couldn't sleep last night. He laid in bed with books open. I could hear him sounding out words in amazement. He finally got it! Now a whole new world is open before him.
The ability to read is the single most important tool in civilization. Illiteracy is followed by poverty, sickness and crime. Every civilization that advanced did so by educating their people. Is it any wonder that Jesus is called THE WORD?